An artist, music instructor, creative producer and dancer walk into a panel to discuss the future of the arts

Graphic by Easton Clark, Photo Editor

Presented by the Leatherby Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Ethics on Oct. 16, the “Future of the Arts” panel featured Chapman alumni and professionals with a guide on how to launch and grow creative passions to sustainable careers. 

With the conversation moderated by College of Performing Arts career advisor and cellist Connor Bogenreif, panelists and Chapman alumni Marie Claire Marchant, Amira Fulton, Gabe Figueroa and Eugenia Rodriguez shared their personal insights on how to get your foot in the door without it slamming shut. 

Figueroa (graduated ‘15 Dodge), a creative producer at Yada Yada Studio and board member of Hero Theater shares his expectations of the film and television industry post graduation.

“I thought the job market was going to be a lot more linear,” Figueroa said. 

Unlike the traditional application and interview process that is to be expected, Figueroa faced challenges when transitioning from theater success to film production. 

“It's all word of mouth and who you know and how you present yourself as a freelancer,” Figueroa said. “It has nothing to do with going to Warner Brothers and putting in an application. And that was something that took me about two years to really recognize.” 

Marchant (graduated ‘15 Wilkinson), an artist, filmmaker and CEO of non-profit journal Current Jam, had a similar experience when working in film. 

“I don't think I've once sent in a resume or application to work on a production,” said Marchant.

Working in production design, Marchant found it was less interview heavy, and more word of mouth. 

With every job that is acquired, there are more people to meet, and more names that will advocate for you to be on the next gig. Marchant stresses networking while you’re on those jobs, especially if you’re on the freelance side. 

Rodriguez (graduated ‘18 CoPA), a professional dancer, choreographer and educator, shared about the experiences that she was able to gain out of networking. 

It all started with studying under a jazz professor at Chapman and falling in love with his style. Rodriguez became interested in his dance company and would drive to rehearsals in LA to take his classes.  

It was after graduation that Rodriguez became a member of the company and met other like-minded dancers that were in the industry that helped her get connected to working for a traveling dance convention and doing more industry work.

“And then I started my own dance convention in Mexico during COVID. I don't know why I had that idea, but we did it, and all my faculty were my Chapman friends,” said Rodriguez. 

Rodriguez was able to create and launch a company based on the relationships she gained during her time at Chapman. 

Having recently worked in a production, Rodriguez found that five other people there, including the director, were from Chapman. 

“If you're a student here, you have no idea the value of the people that are here and what that means when you get out,” Rodriguez said. “I feel like that has been a crazy thing that I didn't imagine, of a community leading to many more opportunities.” 

Fulton (graduated ‘13 CoPA), a private music instructor and founder of Fulton Music Inc., shared that she is still in touch with professors, and when she needs to hire instructors, they will send her a list of recently graduated Chapman seniors.

“I've hired quite a few instructors from Chapman to teach for me, which has been great, because I know they have the same teaching background and education that I received,” said Fulton. “It's really nice to keep it in the family, but it's always been like some kind of connection — and for different instruments too, because Chapman, at least the music school, feels very much like a family.”

Compared to a bigger university, Fulton appreciates that the professors at Chapman have always cared and looked out for their students well past graduation. 

In the fine arts program, Marchant recounts that there were only seven people in her year, fostering a tight-knit family. 

With Current Jam, a non-profit magazine that Marchant founded, she originally met her co-editor post-graduation, but connected mutually over the fact that they had both gone to Chapman. Additionally, many other artists that have gone to Chapman have made their way into the magazine. 

“I think being in freelance or being an entrepreneur, it really takes a lot of motivation to see things through,” said Marchant. “Not just motivation to start something, but to picture something across the finish line.”

According to Marchant, some of their biggest struggles and learning moments in the success of the magazine have been financial and figuring out how to acquire funding. 

Figueroa experienced difficulties in the changing landscape of theater.  

“Our plays are not meant to be commercial successes. They're not meant to be huge, narcissistic successes,” said Figueroa. “They're meant to engage the community and have them come in and have a space for themselves.”

Figueroa said that many people that make it through both the theater and the film industry come up with ideas to make the industry better, and that becomes their business. 

In starting her music business, Fulton’s heart was set on teaching and working for herself. She recounts networking in yoga class to get clients, asking parents if their kids would be interested in starting music lessons.  

“Try to be aware that every situation you're in has an opportunity to network and kind of put your feelers out there, especially when you're starting out,” said Fulton. 

Fulton quickly recognized that everything was on her to be on top of scheduling and professionalism.   

“Nobody really teaches you how to start your own business and do all that,” said Fulton. “If you're going to do something on your own, you kind of have to fill every role.”

According to Fulton, a lot of her process was doing research and remembering to be flexible.  She spoke with friends who were accountants and asked them for their advice. 

For Rodriguez, the door to entrepreneuring opened during the COVID lockdowns when she created her dance convention in Mexico. A central question that drove her motivation was how she could keep her community dancing. 

“What worked for me a lot is knowing what I was interested in and building a brand from that,” said Rodriguez. “So it felt natural and organic in the way that I was offering, versus trying to be maybe something else.”

As a freelance dancer, learning new skills is what has kept Rodriguez moving and evolving. 

“No pun intended, but it’s always been a dance itself,” said Rodriguez. 

Rodriguez spoke on the pressure of fitting into an artistic category from a young age.

According to Rodriguez, this became hindering as she built upon her identity post-grad. She would turn away opportunities such as acting on sets because she had never taken an acting class as a dancer. When she began to say yes to these opportunities, more doors opened with her new skillset. 

“I think if you go out into the world, it's exciting to feel that you have these skills or identity that you recognize in your pocket,” said Rodriguez. “But there's so much more to us. I'm still on that journey, and I think it only creates more momentum.” 

Having wanted to be a painter when she was little, Marchant’s understanding of what it meant to be an artist opened up at Chapman. 

“I definitely was not comfortable at first, but it really brought me out of my comfort zone, and really exposed me to different forms of art making, and then also kind of being interested in production design,” said Marchant. 

Now being an interdisciplinary artist, Marchant feels comfortable giving herself the writer-director labels and working in different artistic fields. 

Fulton shared this sentiment of not limiting yourself and being open to discovering other strengths in addition to your primary passion. 

In accepting gigs and projects, all panelists agreed it's important to know your worth in advocating for and receiving proper compensation. Fulton pulled from personal experience as a musician.  

“I mean, how many times do you go to a Christmas party and you ask, like, ‘Oh you play cello, play something for us,’ Versus, if you see an accountant at the Christmas party, do you ask if they can pay your taxes?”

Figueroa recommends doing one unpaid job in the beginning of your career so you can learn to tackle the job and prove to others that you are capable. Marchant says to always do favors for friends because they may be your coworkers in the future. 

Job security in the arts is ever-evolving. With budgets being cut and the rise of AI, it is hard to say what the future holds for many artists.

“I feel like more than anything, across all spectrums, we're going to be consistently realizing in the next five to ten years how much human interaction and human-made art is important and how much it feeds the soul,” said Figueroa. 

It’s all about keeping an open mind, thriving off your curiosity and finding community in the people around you that will change the trajectory of the arts for the best.

“It's not all sunshine and rainbows,” Fulton said. “There's a lot of work that goes into it, a lot of failures, a lot of mistakes.”

While jobs in the arts field are becoming less secure in resumes and more dependent on networking, it’s important to put yourself out there. It may make all the difference.