artist interviews
bailey bridgman-peters
@baileybp_313, twenty three, he/him
what is your art form?
acting/performing arts/musical theatre/musician.
what do you do and why do you do it?
i mainly perform in musical theatre but dabble in a bunch or other art forms in my life. a self proclaimed 'jack of all trades, master of none’ i feel i need to try my hand at most things and obtain an understanding of them before i am satisfied. i guess that is part of the reason i do what i do. the other part is it has been a life long love, i’ve met some incredible people in the industry and my love for them has also driven me to become better and more passionate for the performing arts.
who/what has inspired you in your artistic practice and why?
all of my theatre ‘family’ i have met over the years. their passion and love and talent truely amazes me nearly every day.
what do you think your role is as an artist? has anything stopped you from fulfilling this role?
i believe my main role is to spread as much joy and laughter as possible. i’m not destined for anything bigger or bolder or more famous i simply want to make people laugh (either with or at me) and feel joy.
what have been the biggest challenges in your artistic journey?
i think one of my biggest challenges is taking too many things on my plate. i like to do so many things in so many places in my artistic world and out of it that i struggle to juggle and keep up. i don’t do as much artistic work that i would like to as i long to accomplish small feats in so many fields i don’t stick to one thing.
do you believe that good art comes from turmoil and suffering, or is that a romantic notion?
i think good art CAN come from suffering. historically a lot of beautiful art has come from suffering but it doesn’t have to come from a place of pain. as i try to spread a lot of joy and laughter i like to think a lot of my art comes from my positive life experiences.
how do you feel your age impacts your experience as an artist?
i think i may not be taken as seriously in certain aspects of my art but i mostly think it isn’t effected because in theatre you tend to be cast in a certain age bracket you fit and i’m ok with that. i can audition for middle aged dads and old wizards in the future.
what about your gender/race/sexuality/disability etc.?
now this is tricky. all i can really comment on is race. i am a person of colour who is male straight. i think a lot of the places i perform at do their best to cast without race in mind as there is so much diversity in todays world but in the past i’ve definitely felt i’ve not been given certain opportunities for roles as there has always been someone that ‘fits’ the description of that role more and i just suit the role they might need a person of colour for. this hasn’t happened much and a lot of others have it worse than me but it can be heavy to deal with sometimes.
when it comes to art, what would you tell your younger self?
do exactly what you want to do. don’t pick a lane and try your hand at everything. practice accents, learn more instruments and become fluent in 2 or 3 languages.