One of the most gifted creative people I have ever known, Ricardo has taught me that the most important thing in life is being yourself, however difficult that is. I grew up gay in a conservative family in the conservative American midwest.
I had grown up afraid and ashamed of myself. Ricardo gives me hope that one day, all the diverse aspects of myself, including and maybe especially the "dark secrets," will nourish my life and become its pillars.

If you look at the first and still some of the greatest playwrights, the Greeks, they espoused the idea that greatness comes from living a balanced life: balanced in mind, body and spirit. The demands of the modern world can be confining. It is a challenge to learn to live creatively within them. But, I believe it is possible. Rebellion is the spice of life, but too much of any spice ruins the soup.

Magazine
Fall/Winter 1999

Chris Hutson '80
playwright, consultant for Goldman Sachs, New York

What is the most significant event that has occurred in your profession or field of study during the 20th century? What lesson do you take away from that event?

For playwriting, the most significant event this century is the birth of film. It has changed, seemingly forever, the role of plays. So playwrights have been left struggling to find their purpose—not unlike the struggle playwrights have always felt. I feel that plays are about the singularity of experience in an increasingly global world: the singularity of experience of first the playwright, then the actors and director, and finally, of the audience. Plays are alive. No two productions of the same play mean exactly the same thing. The purpose is the shared experience, a moment of connection. Of course it doesn't always exist, but it's the goal, the driving force behind all the effort.

Personally, what is the most meaningful life lesson you have taken from your vocation or avocation?

I answer with what I've learned from having pursued both my vocation and avocation. My professional life at preeminent financial institutions in New York and my playwriting have seemed opposed to each other for most of my life. They seemed opposite drives calling on different attributes of myself. One, playwriting, seemed noble with intangible appeal. The other seemed practical with tangible, almost instant, gratification. I'm learning that each is providing me something important, some expected and some unexpected. Each strengthens my life differently. Each, together, are making me a stronger individual. An old adage seems to apply: learn to follow your heart wherever it takes you.

What person(s) or mentor(s) have had the most significant impact on your life? Can you describe how that person affected your life?

The mentor who has had the most significant impact on my life is my best friend, Ricardo Nanton. I've been with him for the last 2 months watching him successfully (I pray and believe) fight for his life. He has the curse of the last part of the 20th Century: AIDS. I met Ricardo when I first left professional life to uncover my creativity. Ricardo, one of the most gifted creative people I have ever known, taught me that the most important thing in life is being yourself, however difficult that is. I grew up gay in a conservative family in the conservative American Midwest. I had grown up afraid and ashamed of myself. Ricardo gives me hope that one day, all the diverse aspects of myself, including and maybe especially the "dark secrets", will nourish my life and become its pillars.

In your experience, what is the greatest misconception the public has about your vocation (or field of study) or the people in that vocation?

I answer for playwrights and all people who pursue creative lives. The biggest misconception is that an artist needs to be unhappy or must live a wild, uncontrolled life of indulgences. There is no question that living is the lifeblood of creativity. Yet, if you look at the first and still some of the greatest playwrights, the Greeks, they espoused the idea that greatness comes from living a balanced life: balanced in mind, body and spirit. The demands of the modern world can be confining. It is a challenge to learn to live creatively within them. But, I believe it is possible. Rebellion is the spice of life, but too much of any spice ruins the soup.

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