Novel Ideas
Small moments matter
Why yearn for another writer’s life, says Lynne Hackles
Lynne Hackles
For the last three years, Christen Mandracchia has taught a course at the University of Maryland called Business of the Business, a course founded by her co-teacher, Mitchell Herbert. ‘This teaches theatre students how to have a career in the arts,’ Christen says. ‘Part of this class has always been to research someone they admire and do a presentation on that person’s life, the obstacles they faced, and the ways that they identify with that person’s strategies for success. There’s certainly a benefit to reading other people’s stories, except for one thing that I’ve noticed in the last year or so – my students are measuring their success against celebrities. They are waiting to make it big or get discovered.’