Meet: Emily Claire Schmitt
EMILY CLAIRE SCHMITT is a NYC-based playwright. (www.emilyclaireschmitt.com and Twitter: @Eclaire082)
CATHOLIC ARTIST CONNECTION (CAC): What brought you to NYC?
EMILY CLAIRE SCHMITT (ECS): I’m originally from Cincinnati, Ohio and I did my undergrad at Saint Mary’s College in Indiana. I always hoped to move to New York and I was fortunate that a few things fell into place for me when I graduated. I was accepted into the New School for Drama’s MFA program directly from undergrad. I had applied to schools all over the country, and this happened to be both my top choice and only acceptance letter. My college boyfriend’s family is from Staten Island, so he moved back home and we were able to stay together. Now that boyfriend is my husband, so I’m here to stay.
CAC: What do you see as your personal mission as a Catholic working in the arts?
ECS: First off, I love this question. I think about this a lot, and I always try to pray a bit before I start writing, even if what I’m working on isn’t an overtly religious piece. I believe that God wants to be present with us as we grapple with the world and, while I don’t let religious doctrines limit the content of my writing, my writing is always filtered through a worldview that God exists.
A great deal of my art is critical of the institutional Church, but I’m still very insistent that I am a Catholic writer, as opposed to a formerly Catholic writer. There is a fundamental difference between someone who critiques from within and someone who has left the Church and is describing the experience that caused them to leave. This distinction is supremely important to me.
I believe my vocation as a writer is to be a tool for God to express Themself in the world. Sometimes this means representing the beauty of God’s world, but more often than not it means shining light on that which is not in alignment with the Divine, whether within secular society or within the Church. I hope that my work makes both religious and secular people uncomfortable. I hope it makes them wonder what God thinks about them.
CAC: Where have you found support in the Church for your vocation as an artist?
ECS: I’ve been extremely fortunate to have made great connections with fellow Catholics in the arts. I’ve worked with Xavier Theatre and Film, a Jesuit theater company, and they produced a showcase of my play “The Chalice” at the Stonewall Inn. This was one of the highlights of my career thus far, an intersection of the Catholic and secular world that was truly fulfilling.
CAC: Where have you found support among your fellow artists for your Catholic faith?
ECS: It’s a mixed bag. Grad school was not a positive experience for me in terms of acceptance. After 16 years of Catholic education, I was suddenly in a secular world and I made a lot of mistakes in terms of how I presented myself. I was wrestling with my faith privately, but fiercely defending it publicly, which is never a good tactic. I didn’t feel safe. I no longer work with anyone from grad school, and that’s best for all of us.
However, post graduation I have really found an artistic community with people of all faiths. I have frequent collaborators who are non-Catholic Christians, members of other faiths, atheists, and agnostics. I’ve found a particular home with The Skeleton Rep, a theater company that focuses on “building modern myth.” My religious beliefs really mesh with their interests, despite being a completely secular company. I am currently developing a musical with them.
CAC: How can the Church be more welcoming to artists?
ECS: Stop policing our content. The vocation of an artist is to observe, critique, and respond. It is not the vocation of the artist to simply listen and accept doctrine without question. This means that there is an essential tension between the work of being an artist and the work of being a practicing Catholic.
As an artist, I don’t have the luxury of keeping my disagreements with the Church private. I promise I’m listening and it’s possible to change my mind. Please be patient with me.
CAC: How can the artistic world be more welcoming to artists of faith?
ECS: I think this is a difficult question because in most of the instances where people have been unwelcoming to me, it’s because they have been hurt in some serious way by the Church. It’s taken me a long time to accept that, while I have not personally hurt them, I am part of an institution that has and it’s not unreasonable for them to ask me to answer for that.
I try to be clear about my beliefs and about why I have chosen to remain in the Church. I also try to articulate how I’m striving to make the Church better, while remaining firm in my support of Her. I have to be both gentle and unafraid about how and why I disagree with the secular world as well. Once again, I promise I’m listening and it’s possible to change my mind. Please be patient with me.
CAC: Where in NYC do you regularly find spiritual fulfillment?
ECS: I’m a bit of a parish hopper. When I first came to NYC I fell in love with Saint Francis Xavier, near Union Square. Their Young Adults Group was a great community for me, but after moving to Brooklyn and back I’m not as involved as I once was. I’ve become more interested in traditional, more formal, liturgies. Saint Joseph of Yorkville is a beautiful neighborhood parish that has a highly reverent modern mass. There are so many families with children there, it gives me great hope. And the pastor is the man who reported on McCarrick so that’s no small thing…. I like a priest I can respect, for obvious reasons.
When I’m feeling in particular need of deep ritual, I do love a Latin Mass. Saint Agnes by Grand Central is a great place to go for that.
CAC: Where in NYC do you regularly find artistic fulfillment?
ECS: I already mentioned The Skeleton Rep, but one thing they do which I love are monthly artist salons. Artists will get together, drink wine, and read new work, either a full play or short plays based on a prompt. There is no formal feedback, just a chance for the writer to hear her play. And afterwards we have a party.
CAC: How have you found or built community as a Catholic artist living in NYC?
ECS: Connecting with Brother Joe Hoover at Xavier Theater has really connected me with a great community of Catholic artists. He has a way of making connections and bringing together a dynamic and diverse group of people with a huge variety of perspectives on the faith. If you ever get the chance to work with them I highly recommend it. Joe is a fantastic playwright and actor in his own right.
CAC: What is your daily spiritual practice?
ECS: I wish I had a better one… I pray every day before I write. My husband and I pray together before meals. Recently, we’ve been doing a daily reflection before bed. It’s just one of those Little Blue Books you pick up from your parish during Advent, but it’s been great.
CAC: What is your daily artistic practice? And what are your recommendations to other artists for practicing their craft daily?
ECS: I try to write for an hour every morning after working out and before leaving for work. This is really my sacred time: after my husband leaves, freshly showered, and place to myself. It’s short but it’s extremely important. And I can’t stress enough the value of praying before you write.
CAC: Describe a recent day in which you were most completely living out your vocation as an artist. What happened, and what brought you the most joy?
ECS: The most recent Skeleton Rep salon was on New Year’s Eve. I wrote a short piece for the event which spoke of my Catholic faith and it’s relationship to the mission of the company. Afterwards, another artist present pulled me aside to talk about how he is a Catholic as well but had stopped going to Church. He was interested in going back, so we spent a long time talking about why I felt it was important for young Catholic artists to be in the faith and engage with it from the inside. The whole conversation was so fulfilling for me.
CAC: You actually live in NYC? How!?
ECS: I need to be completely up front and say that I have been incredibly privileged in terms of financial support from my family. This is something we do not talk about enough in the arts. My parents paid my rent and my tuition while I was in school and I am debt-free. I’m also married to someone with a traditional career who contributes the majority of our income. I am so incredibly fortunate it’s not even funny.
CAC: But seriously, how do you make a living in NYC?
ECS: Even with the financial support, I do have a full-time day job. I don’t know how anyone would make rent or buy groceries without one. I work in social media marketing, which is great because it’s mostly all remote. I’ve also been nannying for my cousin’s baby so making that sweet side cash.
It’s a lot of work, and keeping my passion afloat on top if it, and making sure it remains my focus rather than just a “hobby” is a constant battle.
CAC: How much would you suggest artists moving to NYC budget for their first year?
ECS: I can’t give a great answer to this, because it’s so varied and I was in school when I started. But consider that your monthly rent is likely to be over 1K no matter where you live.
CAC: What other practical resources would you recommend to a Catholic artist living in NYC?
ECS: I can’t recommend enough reaching out to Xavier Theater for professional connections. In terms of headshots, Joe Loper is a former classmate of mine who does a great job and is very reasonable. http://joeloper.com/
CAC: What are your top 3 pieces of advice for Catholic artists moving to NYC?
ECS: 1.) Don’t rush finding your people. It’s a big city and it takes time.
2.) Exercise.
3.) Go to confession. Why make art with sin on your soul?
