MEET: Robert Choiniere
ROBERT CHOINIERE (stagesonthesound.com) is a theatre producer, playwright, and theatre education director.
CATHOLIC ARTIST CONNECTION (CAC): What brought you to NYC, and where did you come from? How long have you been here, and why did you decide to move here?
ROBERT CHOINIERE (RC): I have lived in New York for 15 years. I originally came to work as the Director of Planning for the Diocese of Brooklyn as a lay minister and soon found my way into my other passion - theatre. Within the first 6 months of arriving, I had founded a new theatre company, Stages on the Sound, with a few friends and for the past 15 years we have been producing theatre education programs for students in Catholic elementary schools.
CAC: What do you see as your personal mission as a Catholic working in the arts?
RC: My Catholic faith is a primary motivator in my life and in my artistic and professional work. I believe that our loving God has imbued each of us with a deep beauty that wants nothing more than to burst into expression. As a minister, as a producer and as an artist, I try to create opportunities for others to find that beauty within themselves and give it back to world as a unique expression of God.
CAC: Where have you found support in the Church for your vocation as an artist?
RC: Many people in Catholic institutions (diocesan offices, seminaries, parishes, schools, even Catholic cemeteries) have offered support for the arts, especially for arts education. Some have not been so supportive at times, but the overwhelming majority have offered whatever they could to foster a culture of arts, as we Catholics have for centuries.
CAC: Where have you found support among your fellow artists for your Catholic faith?
RC: I have worked with hundreds of artists and performers through our theatre education programs. We work with artists from many different faith backgrounds or no faith background at all and we send them into Catholic schools to share their passion for the arts. Over the years, many artists have come to me to talk about their faith, how they view of Catholicism has changed by their immersion in the schools and how their craft has been shaped by these encounters. These interactions are beautiful moments that inspire me as well.
CAC: How can the Church be more welcoming to artists?
RC: I believe that that arts are critical to education and an access to the spiritual dimensions of life. More and more, Catholic schools are cutting arts programs due to budget crunches. To me, this is like cutting out a vital organ. Without art, the spirit cannot soar. Increasing arts programs and access to arts culture in Catholic education by welcoming artists into our churches and schools and institutions would be like opening the door to the Holy Spirit to breathe new life in.
CAC: How can the artistic world be more welcoming to artists of faith?
RC: Faith is an important and central aspect of many peoples’ lives. As such, religious themes and the issues of faith will always be important matter for the arts to explore. Finding new ways to discuss these themes in authentic ways and within all artistic media would be a great service to the secular and religious world.
CAC: Do you recommend any particular parishes for their sacramental life, beauty, and/or community?
RC: The Church of St. Francis Xavier is my spiritual home. It is a welcoming, inclusive, inspiration community that I would recommend to anyone (and I often do)
CAC: How have you found or built community as a Catholic artist living in NYC?
RC: I am grateful to the Catholic Artists Connection and the work of Cole Matson and others who have called together Catholic artists from NYC. Some members of this group have also recently collaborated on a new Immigration Theatre Project creating new plays based on interviews with immigrants and refugees in NYC (in collaboration with the New Sanctuary Coalition). This new venture is a new form of justice activism using documentary theatre to tell unheard stories.
CAC: What is your daily spiritual practice? And if you have a spiritual director, how did you find that person?
RC: I have a daily meditation practice and have had a spiritual director for over 20 years. (By the way, St. Francis Xavier has many well-trained spiritual directors for anyone who is looking). I have also just joined a small faith community that will meet every two weeks for potluck and prayer.
CAC: What is your daily artistic practice? And what are your recommendations to other artists for practicing their craft daily?
RC: I journal everyday and have since I was 18. This is my daily practice. I also paint watercolors in the park whenever I can. My only advice is to do something everyday. Also, the Artist’s Way has changed my life more than once.
CAC: How do you make a living in NYC?
RC: I have worked as a Catholic lay minister and have done theatre on the side for many years. For the past few years though, I have been working full time for the theatre company. That was a success I never thought possible.
CAC: What are your top pieces of advice for Catholic artists moving to NYC?
RC: Find a way to teach your craft to others. It is a great way to make some money and the kids need your inspiration and guidance. There are lots of arts education programs all over the city. Find community, both a faith community and an artistic community. See the Church as a partner in the arts and forge new kinds of relationships with those who lead Church institutions. They need new ideas and artists bring new life. Find time to do what you love everyday.
