Unveiling the Creative Odyssey: How a Playwright Embarked on an Artistic and Entrepreneurial Journey (The Origin Story of an Independent Artist)
- Alexia Rowe
- Jan 18
- 4 min read
Updated: Jan 24
An expanded version of a 17 January 2025 Instagram post.
Since we're about halfway through January, I figured I'd semi-reintroduce myself and give some of the origin story of an independent artist called me. This one is specifically on how I embarked on my playwriting journey. There'll be a separate post for the music side of things.
As creatives, we're all entrepreneurs to some degree even if we don't use that label to describe ourselves. I suppose I had a bit of an advantage growing up with a serial entrepreneur mother who has barely worked under anyone during my entire lifetime. She had her own therapy practice, and multiple charity stores, and even founded an NGO.
However, being a third-culture kid in South Africa during most of that time, that sort of entrepreneurial spirit was everywhere in a way it isn't in most places, like people selling handmade art at traffic lights. But creatively, me and my brother were born writers, holding competitions on the best stories (and he usually won because at the time I just copied Roald Dahl 😅). My niche though became something he doesn't do: scriptwriting and songwriting, which was generally made up of Billie Eilish-esque poetry, until I got lost in the part of the school drama department that was far less Juilliard than slogging through the Sandra Dee song in front of a deadpanned judging panel to be cast in a production of Grease:
House Plays. Where the school houses (similar to the Harry Potter houses) would each put on a production according to a theme and receive awards like Best Play, Best Ensemble, and so on. (Any Parktown student who is in Alseids and reading this should know that we were the boss when it came to House Plays.) So yeah, my first foray into playwriting (where it actually got performed) was writing a version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory where Charlie Bucket is reminiscing his visit to the factory and all the kids getting up to mischief.
In college a few years later, I approached a theatre company that was loosely involved with my school. The company did productions based on history, and so I was offered a commission to write a play with African-American spirituals about the abolitionism history in Salem, MA because there was nothing about it yet other than a self-guided app tour. Since productions cost money, my naive self learned very quickly the art of grant funding and raised thousands of dollars for two runs in 2019. Note that I was barely old enough to drink a beer at this time and had just got my first script professionally produced.
But the infamous 2020 virus plagued society and my post-grad life where the whole working world (besides the performing arts) was in limbo. The 4.5 years that followed were a rollercoaster that included two brief weeks in a soul-sucking engineering office job (after braving the hiring freezes for half of it) and even a brief stint in medicine before throwing myself completely into the arts in a variety of ways. Besides my technical freelance work, I'm now expanding my services and just published my first e-book.
Working in the arts world means I connect with other companies, writers, musicians and general creatives (like you!) who are constantly looking for ideas, waiting for their next break from someone else, or want a career in the performing arts but don't have the confidence to fully pursue it.
That was when I thought: if a clueless 21yo could embrace her quirks, secure grants and have stuff regularly produced, so can a person armed with just an idea. Making your creative dream a reality is possible. So if you're ready to get inspired and lean fully into your artistic calling, order my e-book "Grant Funding for Unconventional Creatives" here!
Help Shape the Future of Art: Take My Survey!
As artists, we know the journey can be both fulfilling and challenging. But what if we could learn from each other to make it easier? That’s why I’m asking for your help.
I’ve created a short poll/survey to understand what artists truly need—whether it’s resources, tools, or support. Your input will help us identify common struggles and uncover ways we can all work together to overcome them.
By sharing your experiences, we can:
Discover what’s working for us.
Understand what’s missing.
Create a stronger, more supportive community.
It only takes a few minutes, and your voice could help shape the way we grow as artists. Let’s learn from each other and make the art world better for all of us.
Thank you for being part of this survey and a part of my journey!
Stay educated,
Alexia
