Performers and

[LUCKY DIAMOND RICH]

recovering button pusher,

LDR

[ 01-28-2002: Message edited by: Lucky Diamond Rich ]</p>

[Scot Free]

Lucky, I too choose to be drug free today. I've done so for 3 1/2 years now. Read the horror part of the my story in the who's who's part of the forum. The story is as yet unfinished, when I get some time I will finish it. It is good to know there are others in "the craft" with whom another level of "identification" can be reached. I have met a few, but not many. Don't get me wrong,I am open to everyone and share lots of commonalities with many but there is a certain recognition with those who have been through the difficult process of getting and staying(or not) clean.
Cheers to you Lucky!

[Peter]

Well that's what happens when you get distracted. All I sent was the quote and no response. Maybe that is why the administrators allow us to edit.

Anyway Lucky, I agree about being drug free in all aspects of our lives. The only disagreement is I use the legal things IN MODERATION. I do drink beer AFTER a show but a maximum of 2 beers.

As a professional Clown I feel we have to be an example to the families that watch us, so no drinking alcohol or smoking while in make up. It is hard to be an example to children while smelling of tobacco so I don't smoke at all.

"I have choosen to be drug free (meaning no alcohol/cigarettes/coffee/or any drug of any form).
This was a personal desision that I had made,because of many reasons,both positive and negative.
It is for me is a subject that I would love to discuss with you others out there."

[This message has been edited by Peter (edited 12-17-2001).]

[Jenny]

Bless you for this one, Lucky.

My favorite thing about becoming a performer has been the marriage of work and pleasure, and "la familia" of performers. It is the stuff of personal, professional and spiritual sustenance.

Interplay with these great spirited fellow comrades is almost always enriching and inspiring, and so frequently involves coffee or beer, wine, what have you.

Therefore, I generally find the BENEFITS of such substance use to be invaluable. Not to mention the full on PLEASURES -as in a bottle of wine with friends- or the NECESSITY -as in coffee.

There ARE of course the health drawbacks though. As a former athlete and current performer working on a new physically demanding show, this certainly creates a contradiction in my life.

One of the beauties of this profession is how it tends to keep us young, in spite of self-destructive habits in some cases.

I don't know, but I'm off to meet a most important fellow spirit/peformer/drinking buddy for some pints right now. Gotta run.
Or maybe I'll take my bike? It's awfully cold out...

[LUCKY DIAMOND RICH]

recovering button pusher,


LDR

[ 01-28-2002: Message edited by: Lucky Diamond Rich ]</p>

[Peter Voice]

Ritchie. I remember when you embarked on this journey to become drug-free about 2-3 years ago and I've never known you not to achieve what you set out to do.
The issue of drugs and artists has appeared a few times lately in various media. One popular thought was that the highs of success were so great that a substitute was needed during the long periods of rehearsal and between gigs. Another view was that the edges, the frontiers have to be pushed, go further than any-one has before, and that the drugs can facilitate this.

Perhaps both or neither are true, drugs are different things to different people.

Some performers lifestyles can create a suituation where drugs are (dangerously) almost considered a tool, the comedian or DJ that has to start at 3am who has a little line just to keep going, "the audience is full of booze, speed, E's or some cocktail, anyway".

I'm in no position to preach, I drink and smoke way too much but I do know that a great show(of any sort) is a better high any-time and that I usually do my best when I'm straight and focused. I think my drug intake is a sort of misguided self-medication (as is my choice of profession and lifestyle).

I think it's cool you've done it, Richie.

ps. Can you do a Chalk Circle logo on my shoulder for me when I'm NZ next?



[This message has been edited by Peter Voice (edited 12-17-2001).]

[Bri]

Lucky, Great Job! Sounds as though things are now going really well for you!

Personally I drink a bit, and enjoy my occassional coffee. I've never been much into the drug scene, and don't ever think that I will be.

One of my favorite philosophical quotes is "Everything is good in moderation."

With what we do as professional performers we all tend to be a little bit wacked. There are plenty of extreme personalities (with what we do, plenty of obsessive compulisves, type Apersonalities, etc, etc, What's important is that people recognize who they are, and deal with it. We all react differenly to certain substances, and as long as we're aware of our relationships to drugs/booze, and that we're happy with that relationship then life is "generally good."

Take it easy!
Bri

[Triona]

Eliminating all those substances must have been tough, congradulations!

I personally think the moderation thing with substances like alcohol and caffeine (okay I'm on my third Coca-cola this morning) is okay. A drink now and then with friends is not a big deal. Getting blottoed every night is. On controlled or illegal substances, however, I'm not so liberal. Unfortunately the detrimental effects of the abuse of drugs and/or alcohol far outweigh the so called "creative enhancement" that one can supposedly gain from them. I realize that the legality issue doesn't exist in some places of the world, but legal issues don't have any effect on the brain cells you kill with that stuff.

I've a history of alcoholism in my family, so I'm overly aware of my alcohol intake. There was a point where I realized that I was drinking way too much, but I was fortunate enough to be able to break out of the habit and now I have maybe one or two drinks a month (average). I've never had any interest in drugs, my first boyfriend and his crowd were into it and I saw how stupid they got with the stuff, so I stayed away.

I applaude anyone who can pull themselves up out of a bad situation. It takes a whole lot of courage and work, especially when it seems like going back is the easiest thing to do.

[le pire]

Give up wine???!?!

UNTHINKABLE!!!!

Never been into drugs, never will.


étienne

[Jim]

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" size="2">Originally posted by Bri:
One of my favorite philosophical quotes is "Everything is good in moderation."

Bri, you forgot the tag line:

Everything is good in moderation... including moderation.

For the record, I've never been into drugs. I have a beer about once a month and, well, OK... is two cups of coffee before noon really an addiction?

As for the controlled substances, I've seen too many people use the excuse that drugs "Open up their minds" and "Enhance their creativity" which sounds great, but what good is creativity and an open mind if you're sitting on a couch and drooling?

People can do whatever they want to themselves and I've learned to not mind all that much. I just avoid behavior I don't enjoy. (Just don't smoke a cigarette within 10 feet of me or you'll hear it.)

Hey Lucky, maybe you can start a topic called "Performers and body modification" and espouse on the virtues and benefits of tattoos and implants and piercings.... I'm quite curious why people do that stuff and you seem to be an expert on the subject!

Jim

[LUCKY DIAMOND RICH]

recovering button pusher,

LDR

[ 01-28-2002: Message edited by: Lucky Diamond Rich ]</p>

[Scot Free]

Lucky, I added the second instalment to my story in the who's who's section. It basically is a description of my First Step.

I have never been able to do anything in moderation, My old slogan was...
"too much of anything is just enough!"

One thing I have learned in the last 3+1/2 years is the importance of having balance in my life. Praxis of balance is another story. It is difficult for me, I get carried away easily and need to be vigilant to stay in harmony.

I don't know if I believe that it is totally a genetic problem. I have been told I have a disease and there is something inherently "defective" about me. I'm having a hard time with that one these days.

I was sick. I don't feel sick today and yet I am told that if I don't identify myself as still sick, I will get sick again.

I have chosen to not listen to the people who would tell me that today. How does one get well if they continue to tell themselves that they are sick?

I do not have it figured out, but I refuse to live in fear of looking outside The Program for answers.

[Barry]

Hi Lucky,
We have never met, but, have heard your name tossed around the stories in the perf scene many, many times. My name is Barry and I want to take this moment to say hello, and on the nature of this particular discussion say BRAVO. It takes a lot of strength and great courage to push aside oneīs addictions and habits and scratch through the surface and feel the pain and struggles that sent you there in the first place. Good luck and stay tuned on you... cheers


just reread this posting and i hope i don`t sound glib or flipant. I have a lot of respect for anybody who knows they canīt do even a little of a substance and then goes out and clears themself up. In the last few years this happened to one of my oldest freinds. I watched him go down a bad path once...pull himself out...then go down the same path again...and then pull himself out for good. I have got nothinī but respect for your choice.
barry

[This message has been edited by Barry (edited 12-19-2001).]

[Peter Voice]

Lucky, I tried to email you at the address luckyrich@freemail.com.au but it didn't work. The postmaster sent it back with a failure notice.

[This message has been edited by Peter Voice (edited 12-19-2001).]

[martin ewen]

I have every respect for people as performers.
But shiny happy people give me the screaming fucking shits.
I have nothing against people who want to help other people (there is a world of hard trodden humanity out there)
And I believe human nature to be generious (when its not being selfish self-serving and pathetic)
So it is with as much reserve as I can muster that I add my contribution to this thread by observing that whether you take drugs as a means of getting by or specifically don't take drugs as a means of getting by, it amounts to the same thing irrespective of how many people you interact with. Its still all about YOU getting by. You can use your drug free/ drug filled friends as ammunition to justify your position but it still comes down to you just getting by.
I believe that you can get addicted to group dynamics, performers believe in themselves at times in relation to the audiences they affect, recovering substance abusers do exactly the same thing in a different setting. And enlarging that setting has obvious advantages.
Supporting your fellow human in pursuit of being better individuals is a good thing and I'm not picking a fight f.
But trading one compulsion for another is exactly that and the fact remains that every recovering addict knows they would be dead if it weren't for their change of heart and I question that as a good thing.
I also question the fact that you more or less have to hear voices in your head to realise A: how special you are, and B; how easy your life is if you give your control to an imagined higher power. and C: How that implies that your life,with all the freedom of choice it offers you (you think) is just a passage towards a point where you acknowledge fate and thus become an insipid tool of whatever power you abdicate/celebrate/ prostrate yourself at the foot of. (But helping addicts can't be wrong.)
Addicts are the small picture folks, and if you are one, be concious, be humble be well.
Still attention's where you find it.
Can someone buy me a drink please.