Here's a great thing about the arts that everyone involved in the arts knows right away. The arts is electricians, and cleaners, and painters, and set builders, and drivers, and administrators, and ushers, and accountants, and agents, and sales teams, and caterers... /1

...and composers, and costume designers, and wig makers, and writers. Oh yes, and performers. But they're just the little tiny tip of an iceberg, teetering on top of a huge mass of collective effort. By the time you see those people, most of the hard work has already been done./2

In that way it's a great reflection of society's better side. Creativity and productivity from many rolled-up-sleeves and the collective work of many quiet, valued people. To think the arts is just about the end performers is like thinking Lewis Hamilton builds his own cars.//