How to Starve an Artist

by Absurd Rodeo Theatre

November 2025

How to Starve an Artist is a short devised theatre piece that looks at the present conditions in this ever-changing world and asks one simple question: Can the artist endure? A group of eight theatre-makers has come together to conduct interviews with Colorado-based Gen Z artists (age 18-27) seeking to answer this question and turn those answers into theatre. This performance includes direct quotes, inspired poetry, shadow puppetry, original music, and creative movement to explore the issues young artists encounter every day. This collective’s goal is to make you, the audience, reimagine what a “starving artist” is, see how much effort art demands from the artist, understand why artists make art, and how to “feed” them. 

Creative Team

Co-Producers

Caden Pazo Levi Franklin

Devisers

Chrys Duran Jody Evans Levi Franklin Cal Meakins

Emmanuel Olabiran Caden Pazo Colleen Swift Alexis Vigil

Sound Designer and Mixer

Max Hutzell

Lighting Designer

Hannah Frost

Stage Manager

Austin Jensen

Producer's Note

Devised Theatre is a non-hierarchical process of theatre making, where everyone can fully collaborate without strict boundaries. All the performers on stage have brought light, sound, scenic, staging, script, and storytelling notes into the room, and it is because of their work that everything in the show is possible. The script was developed by our devisers conducting and recording interviews with 31 Gen Z Artists, and then using their words to inspire us to create. Some of the words you’ll hear tonight are directly taken from interviews and other sections are inspired from them; a lovely little mix of inspired art, and real dialogue that happened between young artists.

This show concept was originated by Caden Pazo and Levi Franklin for the Dairy Arts Center Co-Production Program in Fall of ‘24. When either of us work on a creative project, we are usually working behind the scenes to make performance art happen. While dreaming of this project, we deeply wanted to give ourselves and our peers the opportunity to take on creative leadership. As early professionals, it is beyond difficult to be given those types of chances by others; so we seized a grant opportunity to make space for ourselves. We are so thankful that we have gotten this opportunity to create something with these incredible creatives. Thank you for supporting the ARTS, as our country descends into fascism, we believe that one of the ways to combat authoritarianism is by empowering our communities through art.

How to Starve an Artist is a project that we feel deeply connected to because it is the life we live. During the six months it has taken to create this show among our team members two people lost their jobs, one person will lose their job by the new year, one person only had seasonal work to break up their unemployment, one person unexpectedly had to move home with their parents, one lost temporarily lost their Medicaid, and another worked nearly 100 hours a week for several months to survive. Today, an entire generation of artists are facing hardships like never before: AI, Arts funding cuts, economic hardship, a pandemic in their formative years, and constantly changing technology while old systems of traditionalism are still present within the structures of how we can access the art we need to make. We are asking the question, “Will the artist endure under the present conditions”?

This group of artists, the devisers, the designers and my best friend mean the world to me. Without each and every one of them we couldn’t do this show. They have all put a little bit of their heart and soul into this show, and without them it wouldn’t be as incredible as it is today. I LOVE them all deeply, because their vulnerability, bravery, and creativity are truly remarkable and they each deserve to become the artists that they want to be. I am so proud of them and what we have created, and I am excited to share it with you, the audience. I hope you walk away having more compassion for the artists in your life, and that you are inspired to create something yourself, because to create is to be human.

Major Thanks To

The Dairy Arts Center’s Co-Production Program funded by the Women’s Committee

Very Special Thanks To:

The Savoy Denver, 1400 Dallas Arts Studios, Local Theater Company, Vintage Theatre, Fernando Duran, Carrie Colton, James Brunt, Paul and Jill Davis, 3rd Law Dance/Theater

Thank you to our interview subjects: 

Alexandra, Alex J., Austin, Ava, Aynsley, Caden, Cal, Casey, Chrys, Cole, Colleen, Dan, Eman, Fae, Genevieve, Jack W, Jak R, Jody, Katy, Kae, Kingsley, Levi, Lex, Lyn, Miri, Nathan, Ryder, Sadie, Sarah, Tor, and Wilson.