What do you do if you don't have the audience you want?

Here's an answer you probably haven't thought of ... but Marta did.

The most amazing person I’ve met recently is Marta Becket. She is a dancer who has left us to dance on a different stage, however, after meeting her, I’m not sure I will ever think about creativity in the same way. Anyway, I hope not. Whenever the roadblocks appear (which they always will), I hope I will stop and ask: “What would Marta do?”

Marta started her journey as a dancer and choreographer in New York City but she met her fate when she and her husband had a flat tire in Death Valley. Wandering about the dusty town, population: 10, as they waited for their car to be repaired, she connected with an old, run down theatre, and immediately began the project that would be the focus of the rest of her life, renaming it the Amargosa Opera House, where she danced for four decades on her own stage, even when there was no audience.

What to do when you don’t have the audience you want? Paint it!

Apparently that’s what Marta did when she she often performed with no audience. This part of the story made me laugh as I imagined cartoon characters on the wall. The video below tells a different story, one that fills me with awe.

Video: Marta Becket and the Amargosa Opera House

Click image for video: Marta Becket & Amargosa Opera House

Another view from The Denver Post, Sam Morris, The Las Vegas Sun via AP:

Walls painted by Marta Becket, photo by Dana Crandall

Another video: Dust Devil

“I dream about it at night. I dream that I’m dancing the steps I used to do.”

“If an audience didn’t come, I would perform anyway.”

Marta gave her final performance at age 87 and left the Amargosa Opera House to a non-profit … the anniversary is February 10th … I plan to be there next year if you want to join me.

“Ferociously committed to her vision and her art, Marta's legacy offers inspiration to all dreamers and seekers: Follow your heart and you will realize the adventure that your life was meant to live.” — from the website

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Special Thanks to

Allegra Huston

, Imaginative Storm

Thank you Allegra for introducing us to Marta in one of your twice weekly prompted writing sessions with James Navé. Your sessions create an environment where imaginations can storm and this story set my mind awhirl.

Like most of us, I’ve experienced a lot of mediocre Zoom sessions so I was surprised and delighted to discover Allegra & Nave’s sessions which are some of the best facilitated processes I’ve experienced. They dance in that delicate zone where everyone is heard without wasting a moment. They manage to inspire, engage and celebrate the shared imagination that arises in their sessions..\

More info:

Painting Her Own Audience,The Dust Devil That Whirled in Death Valley Junction, by Dana Crandall

Wikipedia: Marta Becket