Author: Paul Russell

More Answers For Actors:

ART ENDURES

Art Endures celebrates the legacy of creative individuals who challenge oppression through art. It emphasizes the transformative power of imagination, the resilience of artists, and the enduring nature of art against tyranny, urging unity and empowerment through creativity.

(A Manefesto)

by

Paul Russell

• THE MOTIVATION & MISSION for ART ENDURES:

How does an artist respond to a tyrant?

In the wake of the May 2025 decimation of The National Endowment for The Arts, I channeled my grief and rage into prose with a purpose. What emerged was ART ENDURES: a love letter to the enduring power of art. An artivist tribute and manifesto honoring the resilience of creativity in the face of tyranny.

The long-form piece ART ENDURES (below) would ideally serve as the foundation for a series of short-form, social-media-ready video reels. This initiative is intended to both raise awareness and potentially generate support for artists and organizations whose NEA funding has been revoked.

• The Manifesto – ART ENDURES:

We are the descendants of jesters who mocked monarchs.

The successors of writers who crossed censorship’s lines.

The extension of dancers who grinned as they cakewalked satire before their captors.

The imprint of hands that carved, brushed, stitched, and etched truth when words were forbidden.

The prodigy of musicians who turned protest into rhythm, and rhythm into anthems that outpaced the measure.

We are the enduring continuum—Collaborators of creativity crossing through the centuries.

The legacy of our forebears. The optimism of our successors.

Our individuality is our strength. Our unity is our power.

We are resilient, not resigned. Outspoken, not oppressed.

We reflect the ideals of what is right. We ignite awareness of what is wrong.

Imagination is the artist’s inspiration. Imagination is the tyrant’s ruination.

A tyrant reduces. An artist produces.

Art is authentic. Tyranny is troubled.

Tyranny withers by silencing the will of many. Art blossoms by awakening the will of one.

Tyrants empower themselves. Artists empower the world.

Tyranny expires. Art endures.

If your truth is that art endures, and that tyrants empower themselves while artists empower the world, then empower the world by sharing ART ENDURES.

• You can help build the foundation for the mission:

1. Share widely this post, plus the 2 sample ART ENDURES Discipline Videos (below).

2. Interested in participating in the creative development of ART ENDURES? Write me (Paul) @ PaulRussellCasting [at] gmail [dot] com. Say, “I’m interested. How can I help ART ENDURES and artists?”

Proof of Concept Example Videos (2 of 7 proposed)

  1. “We are the descendants of jesters who mocked monarchs.”

2.”The extension of dancers who grinned as they cakewalked satire before their captors.”

About Paul:

Paul Russell’s career in the entertainment industry spans over forty years as an award-winning casting director and stage director. He has cast for 20th Century Fox, HBO, Broadway, and major regional theaters.

A frequent guest artist at university BFA and MFA actor training programs, Paul also teaches private master classes to actors

He is the author of the expanded Second Edition of ACTING: Make It Your Business – How to Avoid Mistakes and Achieve Success as a Working Actor.

Rob Reiner & Michelle Singer Reiner

Paul Russell

You may have found yourself, upon awakening this morning, as I did—seeking solace and sense from the horror of the Reiner family tragedy we went to bed with, unsettled. I found some solace, which I will soon share. But there is no “sense.” Ridiculous and heinous that I momentarily considered the abstract notion of “sense.”

Attending the Beverly Hills Film Festival in May 2024, I stood awestruck in the lobby of the Chinese Theatre and witnessed the image capture of this pictured Reiner father/son moment.

Decades earlier, I worked with Annie Reiner, Rob’s sister, when I cast the first NY workshop of her then-new play, THE NEW LIVING ROOM.

I mention these because, for you, me, and millions of people, this communal shock we’re all experiencing is not some abstract horror… it’s because there is connectivity to a world that was foundational and integral for the Reiner family at large—beginning with Carl. A rare quality, and a heartfelt ambition and skillset not easily or readily pursued or achieved by us mortals. The tragedy vibrates heavier because this loss of life carries also the tragic loss of an ethereal paradigm of humanity that has been radically diminishing.

So where, on this cold morning, did I find some solace?

In a book. On the bottom of page 406, within the chapter entitled “Exit Lines.” A quote from actor Charlotte Rae:

“Be a generous human being and relate to each other…”

The author of that book for actors opined that Ms. Rae’s advice “is probably the most needed guidance…” and “most often ignored. We have lapses… We stop listening to those around us who support and encourage our goals.”

Rob and Michelle Reiner lived to support and encourage our goals. We listened. We heard. We were joyful. But now we have horror. We are grieving the loss of the Reiners, plus their past encouragement. Our working through this loss now requires us to carry forward as the Reiners did: be generous human beings. Relate to each other.