March's Featured Artist

PoorArts.com: I find your work on the "development" side of the artistic industry interesting. A lot of people never see the intersection of art and commerce. What is working in development like?

Nicole Rivera: I love working in development and production. You get to read everything-- scripts, unpublished manuscripts, pitches. . . and it's all about finding the potential in each piece and in each writer or director or actor. It can be discouraging at times (there are a LOT of bad scripts out there) but it is mostly inspiring and exciting. Film is especially collaborative, with so many people having a hand in the final project, but in development and production you really get to work closely with the writers and directors to shape and guide a project from start to finish. You have to be creative but also practical, artistic but also knowledgeable about the business side of it all (the skill I need to sharpen most!).

PA: You're also a midwestern transplant living and working in New York. What has that brought to your writing?

NR: I think it's true-- you can take the girl out of Ohio but . . . I've lived in New York for almost 7 years, but I still find myself wide-eyed and so excited that I actually live here. I think a lot of my writing reflects who I was when I was growing up there versus this sense that I can be anyone I want to be here. There's a certain ambivalence about wanting to belong to one place, a certain nostalgia about leaving people and places behind, and definitely a sense of excitement and possibility about this place and the future here.

PA: Like many of our other artists, you've collaborated on some interesting projects. How do you approach collaboration and what specifically do you bring to a group project?

NR: I'm so much more creative when I'm collaborating. I love the idea that when you collaborate you sort of give birth to something that could never come from just one person-- once it's fully realized you can't pull apart the individual ideas or parts, but you know that it couldn't have been possible without your contribution. It's like being on a sports team-- you have to know when to lead and when to fall back.

PA: What can we expect to come from Thursday Morning Productions?

NR: Right now we're developing a children's television series, Growing Up With Gracie, which aims to empower kids with the magic and possibility in their everyday world. Shannon (the other founder of Thursday Morning Productions) and I became friends while sharing a nanny job for the same family. Many of our projects are for kids, but we also hope to produce and develop documentaries and other projects. Slowly but surely! . . .

PA: Shed some light on this: is it "the heart of rock and roll is still beatin'" OR "the heart of rock and roll is in Cleveland?" Some would say it's inconsequential, but I'm sure you'd disagree.

NR: That's a great question, Ken. I tend to believe that it's "The Heart of Rock and Roll is still beatin," but at any rate, Cleveland Rocks.