Emily Rainbow Davis

Emily Rainbow Davis

@erainbowd.bsky.social

Theatre Artist, Writer, Shakespeare Geek, Feldenkrais-er, Blogger, Podcaster

1.1K followers1.9K following488 posts

Emily Rainbow Davis reposted

Marisa Kabas
@marisakabas.bsky.social

The only reason I can think of for this news not being absolutely everywhere is that large media orgs don’t want to be seen as putting their thumbs on the scales a week before election day. And that’s cowardly as shit.

Marisa Kabas@marisakabas.bsky.social

Beyond disgusted by even more rape allegations against the President of the United States. "In total, more than 25 different women...have independently accused Donald Trump of rape, sexual assault, or other sexual misconduct." Report w/ new details: democrats-judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-su...

Emily Rainbow Davis
@erainbowd.bsky.social

What I said to the guy who told me he didn't want to discourage me. And why.

artiststruggle.wordpress.comI’m Un-discouragableAt the cocktail party, the business guy I was talking to heard I was looking for a producer and took me to go meet someone who “helps with monetization.” It wasn’t quite the match he was thinking it would be but, in the conversation, the monetization guy told me about his business in South Africa and I told him about my theatre company.
Emily Rainbow Davis
@erainbowd.bsky.social

I talked to several presenters who really enjoyed this context so I know I may be on my own on this one. But, just to be clear for anyone who might want to bring me in to speak...

artiststruggle.wordpress.comI Want Your Full AttentionAt Podcast Movement, we were given headphones with which to tune into the various presentations happening around the space. The technology allowed for multiple presentations to happen in the same room at the same time. This is very practical and I understand why they made this choice. We can all be doing different things, listening to different things in the same room at once.
Emily Rainbow Davis
@erainbowd.bsky.social

I'm definitely not sorry I went but this podcast conference was a wildly un-nerving experience.

artiststruggle.wordpress.comWho Podcast Movement Was ForOn the latest season of "The Girlfriends" podcast, they’ve been looking at the stewardesses who made big changes for their industry back in the 60s. One of the things that keeps jumping out at me is how the entire industry was based on the assumption that the passengers would be men. Everything was constructed for the men riding the planes. The men had to be made comfortable.

Emily Rainbow Davis reposted

Kasey Gifford
@kaseygifford.bsky.social

To put this in perspective chestnut trees used to be dominant species in the United States. Billions of trees were killed by fungal blight and now fully grown America chestnuts are functionally extinct. There is no getting them back. Ever. All for a data center. www.gadgetreview.com/one-of-ameri...

gadgetreview.comOne of America’s Last Chestnut Groves Is About to Be Destroyed for a Data CenterA rare 200-tree American chestnut grove in West Virginia may be cleared for data-center development, but the project denies the site is on its land.
Emily Rainbow Davis
@erainbowd.bsky.social

Sometimes it feels like only numbers matter. Like, a show with a tiny audience doesn't count.

artiststruggle.wordpress.comWhat CountsGoing through the process of writing up the retrospective brought up a lot of unexpected emotions. I felt such a swirl of feelings, it was hard to identify them all or to pinpoint what was triggering them. One thing that came through the swirl was a sadness around how few people saw the bulk of our work. There were so many shows that I felt very proud of, that only a handful of people ever experienced.

Emily Rainbow Davis reposted

Electronic Frontier Foundation
@eff.org

Whether you're new to WhatsApp or a longtime user, there are a bunch of settings buried away that can help improve your security. ssd.eff.org/module/how-...

ssd.eff.orgHow to: Use WhatsAppSome of WhatsApp's most useful security features are not enabled by default. You'll need to actively go in and set them up yourself (and ask your contacts to do the same!). Download location: Google Play Store or Apple App Store System requirements: Android 5 or later, iOS 15.1 or later...
Emily Rainbow Davis
@erainbowd.bsky.social

Setting up my profile on Backstage revealed some ageism baked right into their system.

artiststruggle.wordpress.comAgeism In the Architecture of Casting StructuresYou’re not going to believe this but acting is a very ageist business. It’s a craft of illusions – so generally, actors try and avoid letting others know how old they are. This is extra magnified for women. In the last handful of years, I’ve noticed quite a few actors I know actively lying about their age. Previously folks just didn’t say.
Emily Rainbow Davis
@erainbowd.bsky.social

I don't remember EVERY compliment given to me. But the odds are better than average that I will remember the person delivering it.

artiststruggle.wordpress.comAnother Reason to Compliment Someone’s ArtworkLately, when I go to arts events in my city, I don’t know anyone. I don’t know the current artistic director of the space I’m in. I don’t recognize any faces in the crowd. When it comes time to mingle, I’m starting absolutely at ground zero, as if I just moved here, as opposed to living and making work here for over a quarter of a century.
Emily Rainbow Davis
@erainbowd.bsky.social

"We've got spirit, yes, we do! We've got spirit, how about you?"

artiststruggle.wordpress.comLady Disdain Gets Some School SpiritWhile looking for my yearbooks in anticipation of attending my high school reunion, I stumbled upon a newspaper produced by the yearbook staff. It was a compendium of Senior Wills. They are mostly sweet messages of what kids are leaving behind as they graduate, lists of memories or celebrations of friendships. Not yours truly. Nope. Mine read: “I, Emily Davis, leave you luck in surviving and changing the system.”
Emily Rainbow Davis
@erainbowd.bsky.social

We heard we should do something big for my company's 25th birthday but somehow we're not gala people (yet!) so I just wrote a little retrospective

artiststruggle.wordpress.comTwenty-Five Years of Messenger Theatre CompanyEvery year on my birthday, I take myself through a process based on Best Year Yet. I do my own condensed version, which boils down to making a list of accomplishments, a list of disappointments, a list of what I learned, setting some goals and then distilling it all into a motto for the coming year. As my theatre company approaches its…
Emily Rainbow Davis
@erainbowd.bsky.social

I always imagined there was some jobby job out there waiting for me when I finally gave up this #GenX vagabond artist life. Looks like, no. Even the people who want jobby jobs can't get them anymore. Ooof.

Ghoulie DiCaro@juliedicaro.bsky.social

Resharing because I’ve heard from so many women, in the US and abroad, who are in the same boat. This is a global phenomenon.

losingmyperspicacity.beehiiv.comGenX women are washed, apparentlyLosing My Perspicacity, July 27, 2026
Emily Rainbow Davis
@erainbowd.bsky.social

Hey it's the weekend! Are you out dancing? Is it Gen X night? I have some notes for the DJ.

artiststruggle.wordpress.comHang the DJ**Gen X pop music reference to a song by The Smiths, in which Morrissey sings “Hang the DJ” alongside a jaunty tune. No actual hanging wanted here! It was Gen X dance night and the DJ was spinning the hits that made the crowd of GenX-ers go crazy. But he was younger than us and so he probably did not dance to these songs when they came out.
Emily Rainbow Davis
@erainbowd.bsky.social

My friend and I have a running bit that everything could be improved with the addition of Mr. T. We've seen a lot of plays that really could have used him. My day has been improved by reading this article about him, for example The story of how he named himself Mr T is as powerful as his presence

Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò@olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social

""What did he study? “Philosophy and theology. A teacher in high school said, there’s no money in that, and I said: ‘Sir, that’s disrespectful. That’s insulting, because not everybody’s about money.’" he's one of us!

theguardian.com‘I don’t chase the dollar. I never did’: the astonishing hidden life of Mr THe grew up in the ghetto, became a global superstar – then gave it all up. Why did he step away from the spotlight?

Emily Rainbow Davis reposted

Tuta
@tuta.com

If you have a Gmail account, you need to read this. Google's AI now scans your emails and attachments, bank statements, tax files, medical letters, all of it. It turned on by default, and there's a class-action lawsuit over how. Here are 5 moves to shut it off, the switch is hidden in two places:

Emily Rainbow Davis
@erainbowd.bsky.social

I haven't done a rejection post in over two years. That's not because I've stopped getting rejected; I just got a little bored saying the same stuff all the time. Well, this one's new!

artiststruggle.wordpress.comThe Most Ridiculous Rejection Thus FarIf you’ve been with me on this journey for a while, you’ll know that I often catalogue my rejections.* This was at the suggestion of one of my patrons on Patreon as a way to help take a little of the sting out of rejection and also to supplement the funds lost to the myriad of application fees. Writing about rejection (and then getting paid for those pieces by my patrons) has encouraged me to apply for a lot of stuff that would have otherwise been cost prohibitive.
Emily Rainbow Davis
@erainbowd.bsky.social

Well, golly. I met a sweet journalist in Providence and now I've turned up in her article about the Rhode Island International Film Festival - even though it's mostly about Rhode Island artists. motifri.com/flickers-44-...

motifri.comFlickers 44: Celebrating film from around the world and right here in the Ocean State – MotifThe Rhode Island International Film Festival, also known as Flickers, took place August 4 through August 9, bringing filmmakers, actors, industry professionals, and film lovers from around the world to the Ocean State.
Emily Rainbow Davis
@erainbowd.bsky.social

Oh, did a month in the country cure your migraines? I AM happy for you. But skeptical, none the less.

artiststruggle.wordpress.comA Month in a Cottage Won’t Do ItSomeone in the migraine subreddit made a post about curing herself of migraines by spending a month in a cottage by herself, doing some psychological exercises. This kind of post usually generates a wide split of responses. There are those that are glad to have something else to try. There are those that wish they had the privilege of taking a month in a cottage and those that have the flavor of that…
Emily Rainbow Davis
@erainbowd.bsky.social

Hey look, it's me getting a mention in @fictionpodcastwkly.bsky.social! So cool. Thank you!

Messenger Theatre Company@messengertheatre.bsky.social

Hey look, it's us, getting some congratulations in Fiction Podcast Weekly! Thanks @fictionpodcastwkly.bsky.social for the shout out! fiction-podcast-weekly.beehiiv.com/p/audio-indi...

fiction-podcast-weekly.beehiiv.comAudio Indies, Ad-skipping could be the last straw, Podcast Radar, French and German opportunities with Aug 31st deadlines, PlotLab, casting calls, and elephant seal bellowsPlus, Tom Webster's stupid radio and why it's smart, how to write a logline, how to make a sound design reel, Jeffrey Cranor's writing advice, The Moth for students, and much more.
Emily Rainbow Davis
@erainbowd.bsky.social

I had three question based blogs that were all a little too short so I just put them together. You can just choose your favorite question if you want. Two are pretty typical.

artiststruggle.wordpress.comThree Questions I Was Asked RecentlyAre You Still in the Arts? I went to my high school reunion for the first time recently. As I’ve discovered through my college reunions, there was not nearly as much comparing of an early self to the current self as I’d expected. There’s also a lot fewer “What do you do?” kinds of conversations than I imagined. The most specific question I got in this arena was, “Are you still in the Arts?” I said, “Yep,” and she was well satisfied.