Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Chris Berryman. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Chris, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
My journey has been a winding and unexpected one. I started off as an actor, fleeing to New York after college, where I played various small roles in theatre and on TV while continuing to train. Eventually, in 2011, I came back to Michigan broke and exhausted, but I also felt overwhelmed by a need to mount my own productions.
Then, the writing bug, a big part of my childhood, bit again. I now juggle fiction, non-fiction, and screenwriting projects with my theatrical pursuits, which are mostly in guerrilla-style indie films and with my project, Detroit Theatre Collective. This can be invigorating and almost schizophrenic.
Through the years, one of the biggest things I’ve learned is trust—trust in that small inner voice. I think it’s important for anyone trying to put something together that’s fresh and exciting to them. We don’t have to accept the role society has given us to play; we’re free to break out of the mold and do what feels right, in the way that feels right. When I do, I’ve noticed that mysterious forces tend to support my endeavors. I love what Julia Cameron says about taking initiative: “Leap and the net will appear.”
Chris, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
I’ve been imagining lurid scenarios and bossing friends around since childhood. I started Detroit Theatre Collective, a pop-up performance company, in 2013.
Upcoming work with DTC includes Fallen Angels, an immersive outdoor event based on the Book of Enoch; Ciclo de Tango, a mixed-media dance show; and stripped-down productions of plays by great American playwrights such as Tennessee Williams.
As a writer, I published Flying Saucer Visions, an illustrated sci-fi journey, in 2021. My screenplay, 11 Months, was a semi-finalist in the 2023 Rhode Island International Film Festival Competition. I’m also co-writing an episodic series with actress and filmmaker Kathi J. Moore. A “sequel” to Flying Saucer Visions is coming soon!
I’m pleased to live in Detroit at this exciting time of progress, diverse culture, and revitalization. I think Michigan is a place that supports a person’s initiative to start something new. The local communities, up north or downstate, seem generally open and welcoming to anything that might enhance people’s lives. I understand why people from other places want to move here.
How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?
When I hear slogans like “support local theater” or “support the arts”, I get cranky and confused. The arts are not a charity. They exist to support us, to challenge and inspire us.
That being said, I understand first-hand the problems related to funding individual projects and maintaining a company or space long-term. There can be a lot of red tape and a constant reliance on public and private grants, fundraising campaigns, and donors.
It seems like there must be an easier business path for creative leaders in America. I’m still figuring out what that could be. New community-based funding models exist; one successful example was our Sinead O’Connor tribute benefit at Detroit’s Gaelic League in 2019 that also benefited the Ruth Ellis Foundation. Detroit Theatre Collective did a spooky on-site performance piece about an Irish ghost, and a handful of fine, enthusiastic musicians played Sinead’s songs. The place was utterly packed, and it funded our next production.
I continue to brainstorm. In the meantime, it may help if people see the arts as part of their spiritual foundation, a special place they continuously go to for rejuvenation. Seek out excellence—what really speaks to you—and support it like a church.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
Contact Info:
- Website: www.detroit-collective.com | www.berrymanbooks.com
- Instagram: @chrisberrymanauthor
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/detroitheatrecollective | www.facebook.com/chrisberrymanauthor
Image Credits
For Image 1 (seated on floor, talking to critter in the cage): photo by TJ Samuels/Uberhubris Sinead O’Connor poster design by Eric Patrick Kelly Cat illustration by Sheng-Mei Li (from Flying Saucer Visions by Chris Berryman)