Rose: would we ever take this on if we knew what all we’d come up against? 

me: for sure…do you not feel that way? 

Rose: that’d we’d take it on? or that we wouldnt? maybe we would, but I think most people would say “it’s too much work, uncertainty, and we don’t have the experience”

That was Rose and I about a week ago, breaking up our seemingly endless formal email correspondence with a much needed “Bring-it-on-typos” G-mail chat. While I would prefer to spare you from most of my chat discussions, this one got me thinking.

The issue of “experience” is an age-old recent college grad struggle. You get your degree, go on the job hunt, and lo and behold, posting after posting request years of experience for any given position. You can forget that entry-level job; it can’t pay your student loans and it doesn’t matter anyway because 30 (or these days, 300) people applied for it already. Granted that experience can be attained through internships and volunteerism in order to get that dream job. Nepotism has saved many of us. In general though, the truth of the matter is that you have to get lucky.

In this economy, the experience struggle has been magnified to the umpteenth degree. Never mind the college grads, we’re all moving back in with the folks as budgets are slashed and pickings become slimmer and slimmer. As we resign ourselves to simply making ends meet with whatever job will pay us, we start to ask ourselves, “What is a ‘real job’ anyway?”

And that’s where things get interesting. The amazing thing about graduating into this economy is that I’m seeing all this room for innovation. In a better economic climate, the pressure many young people feel to find that well-paid, all-American job is immense. In this one, the economy says, “Anything goes.”

“Oh, you want to start a production company and make eco-friendly television?” Right on.

A number of production team members went to see Alex Steffen speak at Town Hall last week. He touched on this idea as well. With the environment hurting and the economy shot, we have an amazing opportunity (and very urgent motives) for creativity. Bring on the Green Renaissance! (…Although that doesn’t sound quite romantic enough—I’ll work on the name.)

I will say that if you have an idea right now, I would recommend you develop a game plan and aim high. The sky is literally the limit when so many able minds are idly twiddling thumbs, plugged into their computers, and surfing Craigslist for their big break (gainfully employed or otherwise). Capitalize on these minds and their experience. Compose a dream team, a hodgepodge of experience, expertise and desire for change.

This is what Rose Thornton has done. ReGeneration Productions is made up of inspired and passionate people. We’re working to produce the brainchild of a woman who decided (after dabbling in the non-profit sector and securing stable employment in local government) that she wanted to follow her dreams. If some hard work and a little uncertainty is what it takes, then that’s just fine. We’re happy to be along for the ride.

Idealists and dreamers, this is your moment.

[Photo courtesy of http://i5.tinypic.com/14ni5op.jpg ]