The Vs. Studio Blog

“Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice, and discipline.” -Jim Collins, book Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don’t

“Spend less time trying to find motivation and more time making good habits the path of least resistance.” -James Clear

“For a man walking a thousand miles it is absolutely necessary to set aside his final goal and to say to himself each morning: ‘Today I will walk twenty-five miles to a resting place and sleep,’ and during each day’s journey reaching that resting place eclipses his ultimate goal and becomes his sole focus.” -Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace

To be great, you just need to be pretty good. Every single day. Over and over again. For an inordinately long period of time.

True greatness lies in your ability to just show up no matter what, without fail, especially on the days you don’t feel like it.

Not as easy as it sounds. Yet also easy if you love the thing you’re trying to be great at.

“Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, then life is a broken winged bird that cannot fly.” -Langston Hughes

“Without dreams and goals there is no living, only merely existing, and that is not why we are here.” -Mark Twain

Instead of giving up on your dreams, why not just create new ones? Start fresh. Get excited again! And while you’re at it, make sure you also spend time dreaming about the process.

No dreams. No life.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes, turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes, don’t tell them to grow up and out of it
Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes, turn and face the strange
Ch-ch-changes, where’s your shame?
You’ve left us up to our necks in it
Time may change me, but you can’t trace time -song “Changes” by David Bowie

“Change is the only constant in life…No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.” -Heraclitus

I really wanna know
Oh, I really wanna know
Come on, tell me, who are you, you, you?
Oh, who are you? -song “Who Are You? by The Who

“Change requires letting a former version of yourself die. Therefore, maturity is a series of small funerals for the people you used to be.” -Mark Manson

You aren’t the same person you were yesterday, let alone ten years ago. Stop trying to chase down that version or live that person’s dream.

Who are you NOW? That’s all that matters.

Who you were yesterday is a sunk cost. Thank that person for the experience and move on.

Embrace the change.

“Angels can fly because they can take themselves lightly.” -G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy

“Humor is an attitude, a survivor’s way of looking at life.” -Michael Shurtleff, Audition

What often separates sublime writing or acting from the ordinary is a sense of humor.

It’s also the key to a healthy marriage or really, any relationship.

Hard to maintain, especially when things aren’t going well.

But it’s everything.

Strive to find it in all you do, say and think. You and everyone around you will be better for it.

Speaking of theatre and fundraising and economics, another major reason why, just like Blanche Dubois, theatre will always rely on “the kindness of strangers” has to do with something called The Baumol Effect (also termed “Baumol’s Cost Disease”).

In fact, it might be the single most important economic concept for understanding nonprofit theatre.

Economists William Baumol and William Bowen developed the theory in the 1960s. Their central observation was that certain labor-intensive activities cannot achieve the productivity gains found in manufacturing and technology.

Consider a production of A Streetcar Named Desire.

In 1966, you needed actors, designers, technicians, stage managers and a theatre.

In 2026, you still need actors, designers, technicians, stage managers and a theatre.

You can’t make a production twice as productive simply by asking six people to do the work of twelve. Meanwhile, wages, benefits, insurance, facilities and other expenses have increased.

Theatre production costs rise with the broader economy, but theatre productivity cannot increase at the same rate.

This creates a structural funding gap.

What increasingly fills the gap?

You guessed it: The kindness of donors.

“I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.” -Blanch Dubois in A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams

If you’re starting a theatre or just doing a one-off production, make no mistake, you will have to rely on the generosity of people to help make it happen.

Consider this statistic (according to Theatre Communications Group): In 1964, the average nonprofit theatre derived 85% of their revenues from earned income (i.e. subscriptions and single ticket sales) and 15% from contributed income (i.e. donations and grants). In 2024, it was 40% from earned income and 60% from contributed. (Some smaller nonprofit theaters report 20% earned and 80% contributed!)

That is a seismic shift.

Why did it occur?

There are several reasons including the decline in subscriptions, ticket prices not keeping up with production costs and audience levels still down 25% from pre pandemic levels, among others.

In your fundraising efforts, you should educate donors on this trend. Just like you know why you’re making your art, they need to know why they should fund your art.

P.S. – The below 3 part Freakonomics podcast is an excellent educational resource:

Part One (Episode 629): “How Is Live Theater Still Alive?”: https://freakonomics.com/podcast/how-is-live-theater-still-alive/

Part Two: (Episode 630): “On Broadway, Nobody Knows Nothing”: https://freakonomics.com/podcast/on-broadway-nobody-knows-nothing/

Part Three: (Episode 631): “Will 3 Summers of Lincoln Make it to Broadway?”: https://freakonomics.com/podcast/will-3-summers-of-lincoln-make-it-to-broadway/

“A book must be the axe for the frozen sea inside us.” -Franz Kafka

Art is supposed to make you feel something.

That doesn’t mean it’s supposed to make you feel good.

A personal theatre story…

Years ago, I played “Bobby” in John Kolvenbach’s incredible play, On An Average Day, at Victory Gardens Theatre in Chicago. Certainly a highlight of my acting life.

After one performance, I was catching up with some good friends who had come to see the show. Standing behind them was a rather large, intimidating-looking man. Big bushy hair, long thick beard…Intense.

He appeared to be going through something. Pacing back and forth, shaking his head, trying to compose himself.

After a few minutes, I asked him if he was okay.

He looked at me, choking back tears, and all he could say, over and over, was:

“Man, why’d you have to DO that? I don’t understand….Why’d you have to DO that to me? I don’t want to feel this shit…”

He kept trying to find the words, but couldn’t. Tears streamed down his face. Finally, he apologized and walked away.

My friends and I just stood there, stunned.

Later that night, I described the incident to a few people in the company, including our light board operator.

She said, “Yeah…that was my Dad. I invited him to the show….I’ve never seen him do that. Never seen him cry in my entire life.”

That night will forever stick with me.

Go make your art.

Go make them feel.

“For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them.”-Aristotle

“Knowledge gives you the idea. Lived experience gives you the evidence. And lived experience changes us in a way information rarely can.” -Veronica Joce

“We learn even as we teach.” -Seneca, Letters to Lucilius, Letter 7

“If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” -Albert Einstein

In order to really learn something, you can read about the thing, but at some point, you’re gonna have to just do the thing.

And if you really, really want to learn something, after you’ve done the thing, then go and teach the thing to someone else. That will tell you if you actually know the thing.

The next time a friend tells you about something they’re thinking of doing for the first time and you sense some hesitation on their part…like taking a class or seeing a play or going to a party or visiting a museum or trying out a new restaurant or volunteering for a cause, etc…Immediately respond with “I’ll go with you.”

And then go with them.

It’s one of the most generous acts of friendship you can do.

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” -Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

“If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” -Ben Franklin

“A good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan next week.” -George S. Patton

“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.” -Yogi Berra

Before embarking on a potential passion project, a good question to ask yourself is “What’s your plan?” Or “How do you see this working out?” (This is also a question you can ask a friend or family member who comes to you with their idea of a project or even what they might want to do for a career.)

By no means do you need to have some perfect plan or everything thought through from start to finish. But you should be able to answer, in a few rough words, the following questions:

“What is my goal or objective?”

“Why am I doing this?”

“Who is this for? What is this for?”

“What does success look like?” (Both maximally and minimally.)

If you have answers, then great. Get going!

If not, get going on coming up with your answers. Then, get going!