“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” -Mike Tyson
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit,” -Aristotle
“We first make our habits, then our habits make us.” -John Dryden
You can have the greatest plans in the world, but if you don’t have good habits, there is no way those plans get executed.
Because the minute you feel a bit of pressure or life doesn’t go your way or you just don’t feel like doing something, those plans go right out the window.
And all you have left is your habits.
So before making any plans, choose (and form) good habits.
I started The Vs. Studio with this mission: “To help artists find and manifest the work they are passionate about, and to do so with excellence and generosity. For themselves, their fellow artists and the audience they seek to serve.”
Marisa Van Den Borre has been passionate about the play IRONBOUND by Martyna Majok for years. In fact, she sponsored IRONBOUND as the very first Vs. Zoom Reading back in March, 2020. It was a terrific reading and night.
Wanting to go further, Marisa took part in last year’s Vs. producing workshop. At the end of the eight weeks, her and her husband Chad performed a scene from IRONBOUND for our live invited presentation. The scene rocked and Marisa received tons of encouraging feedback.
And now, almost one year later, I am thrilled to announce that it’s turned into a full production! A dream come true for Marisa who is spectacular in it. As is Chad and the rest of the ensemble. I am so incredibly proud to see this project come to fruition and have The Vs. Studio co-produce.
IRONBOUND opened to a packed house last week and this weekend is already sold out. The reviews have been stellar including a “Top Ten” in Stage Raw. It’s a limited run so after this week, there are three remaining performances: Thursday, May 14th at 8p, Saturday, May 16th at 8p. Sunday, May 17th at 2p. At The Mandani Theater in Hollywood. There are still some seats for all three shows, but don’t wait as they will sell out. Tix/Info Here. Use discount code “VS” for $25 seats.
I sincerely hope you can come see it. Thanks in advance for doing so and way to go Marisa!
P.S. – I’m also hosting a special Vs. night and talkback about the producing process on Monday, May 11th. However that show is sold out. (And note: No Tuesday Vs. reading on May 12th. We’ll be back on Tuesday, May 19th)
P.P.S. – H/t to Chad for tweaking our original Vs. Theatre logo (originally designed by Liesel Kopp) and coming up with The Vs. Studio logo pictured above.
I’ve grown a goiter by dwelling in this den— As cats from stagnant streams in Lombardy, Or in what other land they hap to be— Which drives the belly close beneath the chin: My beard turns up to heaven: my nape falls in, Fixed on my spine: my breast-bone visibly Grows like a harp: a rich embroidery Bedews my face from brush-drops thick and thin. -excerpt from poem “On The Painting Of The Sistin Chapel” by Michelangelo
“I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.” -Michelangelo
The process, the grind, the story, the heroic feat behind the making of the art is just as revered and valued, if not more so, than the actual art itself.
“Nobody knows anything…… Not one person in the entire motion picture field knows for a certainty what’s going to work. Every time out it’s a guess and, if you’re lucky, an educated one.” -William Goldman
“George Lucas was very sure that Star Wars would be a flop and did not attend the premiere because he was convinced it would be a failure. He went on vacation to Hawaii with Steven Spielberg, and during that trip, they came up with the idea for Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Many other people, including most of his director friends, also thought the film would not succeed.
Lucas’s belief in the film’s failure stemmed from negative test screenings where the rough cut, which still had placeholder effects, confused and disappointed people.
The studio was also convinced the movie would fail and agreed to Lucas’s request to give up a higher salary in exchange for keeping the film’s merchandising and sequel rights, a decision that ultimately made him a billionaire.” -Cinema Shorts
There’s a thin line between a hit and a flop. Very thin.
And nobody knows how or where to cross it.
Don’t give up.
Keep going.
Go make your art.
P.S. – We had a great Vs. Tuesday Night Reading this evening of THE MAKING by Dan Aibel. All about the behind the scenes of STAR WARS. Nobody knew about that film either.
“Learning to choose is hard. Learning to choose well is harder. And learning to choose well in a world of unlimited possibilities is harder still, perhaps too hard”. -Barry Schwartz, book The Paradox Of Choice
Traditional economics is all about scarcity. We want everything, but we can’t have everything, so we must choose.
But perhaps today, especially in wealthy countries like the United States, we need a new economics. An economics that teaches us how to choose amidst an abundance of options. Like what we eat, what we read, what we watch, and how we spend our time.
In some ways, it might be harder to choose when you can have everything. But nonetheless, you must choose. So choose wisely my friend.
“Your problem is not the outside world, your problem is the story you’re telling yourself about the outside world. And that story is a choice. If you’re not happy with the story, tell yourself another story. Period. That simple.” -Seth Godin
“The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts.” -Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
“It turns out that positive thinking doesn’t help you do everything, but it helps you do anything better than negative thinking.” -Seth Godin
Speaking of telling better stories, Billy Oppenheimer’s recent “Six At Six” newsletter (always excellent and I highly recommend) is full of stories about people who transformed their lives simply by telling themselves better stories about their lives. You can read it here.
“Early is on time, on time is late, and late is unacceptable!” -Eric Jerome Dickey
One giant life hack and a way to avoid being in a hurry and then subsequently, harried…
Once you determine what time you need to set your alarm in order to wake up and get everything you need to get done and then drive to that audition, meeting, interview, appointment, etc. so that you can then be on time for it…
…Go back and set your alarm for fifteen minutes earlier than you originally thought.
This one will pay off enormously. (Especially if you’re a person who is often late or barely on time.)
Sometimes you don’t get the credit you do deserve.
But if you just do the work for the work’s sake and do it to the best of your ability, because that’s just who you are…you won’t care who gets credit at all.
“When we’re able to put most of our energy into developing our natural talents, extraordinary room for growth exists. So, a revision to the ‘You-can-be-anything-you-want-to-be” maxim might be more accurate: You cannot be anything you want to be—but you can be a lot more of who you already are.’ -Tom Rath
What’s the thing that comes very easy to you, but doesn’t for others? (Perhaps people even tell you as much.)
What innate talent do you take for granted?
What do you love or is fun to do?
Those questions are all ways to figure out your world class strength.
Once you find it, do everything you can to develop and harness it.
Whether or not it becomes your career, it can lead to an extraordinary life. One in which you provide an enormous service to the world.
“Epictetus says to think of ourselves as actors in a play. We can’t choose our roles, and they can be switched at any time without warning.” -novel, Go Gentle by Maria Semple
“The problem is that the vast majority of us think that we are the directors, writers, and above all, stars of our own ‘ego-dramas’… Of course, our dramas are always uninteresting, even if we are playing the lead role. The key is to find the role that God has designed for us” -Bishop Robert Barron
“There are no small parts, only small actors.” -Konstantin Stanislavski
All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players -Shakespeare, As You Like It
Once you figure out your role in the play that the universe has in mind for you, no matter how big or small you perceive it to be, go play it with all your heart, soul, mind and strength.
It’s not about you. It’s about the play.
Your whole life will change once you fully accept and live this out.
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