Author Archives: thevsstudioblog

“Telemachos saw Athene and went straight to the forecourt, the heart within him scandalized that a guest should still be standing at the doors. He stood beside her and took her by the right hand, and relieved her of the bronze spear, and spoke to her and addressed her in winged words: ‘Welcome, stranger. YouContinue reading “Come From Away”

“So we struggle and we staggerDown the snakes and up the ladderTo the tower where the blessed hours chimeAnd I swear it happened just like this:A sigh, a cry, a hungry kissThe gates of love they budged an inchI can’t say much has happened sinceBut closing time.” -Leonard Cohen, Closing Time “Closing time, every newContinue reading “Closing Time?”

Some definitions of systems are as follows: A group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its environment, is described by its boundaries, structure and purpose and expressed in its functioning. A set of things working together asContinue reading “System Thinking”

“In times of national emergency, one fact is brought home to us, clearly and decisively—the fact that all of our rights are interdependent. The right of freedom of worship would mean nothing without freedom of speech. And the rights of free labor as we know them today could not survive without the rights of freeContinue reading “Labor Day”

Your art is good. But your messaging isn’t. That’s on you as a producer. Change your message. Change your story. Keep grinding. Keep iterating. Give people a more compelling reason to show up. And eventually they will. P.S. – Our Vs. production of STAND UP IF YOU’RE HERE TONIGHT has extended through September. We’ve beenContinue reading ““Why Isn’t Anyone Coming?””

“Talent renders the whole idea of rehearsal meaningless; when you find something at which you are talented, you do it (whatever it is) until your fingers bleed or your eyes are ready to fall out of your head. Even when no one is listening (or reading or watching), every outing is a bravura performance, becauseContinue reading ““On Writing” by Stephen King – Three Reasons”

“Live every second. Live right on to the end. Live Wyatt. Live for me.” -Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday in Tombstone (Hat tip to my friend Ron for recommending this excellent documentary.) I’ve always loved Val Kilmer as an actor. His performances as Jim Morrison in The Doors and Doc Holliday in Tombstone are inContinue reading “VAL: Three Reasons”

Here I amOn the road againThere I amUp on the stageHere I goPlayin’ star againThere I goTurn the page -Bob Seger from his song, “Turn The Page” As an Artistic Director of a theatre company, I get asked some form of this question a lot… “What’s the most important thing you look for in aContinue reading “Turn The Page”

The good news… You have more power than you think. The bad news (though I actually think it’s also good news or specifically, motivating news)… It’s later than you think. What are you waiting for? Go make your art.

But all the clocks in the cityBegan to whirr and chime:‘O let not Time deceive you,You cannot conquer Time. -W.H. Auden “As I Walked Out One Evening” poem Struggling with motivation? Add a ticking clock. It immediately gives you urgency and stakes. Just like it does for actors and writers in a scene, it worksContinue reading “Ticking Clock”