Author Archives: thevsstudioblog

“You have to know how to fail with happiness on your face. Just keep going. And never, never stop. Keep going.” -Winston Churchill You’ve decided you want to produce something. Great. Don’t expect affirmation. In fact, some will think it’s a bad idea. They’ll question your sanity. They might even try to talk you outContinue reading “No Expectations”

“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” -John Lennon It’s never a good time to produce a play. (Or launch any kind of passion project.) There’s always a holiday coming up or a potential trip or doctor appointment or…whatever. The calendar is never complicit. There’s always a reason not toContinue reading “It’s Never A Good Time”

“Just remember what ol’ Jack Burton does when the earth quakes, and the poison arrows fall from the sky, and the pillars of Heaven shake. Yeah, Jack Burton just looks that big ol’ storm right square in the eye and he says, “Give me your best shot, pal. I can take it.” -Jack Burton fromContinue reading “Shake The Pillars Of Heaven”

“How can you change who you are and learn what it takes to get up, over and over, if you can’t allow yourself to feel how much it hurts to be knocked down?…To be excellent at anything, it must cost you something.”” -Sally Field Actors are like firefighters in that they must do the exactContinue reading “Raw Yourself Up”

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about receiving feedback. Here are some thoughts about giving feedback… (1) Don’t agree to give feedback unless you truly have the time and energy required to do so….For example, don’t agree to read someone’s script if you’re too busy. (Note: I’m often guilty of this one) You shouldContinue reading “On Giving Feedback”

Playwrights… Yes, your play is absolutely meant to be performed. But why not take the extra time to make it a badass read as well?

In a 1996 essay, Bill Gates famously wrote “content is king.” I encourage you to read the essay, if for nothing else to see what he predicted right and wrong twenty five years later. It’s pretty fascinating. Many articles today such as this one argue that content is no longer king. Distribution is. That’s whyContinue reading “Is Content Still King?”

“We have the power to hold no opinion about a thing, and to not let it upset our state of mind—for things have no natural power to shape our judgments.”  -Marcus Aurelius “The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion.” -Paulo Coehlo “I criticize by creation, not by finding fault.” -Cicero BeContinue reading “No Opinion”

“Will is our internal power, which can never be affected by the outside world. It is our final trump card. If action is what we do when we still have some agency over our situation, the will is what we depend on when agency has all but disappeared. Placed in some situation that seems unchangeableContinue reading “Do You Have The Will?”

“I’m going to count to ten. I’m here. You’re there. You know what to do.” -John Kolvenbach, from his play Stand Up If You’re Here Tonight I was driving back today from a family beach trip and my friend Jason called. I said I needed to get home so I could write today’s blog post.Continue reading “Be Here Now”