Author Archives: thevsstudioblog

Inaugurals are always exciting. They represent something new. The “first of” something. A blank slate. A clean start. But really we should think of them as marking the halfway point. Like zero on a number line. A ton of hard work happens before the inaugural event that often goes un-noticed. The political and “get outContinue reading “Inaugural = Halfway”

Learn the lines exactly as written. Every word, every pause, every punctuation mark. That writer sweated the details. They poured over the script hundreds if not thousands of times to get the rhythm just right. It’s a gift of a part you now hold in your hands. The least you can do is learn theContinue reading “Learn The Lines”

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“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial ‘outside agitator’ idea. Anyone who lives inside the United States can never beContinue reading “Letter From A Birmingham Jail”

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A common goal-setting exercise is to ask yourself the question, “What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?” It’s designed to help unlock all sorts of dreams, desires and thoughts inside you, some maybe you didn’t even know you had. It’s a wonderful creative exercise to unleash the subconscious. But let’s flip theContinue reading “What Would You Do If You Knew You Were Gonna Fail?”

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“More people went to the theatre in London when I was reviewing then went to Church. This would be a very good thing if the theatre took itself seriously. As a factory of thought. Of social conduct. An armory against despair and dullness. And a temple of the ascent of [humankind].” -George Bernard Shaw ItContinue reading “It Takes A Lunatic”

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“What if I come with you Lee?…What if I come out with you to the desert?” –True West by Sam Shepard “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” -African Proverb Yeah, you could go at it alone. But it’s nowhere near as fun as when youContinue reading “Co-Conspirators”

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“Reason shows us there is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.” -Seneca, Letters To A Stoic “Every being in the universe is an expression of the Tao. It springs into existence, unconscious, perfect, free, takes on a physical body, lets circumstances complete it. That is why every being spontaneously honors theContinue reading ““Thanks For Everything””

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“At dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: “I have to go to work — as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I’m going to do what I was born for — the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is this whatContinue reading “Trouble Getting Out Of Bed”

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“The world is violent and mercurial–it will have its way with you. We are saved by love–love for each other and the love that we pour into the art we feel compelled to share: being a parent; being a writer; being a painter; being a friend. We live in a perpetually burning building, and whatContinue reading “Love And Art”

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If you doubt that your art can make a difference, consider just one example… When the Continental Army were struggling to survive a long, brutal winter at Valley Forge, George Washington decided to stage a play, Cato by Joseph Addison, to lift their spirits. You can’t predict what effect your art will have. But youContinue reading “The Power Of Your Art”

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