Category Archives: Uncategorized

“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 toContinue reading “A Sense of Humor”

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 WilliamContinue reading “The Baumol Effect”

“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 CommunicationsContinue reading “Donor Education”

“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 inContinue reading “It’s Supposed To Make You 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 youContinue reading “Knowing 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 withContinue reading ““I’ll Go With You.””

“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.” -YogiContinue reading ““What’s Your Plan?””

“If you are able to act ‘without forcing,’ your life is spontaneous, a life that is so of itself, natural, not forced, and not unduly self-conscious.” -Alan Watts In the pursuit of knowledge,every day something is added.In the practice of the Tao,every day something is dropped.Less and less do you need to force things,until finallyContinue reading “Wu Wei”

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” -Philippians 4:6 “Anxiety is the overestimation of danger and the underestimation of our ability to cope.” -Fr. Mike Schmitz “Worrying is like a rocking chair; it gives you something to do, but it getsContinue reading “Concerned or Worried?”

If you want to shrink something,you must first allow it to expand.If you want to get rid of something,you must first allow it to flourish. -“Tao Te Ching” by Lao-Tzu (Stephen Mitchell translation) “Almost all good writing begins with terrible first efforts. You need to start by somewhere. Start by getting something—anything—down on paper.”-Anne LamottContinue reading “Write, Then Excise”