Category Archives: Uncategorized

“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, in the expert’s mind there are few.” -Shunryu Suzuki Know what Jack Nicklaus, the greatest golfer of his time and arguably of all time, would do after every golf season? No matter how successful it went? He’d return home to work with Jack Grout, his childhood teacherContinue reading “Beginner’s Mind”

Just like baseball, it’s really hard to practice acting on your own. You can do a bunch of drills and such to stay sharp, but it’s just not the same as playing in a game or being in a play or film. Acting is, by far, the most collaborative of all the artforms. As such,Continue reading “Acting and Baseball”

“Deliberate practice is characterized by several elements, each worth examining. It is activity designed specifically to improve performance, often with a teacher’s help; it can be repeated a lot; feedback on results is continuously available; it’s highly demanding mentally, whether the activity is purely intellectual, such as chess or business-related activities, or heavily physical, suchContinue reading “10,000 To 1”

Make no mistake, when you hire a director, you are signing on for that person’s taste and spirit. Which will then inform everything about your project. Have you done your due diligence? Are you absolutely certain their two elements are aligned with what you want for this production and this experience?

I love podcasts. I love listening to plays. When they’re good, oh man, the imagination just runs wild. LA Theatre Works does a phenomenal job. Check them out if you’re not already familiar. This got me thinking… The next time you write a play or a screenplay, what if when you finished, no matter what,Continue reading “Turn It Into A Podcast?”

How to know if this is the play you want to produce? Assuming you found something you love, so much so that you’re even considering it for production, ask yourself two questions: (1) “Do I think that with my passion and the resources and talent at my disposal, I can do a production that’s asContinue reading “How To Know?”

So much of this blog and The Vs. Studio is about doing things for nothing other than pure love of the art. Circumstances and outcomes be damned. That’s why Rodney Mullen devoted his life to skateboarding. Check out the short doc “Rodney Mullen: From The Ground Up“. It’s inspiring. Warning: After watching, you might justContinue reading “Freestyle”

I have several friends and colleagues who’ve studied with the late great actor, comedian, director and drama teacher, Charles Nelson Reilly. They’re all very talented artists in their own right, which coupled with how fondly they speak of Mr. Reilly, makes me wish I had the chance to study with him. Their stories are soContinue reading ““If You Wanna Go, Then GO!””

“To make a great film you need three things – the script, the script and the script”. -Alfred Hitchcock The legendary sound and film editor Walter Murch (talk about a filmography!) revealed on a recent podcast the elements he looks for in a project before signing on. It needs to have (paraphrasing) “a great script,Continue reading “Two Out Of Three Ain’t Bad”

Starfish (A poem by Mary Oliver) In the sea rocks,in the stone pocketsunder the tide’s lip,in water dense as blindness they slidlike sponges,like too many thumbs.I knew this, and what I wanted was to draw my hands backfrom the water – what I wantedwas to be willingto be afraid. But I stayed there,I crouched onContinue reading “The Starfish Story”