“Just remember, kid, you can quicker get back a million dollars that was stole than a word that you gave away.” -Eddie Carbone in A View From The Bridge I recently saw a terrific production of Arthur Miller’s A View From The Bridge. (Thank you to my friend and wonderful actor Sal V. for invitingContinue reading “No Extra Mustard”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
For The Fans
“The idea that you won’t have to work to sell your product is more than entitled…Many creatives want to be just the creator, or only “the idea guy.” They like that because it’s sexy and because that’s what comes easy to us. But I suspect we like it also because we’re afraid. We’re afraid ofContinue reading “For The Fans”
Butts In The Seats
From the Urban Dictionary… butts in seats (also “bums in seats” and “butts in the seats”): spectators who have been drawn into a theatre or other entertainment by a low-brow, mass-appeal production. A reference to the economic demand on entertainment business producers to attract paid attendance. As a producer I often get asked the question,Continue reading “Butts In The Seats”
What Happens Next
“The task of the playwright is to make the audience wonder what is going to happen next…How does one entertain the audience? How does one make it wonder what happens next? How does one accomplish that? Through the structuring of a plot. That is what drama is, and that is the task of the dramatist.Continue reading “What Happens Next”
Inner And Outer
The Tao can’t be perceived.Smaller than an electron,it contains uncountable galaxies. If powerful men and womencould remain centered in the Tao,all things would be in harmony.The world would become a paradise.All people would be at peace,and the law would be written in their hearts. -Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tzu (Stephen Mitchell translation) “It’s common toContinue reading “Inner And Outer”
“The Best Play I’ve Ever Seen”
“Every time I go see a play, I’m hoping this will be the best play I’ve ever seen.” That’s what a friend and avid theatre-goer told me recently. While you can’t control whether your production will be judged that way, you can make it your goal. And if it’s not your goal, why exactly areContinue reading ““The Best Play I’ve Ever Seen””
A Reverse Bucket List
No, you can’t always get what you wantYou can’t always get what you wantYou can’t always get what you wantBut if you try sometime you’ll findYou get what you need Rolling Stones, song “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” “If you realize that you have enough, you are truly rich.” –Tao Te Ching byContinue reading “A Reverse Bucket List”
“It’s Just Happening”
For whatever your passion project, the secret to manifesting it isn’t hoping it gets picked by some outside gatekeeper. The secret is to make it an inevitability. “It’s just happening” must be your mindset at all times. Then, list all the possible things you can do, ala the workplan, starting now and everyday going forward.Continue reading ““It’s Just Happening””
“What Is?” Not “What If?”
“I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.” – Mark Twain “A [person] who suffers before it is necessary, suffers more than is necessary.” – Seneca “Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom.” – Soren Kierkegaard “It did what all ads are supposed to do: createContinue reading ““What Is?” Not “What If?””
Doing It
“We have a strategic plan. It’s called doing things.” -Herb Kelleher “Stagecraft can be learned only onstage, in front of a paying audience. For as in most things it is the blunt trauma of failure that is the necessary spur to knowledge.” – book, Theatre by David Mamet “The key to happiness is not beingContinue reading “Doing It”