The Vs. Studio Blog

For whatever the venture, whatever the project, know that you have three powerful allies by your side. Use them on your journey.

Introducing!….

C = Confidence. Be confident that you can deal with any challenge, overcome any obstacle. You can and you will.

P = Pride. Take pride in your work. Demand excellence from yourself. Pride inspires you to perform to the best of your ability at all times.

E = Enthusiasm. Love whatever it is you’re doing at the moment. Enthusiasm is a measure of your faith in action. Every great act throughout history is a triumph of enthusiasm.

C, P, E. With these allies, you can do just about anything. Go make your art.

Stop waiting for a sign, some external event, a person or Zoltar machine to tell you what to do. To affirm what’s in your head and heart.

YOU must DECIDE first.  YOU and only YOU.

Then from that decision, all the signs, events and people will follow.

“I’m givin’ you that money so I don’t have to kill your ass. You read the Bible, Ringo?…Well, there’s this passage I got memorized. Ezekiel 25:17. ‘The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy My brothers. And you will know I am the Lord when I lay My vengeance upon you.’

I been saying that s–t for years, and if you heard it, that meant your ass. I never gave much thought to what it meant. I just thought it was some cold-blooded s–t to say to a mother f–ker before I popped a cap in his ass. But I saw some s–t this mornin’ made me think twice. See, now I’m thinkin’ maybe it means you’re the evil man and I’m the righteous man, and Mr. 9-millimeter here, he’s the shepherd protectin’ my righteous ass in the valley of darkness. Or it could mean you’re the righteous man and I’m the shepherd, and it’s the world that’s evil and selfish. Now, I’d like that. But that s–t ain’t the truth. The truth is, you’re the weak and I’m the tyranny of evil men. But I’m tryin’, Ringo. I’m tryin’ real hard to be the shepherd. Go.” -Jules Winnfield, Pulp Fiction

Just write cool s–t.

Meaning…

Write the coolest baddest mother f–king lines and parts that actors would kill to say and do.

And audiences would kill to watch.

The rest will take care of itself.

“You can rob me, you can starve me, you can beat me and you can kill me…Just don’t bore me.” -Gunny Highway, Heartbreak Ridge

“Improvise, adapt, overcome” is the unofficial slogan of the United States Marine Corps. It was popularized by Clint Eastwood’s character Sergeant Thomas “Gunny” Highway in the movie Heartbreak Ridge. ( A great film from 1986 if you haven’t seen or give it a rewatch.)

Not just a great slogan for the Marines, but also for producing.

And pretty much for life in general. Especially these days, right?

Follow Clint’s advice. Don’t let anything throw you.

Stop worrying if your vision
Is new.
Let others make that decision —
They usually do.
You keep moving on. -Lyrics from the musical “Sunday In The Park With George” by Stephen Sondheim

The theatre world lost a giant last week, Stephen Sondheim. I’ve been reading numerous articles about his life and work the last few days, including this excellent piece from Charles McNulty in the Los Angeles Times.

In the musical “Sunday in the Park with George,” famed pointillist Georges Seurat mutters seven words to himself as he paints, a kind of mantra to the creative process. (Check out this awesome clip.) My friend (also a very talented playwright and passionate theatre artist) Michael David has a wall in his home painted with those same words (pictured above). They focus and inspire him. The words are:

Order.

Design.

Tension.

Composition.

Balance.

Light.

Harmony.

Beautiful and complete words on their own. But when incorporated together, you get this masterpiece…

“Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” -John Lennon

“The essence of philosophy is that a [person] should so live that their happiness shall depend as little as possible on external things.” -Epictetus

Routines and plans are great. They’re necessary. They keep us disciplined and focused.

But then there are mornings like today where you wake up and the dog pooped all over the rug. You need to clean it up and that time now takes the place of your morning routine. (In case you’re wondering, yes, this happened to me today and yes, there’s a metaphor in there that applies to producing your passion project.)

This is where Stoicism helps. Where understanding that we can’t control what happens to us, we can only control our response. Which can be one of two choices.

One. Stay rigid to our plans. Be tied to a fixed concept of how the day should go. Be brittle and break when things don’t go our way. Get angry.

Or.

Two. Be flexible. Be like bamboo. Bend. Think to yourself (as you’re on your hands and knees cleaning smelly poop juice–gross, I know), “Now, this is interesting.” Stay cheerful.

You choose.

P.S. – Today is Giving Tuesday. If you’re able to and so inclined, would love your support of VS. Theatre Company. We’re a 501c3 non-profit and as such, all donations are 100% tax deductible. You can do so via PayPal Here. Or Venmo via the “@vstheatre” handle. Or check. Make payable to “VS. Theatre Company”. Mailing address: 3734 Santa Carlotta Street; La Crescenta, CA 91214. Thank you in advance for your generosity towards VS. or any organizations you support. It truly means a lot.

“Walk A Mile In My Shoes” by singer-songwriter Joe South (1970) encapsulates what it means to have empathy. It’s a tremendous song. Give it a listen Here. Lyrics reprinted below.

If I could be you, if you could be me
For just one hour, if we could find a way
To get inside each others mind
If you could see you through my eyes
Instead your own ego I believe you’d be
I believe you’d be surprised to see
That you’ve been blind

Walk a mile in my shoes
Just walk a mile in my shoes
Before you abuse, criticize and accuse
Then walk a mile in my shoes

Now if we spend the day
Throwing stones at one another
Cause I don’t think, ’cause I don’t think
Or wear my hair the same way you do
Well, I may be common people
But I’m your brother
And when you strike out
You’re trying to hurt me
It’s hurting you, lord how mercy

Now there are people on reservations
And out in the ghetto
And brother there, but, for the grace of god
Go you and I,
If I only had wings of a little angel
Don’t you know, I’d fly
To the top of a mountain
And then I’d cry, cry, cry

A major reason we make and consume art is to engender empathy for the full human condition. What a privilege we have as actors (and writers) that our job allows us to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. Let us learn from and become better people as a result of all those walks.

P.S. – Elvis Presley did a great cover of the song. Listen Here.

Milestones are always fun to celebrate and today I’m celebrating one with all of you. Post number 500.

When I first started this blog nearly two years ago, I had no idea how long it would go. I had some things to say about making art that I thought were worth sharing. I was also attracted to the challenge and discipline of trying to ship new work every single weekday.

But the reason I got to 500 is because of YOU. Thank you for reading and caring and all your feedback. Knowing that a post might inspire you motivates me to keep going. My personal mission and the mission of The Vs. Studio is to help others find and manifest their passion projects. Because I feel when they do and do so with excellence and generosity, it’s pretty darn awesome. Everyone wins.

Finally, there are some writers out there who regularly inspire me and you should check them out. They’ve been at it much longer than I have and do it a whole lot better than I do. Here’s a list…

-The G.O.A.T. Seth Godin. He’s blogged every day for about two decades now. Read Here.

-Maria Popova curates an amazing blog, “The Marginalian” (formerly titled “Brainpickings”). Read Here.

-Richard Rohr, writer and founder of the Center For Contemplation and Action. Read his daily meditations Here.

-Margo Aaron, copywriter and marketer extraordinaire. Get her weekly newsletter Here.

-Ryan Holiday, author and modern day stoic. His Daily Stoic blog is excellent and sure to motivate. Read Here.

-James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, has a short, but impactful weekly newsletter. Read Here.

-Farnham Street. Another great curated weekly newsletter. Read Here.

Thank you again everyone. Hope to see you at 1,000. In the meantime, keep making your art. I’m rooting for you big time.

“I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.” -Philippians 4:11-12

“When life is sweet, say ‘thank you’ and celebrate. And when life is bitter, say ‘thank you’ and grow.” -Shauna Niequist

“Be thankful for what you have; you will end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.” -Oprah Winfrey

“Convince yourself that everything is the gift of the gods, that things are good and always will be.” -Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

“If you don’t get everything you want, think of the things you don’t get that you don’t want.” -Oscar Wilde

Gratitude is a practice and like all practices (athletics, the arts, meditation, etc…) there are good days, bad days. The key is consistency of effort, especially on the bad days. Can you still always say “Thank you for everything“? If yes, bravo! Bravissimo!

Happy Thanksgiving. I’m grateful for all of you. For your readership, your encouragement and your time. Keep making your art.

P.S. – A special thanks to all the caregivers out there. I’ve witnessed it firsthand these last couple months and what they do every single day is nothing short of miraculous.

“If you are a dog and your owner suggests that you wear a sweater, suggest that he wear a tail.” -Fran Lebowitz

Sometimes, the only way to fit in…

…Is to fit out.