“You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist.” -Nietzsche
When deciding whether to study with a certain teacher or coach, it’s important to know what were their shortcomings? What did they struggle with? What did they have to overcome?
More often than not, their teachings will overemphasize their struggles.
But these might not apply to you. What was difficult for them might be easy for you. And vice versa.
“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” -Anne Lamont
Most computer troubles can be solved by simply powering down your computer, waiting 30 seconds, and powering back up. Same for almost any electronic device.
That might be exactly what you need too.
Before you give up on your passion project because you think it’s not working, just take a reset. Power your self down, go through your self-care questionnaire and then power back up.
“Guess what? When it comes right down to it, wherever you go, there you are. Whatever you wind up doing, that’s what you’ve wound up doing. Whatever you are thinking right now, that’s what’s on your mind. Whatever has happened to you, it has already happened. The important question is, how are you going to handle it? In other words, “Now what?” -Jon Kabat-Zinn, Wherever You Go, There You Are
The most important thing you can do right now is…
…whatever you are doing right now.
Whether it’s brushing your teeth, tying your shoelaces or performing Hamlet, do it with your whole heart, your whole mind and your whole soul.
“There were many, many moments of deep despair and the work didn’t ask of me what I felt I had to give.” -Mark Metcalf
The actor Mark Metcalf has worked a ton in film, tv and theatre. And he’s grateful to have made a living for a very long time as an actor. But for better or worse, he almost always gets cast as the “angry dude.” This stems from two of his early performances which got a lot of traction. One as Neidermeyer in the classic film Animal House (pictured above and view this clip). The other as the dad in two Twisted Sister–Remember Dee Snyder? Hello 80’s!–music videos. (This one and this one.)
Mark is the subject of a terrific short doc called “Character” which you can watch here. There’s also a recent New Yorker piece about the film and Metcalf which you can read here. In them, he reveals the struggles that come from being typecast. What it’s like when you have a desire to do more but the industry wants you to do less. It wants you to just stay in your lane.
While you can’t control what the industry does or doesn’t do to you, you can control making your own art. Find the parts that you wanna play and figure out how to manifest those projects with excellence and generosity.
There will be thunder then. Remember me. Say ‘ She asked for storms.’ The entire world will turn the colour of crimson stone, and your heart, as then, will turn to fire.
That day, in Moscow, a true prophecy, when for the last time I say goodbye, soaring to the heavens that I longed to see, leaving my shadow here in the sky. -Anna Akhmatova, poem Thunder
(Hat tip to Margo Aaron for inspiring this blog post)
Don’t ask the question, “Should I write?” (Insert any kind of artform for “write”)
Instead ask, “Do I want to write?”
We need and want your art. Now more than ever. But do you have the desire to create it? And, do you have the guts to be vulnerable and share it with all of us?
George Saunders tells a story on Cheryl Strayed’s new podcast Sugar Calling about the Russian poet, Anna Akhmatova…
“[Anna’s] husband was shot and her son arrested during the Stalinist purges.
One day, she was standing outside the prison with hundreds of other women in similar situations. It’s Russian cold, and they have to go there every day, wait for hours in this big, open yard, then get the answer that today and every day, there will be no news.
But every day, they keep coming back.
A woman, recognizing [Anna] as the famous poet, says, ‘Poet, can you write this?’ And Akhmatova thinks about it for a second and goes, ‘Yes.’”
“I don’t trust my inner feelings, you know feelings come and go” -Leonard Cohen, song That Don’t Make It Junk
“I’ve got a feeling, a feeling deep inside Oh yeah, oh yeah I’ve got a feeling, a feeling I can’t hide Oh no, oh no, oh no Yeah, I’ve got a feeling” -The Beatles, song I’ve Got a Feeling
Setting deadlines are like working out. Very often, you don’t feel like doing it. At times, you’ll even feel resentful of them.
But just like after a work out, you always feel exceptional when you meet your deadline. You’re grateful that you had one to make.
“Why, then, ’tis none to you, for there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” -Shakespeare, Hamlet
“You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this and you will find strength.” -Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
The next time you find yourself about to complain, about to lament some perceived misfortune or bad break, try to catch yourself. Bring awareness to what you’re thinking and see if you can make a single conjunction switch.
Which is…replace “but” with “and.”
For example, let’s say you planned a family trip to Disneyland. You got everything packed, kids are ready to go and you’re about to head out on your drive. You notice it’s raining outside.
Instead of thinking, “Awww crap. We planned this whole fun trip, but now it’s raining.” Which immediately shuts you down and gets you feeling upset or disappointed.
Think “We planned this whole fun trip and now it’s raining.”
What happens?
You’re open to problem solving, possibility, adventure. You spring into action. You might now think about how less crowded it’ll be. More rides! Maybe you get some ponchos or garbage bags. See how much fun you can all have in the rain. Whatever. The point is, you no longer judge external events that are beyond your control. You just flow with them.
There’s a reason the cornerstone of improvisation is “Yes. And….”
“Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.” -George Orwell
“The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way.” -Marcus Aurelius
“Okay Motherfucker!” -Al Pacino as “Vincent Hanna” in the film Heat
You got inspired by something you saw or read and decided “I want to do THAT.”
Once you decide though, don’t think everything’s gonna be smooth sailing from here on out. Quite the opposite. You will be tested.
What will help you endure the trial is your expectations.
Expect the struggle. Expect it to be hard. Expect there to be many days when you feel like giving up.
Go a step further…
Want it to be hard. Want to be tested. Want to see how you measure up. Be grateful you have a worthy opponent. For the obstacle becomes the way.
Say to the world, just like Vincent Hanna does Here…
“if you can’t measure it, you can’t change or improve it.” -Peter Drucker
“I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind.” -Lord Kelvin
The two most important documents in your producer’s toolkit are the work plan and the budget. We go into great detail on both in The Vs. Studio Producing Workshop and I’ve discussed the work plan in a prior post. Below are some basic budgeting principles…(I use the example of producing a stage play but the principles apply to any passion project.)
(1) Just like the work plan, the budget is a living document. It’s fungible and changes every time you gather more information on your project. Once you create the budget, you need to constantly update it (at least once a week).
(2) Be ruthlessly honest. Figure out ALL costs and include them. Don’t leave anything out. Don’t assume you can get things for free or cheap. (Maybe you really can lower costs, but that producing work comes later.) Figure out what it will realistically cost for now, and budget accordingly.
(3) Err on the side of generosity when it comes to paying people. Yes it’s theatre and as such, there’s no money to be made. But generously paying people (your artists, your stage crew, etc…) is the right thing to do. Always. Always. Always.
(4) Make your budget well in advanceof opening night. You need numbers BEFORE pre-production. A huge part of the decision to go forward with a project is whether or not you can afford the vision you have for it. You’re excited about the play and don’t want to lose momentum, I get it. But you gotta know what it will actually cost to produce. This is where time is your ally. Why you need a long runway. So you can make an accurate budget. Talk to others who’ve done it before. Ask tons of questions and get specific costs. You wouldn’t buy a house if you couldn’t afford it, right? The same thing applies here. Careless optimism—thinking it’ll all just “work out”–doesn’t win the day.
(5) Don’t rely on ticket sales to fund your project. A useful exercise…Assume you’re not gonna sell one single ticket and strive to have enough money in the bank to still pay for the production. You wanna know that if the proverbial shit hits the fan and it’s a total disaster, you’ll still be okay. (It won’t be a disaster, but better to have peace of mind so you can then focus on making the art the best it can possibly be.)
(6) Have a contingency line item. This should be 10% of your overall budget. So for example if costs amount to $20,000, add an additional $2,000 Your final budget is now $22,000. This way, you can cover any unforeseen expenses or overages. (Hopefully you won’t have to use the contingency but again, it’s always nice to know it’s there.)
There are several other budgeting principles we cover in the producer’s workshop, but this is a great start.
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