The Vs. Studio Blog

You don’t work on the great plays and parts.

They work on you.

What a gift to give yourself.  (Thank you playwrights!). The opportunity to grow and fully realize your human potential.

“The first messenger, that gave notice of Lucullus’ coming was so far from pleasing Tigranes that, he had his head cut off for his pains; and no man dared to bring further information. Without any intelligence at all, Tigranes sat while war was already blazing around him, giving ear only to those who flattered him.” -Plutarch, Lives

Care way more about the message.

Care way less about the messenger.

We’re all deeply flawed, but we’re still trying to do the best we can with what we have. That in & of itself is heroic.

Look
If you had
One shot
Or one opportunity
To seize everything you ever wanted
In one moment
Would you capture it
Or just let it slip? -Eminem, “Lose Yourself”

In the spirit of the Breeders Cup this weekend, here’s a post about horse racing and art…

My good friend Joe is hands down one of the best thoroughbred handicappers in the country. Besides his mathematical capacity, his preternatural ability to understand odds and his pure love of the sport, Joe is also very disciplined. He bets little or none on the races where he doesn’t have an edge. He loads up on the few where he feels he does.

A bunch of us college friends were together for this year’s Kentucky Derby (all thanks to Joe). The Derby race in particular is notoriously tough to handicap because of (a) the longer distance, (b) the young age and relative inexperience of the horses, and (c) it’s a twenty horse field. That being said, I’ve seen Joe win the Derby many times. (Pictured above is “Big Brown” who won the 2008 Kentucky Derby. Joe’s bet and win on that race is the stuff of legends at Churchill Downs.)

This year Joe was feeling really good about a horse, “Rock Your World.” He made a considerable bet and we followed suit (albeit in much smaller amounts).

We gathered together to watch the “most exciting two minutes in all of sports.”

Here we go…

“The horses reach the starting gate.”

The bell rings.

“And they’re off!”

Our enthusiasm quickly waned when at the first quarter pole, Rock Your World was dead last.

Gulp.

Things didn’t improve much from there.

He finished seventeenth.

Joe, usually stoic and equanimous in such losing moments (“You win some, you lose some Clarko.”), was livid. He repeatedly yelled (through various expletives), “I just wanted a chance! I just wanted a chance!” He added, “The horse never had a chance to run.”

What did he mean?

Well, through a combination of jockey error and bad luck, Rock Your World was boxed in by other horses at the start. A horrible break. When that happens, it’s nearly impossible to recover. Hence, a great horse (was among the favorites) finishing seventeenth. Joe wasn’t mad that Rock Your World lost or that he lost. He was mad that the horse never had a chance to run. Never had a chance to compete. Never had a chance to show what he could do.

It’s fine to get beat. You just want to get beat doing your best. You can live with someone else being better that day.

So what does this have to do with making art?

I’m not sure. Other than, how will you find out how good you are? How good you can be? How you measure up against the greats?…

…If you never run the race.

You gotta give yourself the chance.

Find what you’re passionate about. What you dream of. What challenges you to the max. And do it.

Get in the race.

Go make your art.

P.S. – Go “California Angel”!

The formula for accomplishing anything you’re trying to do…

99 percent right mindset.

1 percent right strategy.

Tactics don’t matter.

A burning desire and love is all you need.

P.S. – This great post from Seth Godin on dreams, tactics and strategy.

“You’re here. You know what to do.” –Stand Up If You’re Here Tonight by John Kolvenbach

In his bestselling book, Adventures In The Screen Trade, William Goldman famously wrote “Nobody knows anything.” While he was referring to Hollywood, this statement can be applied to any industry, anything you’re trying to do.

Nobody knows.

Nobody knows what you should do.

Nobody knows “how to get there.”

Nobody knows the right path to success.

Nobody knows you.

Only YOU know you.

So stop searching outside yourself. Stop looking for answers and advice and decisions.

You are the master of your fate. You are the captain of your soul.

Dig deep. Figure out what you’re passionate about. And go do it.

Do it because you love it. So much so that you just have to make it and share it with all of us.

Nobody knows anything. What a freeing statement!

Go make your art.

“Dance like nobody’s watching; love like you’ve never been hurt. Sing like nobody’s listening; live like it’s heaven on earth.” -Mark Twain

What do you do when no one’s looking?

What do you do when everyone’s looking?

Find the intersection of these two and do it. For that’s where your treasure lies.

“All fixed set patterns are incapable of adaptability or pliability. The truth is outside of all fixed patterns.” -Bruce Lee

When’s the last time you had your mind blown open by a new idea or new learning or new appreciation of beauty or…anything at all?

Are you sure you’re still open to the possibility?

P.S. – R.I.P. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

“In my beginning is my end.” -T.S. Eliot

“I’m going to count to ten. I’m here, you’re there….You know what to do…Welcome…Welcome back.” –Stand Up If You’re Here Tonight by John Kolvenbach

Closing a show is never easy. All the relationships that are forged. All the pure joy that comes from performing. All the audience connections that are made. It’s tough to say good bye.

It’s closing weekend of Stand Up If You’re Here Tonight. After three months, it comes down to tonight (Friday) and tomorrow night. And then it’s all she wrote.

Thank you to Circle X for co-producing the show with us and offering us a wonderful space.

Thank you to all the designers and stage crew for bringing your A plus game.

Thank you to John for writing this beautiful play and entrusting us with it.
.
Thank you to Jim and Alexandra and Peggy and Grainne for sharing your big, beautiful hearts and immense acting talent.

Thank you audience for showing up.

It’s been a delight to produce and share this show with all of you.

P.S. – There are still a few seats for closing tomorrow. Get your tix Here. Use code “vsally” and you’ll get a nice discount. And stay afterwards to celebrate with us!

The basic economic law of supply and demand states that as price increases, people are willing to supply more and demand less and vice versa when the price falls. However, when resources are limited or supply is constrained, you get scarcity. When that happens, price goes out the window. (For example, the cost of toilet paper during the pandemic.)

You know what’s always in demand, never goes out of style, and is consistently in short supply?

Excellence.

“Search others for their virtues, thyself for thy vices.” -Ben Franklin, Poor Richard’s Almanac

“Every night I try myself by Court Martial to see if I have done anything effective during the day. I don’t mean just pawing the ground, anyone can go through the motions, but something really effective.” -Winston Churchill

What worked?

What didn’t?

And why?

The great acting teacher and my friend Howard Fine asks his students the above three questions at the end of every scene. The idea being that by answering the questions, they can objectively dissect their own work. They become self dependent actors. Howard never wanted to be anyone’s guru. He instead wanted everyone to be their own guru. Their own toughest critic.

Setting acting aside, asking yourself these three questions every night also work great for your overall life. Especially if you have or are thinking about starting a journaling practice.

Try it for a month. See what kinda progress you make. How does it make you feel? The Stoic philosopher Seneca said that by examining the events of the day right before going to bed, “the sleep that followed was particularly sweet.”