The Vs. Studio Blog

“This obsession is a curious thing. Sometimes I wonder about the merits of devoting so much of myself to a singular climbing objective. Much of the time it beats me down, leaves me hanging my head in despair. But then there are the moments that bring me to life. When excitement wells up inside my chest in a way that doesn’t happen in every day life. Today my fingertips were cracked and bleeding. I made no progress despite great conditions. Now I am on the ground and can hardly contain my excitement to get back on the wall. It’s a crazy rollercoaster and I owe my family and partners a great deal for encouraging me through it all.” -Tommy Caldwell

Mountain climbing, especially free-climbing, is a terrible idea. Unless you’re world class like Tommy Caldwell (and even then it’s limited) you won’t make any money or get accolades. The training and conditions are brutal. And…you could die.

Producing a play is also a terrible idea. While you won’t die, the training is rigorous, it’s a ton of un-fun yet necessary work, you’ll most likely lose money, you probably won’t get any accolades, and it’s really freakin’ hard to get people to come.

But. When you truly love something, when you’re obsessed, when you just have to do it…you do it anyway.

P.S. Check out this excellent New Yorker profile on Tommy Caldwell. And fantastic documentary “The Dawn Wall.”

If you want extraordinary results or lead an extraordinary life, you must be willing to do the extraordinary.

Not superhuman things. Ordinary things actually. Things that anyone can do if they have the will. Things like…

-being disciplined

-being focused

-practicing when you don’t feel like it

-saying no (a lot)

-being generous

-being honest

-striving for excellence

-honoring your word

-taking risks/not being afraid to fail

-being organized

-setting and meeting deadlines

-being willing to lead

-trying to solve hard problems

-being vulnerable

-staying open-minded

-being willing to learn new things

-having empathy

And many other ordinary, human things.

What will make you extraordinary is…

Can you sustain? Can you do some or all of these ordinary things, consistently, over a lifetime?

“Nothing will come from nothing. Dare for mighty things.” -Shakespeare

“Nothin’ from nothin’ leaves nothin’. -Billy Preston

“Nothing comes from nothing. Nothing ever could.” -“The Sound Of Music”

You could take the biggest number in the world-let’s say infinitillion-and if you multiply it by zero, you get zero.

Do nothing. Get nothing.

Do something. Might get something. At the very least, you’ll learn something.

Keep a fire burning in your eye
Pay attention to the open sky
You never know what will be coming down -Jackson Browne, “For A Dancer”

Former NBA player, now turned writer Paul Shirley, just wrote a fantastic book called “The Process Is The Product.” Readers of this blog know how obsessed I am with process–I believe it’s everything–and Shirley’s book does not disappoint. I highly recommend you reading. In it he recounts the story–also told in the phenomenal documentary, “The History Of The Eagles” where Eagles guitarist Glenn Frey reveals how he finally learned to write songs. In those days, Frey liked to sleep in. He was busy living the “rock star life.” One early morning a teapot– belonging to eventual Eagles collaborator Jackson Browne–whistled in the apartment underneath Frey’s, waking him up. Here’s the excerpt from the book…

Jackson would get up and play the first verse and the first chorus. He’d play it 20 times until he had it just the way he wanted. There’d be silence. I’d hear the teapot go off. It would be quiet for 10 or 20 minutes. I’d hear him play again—second verse. He’d work on that second verse and play it 20 times. Then he’d go back to the top of the song until he was really comfortable with it. And I’m up there going, ‘So that’s how you do it.’

Jackson Browne was already something of a songwriting genius—a precocious one, at that. At 16, he’d written a song made famous by Nico of Velvet Underground fame. At 18, Browne was writing songs for—and playing with—the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Glenn Frey realized that this songwriting success wasn’t happening for Jackson Browne because of luck or by coincidence or thanks to a muse he’d dragged back from the Troubadour. It happened because Jackson Browne had a system that allowed him to access regular periods of focus.

Choose systems over goals.

And love doing the work. For nothing more than the work itself.

Process. Process. Process.

A jet engine contains a massive amount of energy. But if the runway isn’t long enough, the plane can’t take off.

Similarly, no matter how much passion and enthusiasm you have, if you don’t give yourself enough time to do it right–a long enough runway–you got no shot of making something excellent.

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…