The Vs. Studio Blog

I once asked a good friend of mine and phenomenal actor what it was like to work regularly in television. This was her response:

“Most days, I feel like a Ferrari stuck in a garage.”

She was very grateful for the steady work, money and the friendships that were made. But inside, she felt like she had so much more to offer. Her tremendous skill and passion wasn’t needed or called upon very much . She longed to do the kind of demanding work and roles she found early on in the theatre.

Maybe you feel like this sometimes? Or know people who do? Or both.

Good news! There’s a solution.

Find a play and role you’re passionate about. So much so that you’re willing to produce it. Produce it with excellence and generosity. For yourself, your fellow artists and the audience you seek to serve.

As a result of your decision and bravery, you can let that Ferrari out! And bring some talented artists along with you for the ride.

What could you make happen if?…

You focused intensely on something for just 5 minutes a day.

Every single day.

For the entire year.

That’s over 18 hours.

Go make your art.

“Pressure is a choice.” -Richard Linklater

At some point in your art-making process, you will feel nervous. Opening night of your play, the first day on set, the first time you read your novel in front of a live audience, the day you meet with potential investors for your new company, etc…It’s inevitable.

So, what you do with those nerves?

First, let them fuel you. There’s a reason it’s called “nervous energy.” Let that energy pervade you, focus you, inspire you to work a little bit harder. Like sunlight to a plant. Use it!

Second, be grateful for the nerves. They’re a signal that you’re on the right track. You’re risking, you’re out on the edge, you’re “doing it” as Ray Manzarek once said. The nerves mean you care. Love that you feel them.

You got this.

You’re not too busy.

It’s just not a priority for you right now.

“Really knowing is good. not knowing, or refusing to know, is bad, or amoral, at least. You can’t act if you don’t know. acting without knowing takes you right off the cliff.” -Ray Bradbury

Speaking of questions, “what do you want?” is the big kahuna. Just like an actor should know what they want in every beat, every scene, the overall script (often painstaking, headache-inducing work)…we need to know what we want in life and why. And many of us, deep down, really don’t. That’s okay. Start there. Ask yourself the question every day. Think about it. Journal about it. Without judgment or wondering if if’s achievable. At night allow your subconscious to work on it.

“What do you want?”

“What do you want?”

“What do you want?”

It may take much longer than you think, but if you keep at it, eventually you’ll figure it out.

And if after all that work, the answer is that you just wanna drift away, that’s cool too. At least you know that’s what you wanted. It was your choice. It wasn’t put to you because you didn’t choose.

A friend of mine often likes to say, “Questions are potent. Answers are meh.” She’s got a point.

If you believe in the power of the subconscious, and I do, especially when it comes to making art, then you’ll want to access it as often as possible.

One way to do that is through your questions. A good exercise to try…

Right before you go to bed ask yourself an empowering question. For example, “I intend to do X. How do I accomplish it?”

Ask it a couple of times in a row. Don’t worry about the answer. Maybe spend a couple of minutes visualizing yourself accomplishing the deed, and that’s it. Go to sleep.

Do this over and over for as many nights as you want.

You’ll be surprised how answers will show up when you least expect them to.

Most great investors will say it’s much harder to sell a stock than it is to buy. There are several reasons for this including investor psychology, cognitive biases and the power of sunk costs, to name a few.

I think another reason has to do with decisions.

Before purchasing a stock, there’s only question, “To buy or not to buy.”

Once you purchase, like it or not, you now enter into relationship with that stock. As such, you will face a million little decisions all along the way.

“The stock went down, what do I do?”

“The stock is way up, what do I do?”

“The stock reported bad numbers. Is the story still intact? Is it still on the right track”

“There’s a new CEO. What does that mean?”

“My friend gave me a hot tip on another company. Should I sell this one and buy that other one?”

The same holds true when you decide to produce something you’re passionate about. You are now in relationship with that project. You care about it deeply. As the great producer Daryl Roth says, “I feel like all my plays are my children.”

And because you care enough to be a producer, you accept responsibility. Which means you will have a lot of decisions to make.

So, choose wisely.

P.S. – A correction…In yesterday’s post, I mistakenly billed the title of the short film as “Dirt Devil.” It’s actually “Dust Devil.” Hope you enjoyed watching it!

The short doc film “Dust Devil” about the ballerina Marta Becket and her founding a theatre in the middle of the Mojave Desert is phenomenal. It encapsulates everything this blog and The Vs. Studio is about.

Watch it Here. It’s nine minutes long and I promise it’s worth your time.

Just like mood affects our own desire to make art, mood also affects our intended audience’s desire to receive art.

Think about when you’ve re-read a book or re-watched a film. The first time you didn’t “get it” which could’ve been for a variety of reasons, including you just not being in the right mood. But now, maybe because of time, distance and perspective coupled with mood, you try again and love it.

We can’t control how or if/when our art is received. We can only control our decision to find the art inside us and manifest it with excellence and generosity. Part of having a generous mindset is to release any expectation from our audience.

if someone doesn’t like or care for our art, we can just think to ourselves, “That’s okay. It’s not for you.” Or. “It’s not for you…at this time.”

Speaking of fear and fun (yesterday’s post)…

Ever wanted to write and perform your own solo show? Have some ideas, but don’t know how or where to start? Have a story inside you’re dying to tell, but need a little push? Looking for a community of like-minded people to help get you there?

If the thought of getting up on stage to tell your story is both terrifying and exciting, then we have the workshop for you.

Send me an email to jclark@vstheatre.org and I’ll give you the full scoop!