The Vs. Studio Blog

“The best is the enemy of the good.” -Voltaire

“Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.” -Confucius

“Striving to better, oft we mar what’s well.” -Shakespeare

“It could be better” is a good mantra to adopt about your work.

No matter how much effort you give, how much time you spend, how much you strive for excellence, your work could always be better. This isn’t false humility. It’s just true.

Take for example this blog…(And I realize I’m bounded by time here. As I put it out every weekday.)

No matter how good I feel about a certain post. No matter how much I’ve worked and re-worked the language until it’s “just right” to release, EVERY time I go back and read it with fresh eyes, I always feel some version of “It could be better.”

But–and here’s the catch–I’m still glad I put it out there.

“It could be better” not only keeps you humble about your own accomplishments, it also helps you avoid the worst aspect of perfectionism. Which is fear. Which then leads to never shipping your work.

What the fuck is this world
Running to, you didn’t
Leave a message, at least I
Could have learned your voice one last time
Daily minefield, this could
Be my time, ’bout you?

Hear my name, take a good look
This could be the day
Hold my hand, walk beside me
I just need to say
I could not take a-just one day
I know when I would not ever touch you
Hold you, feel you in my arms ever again -“Porch”, song by Pearl Jam

Context goes hand in hand with content.

The artist’s backstory behind their creation adds so much to the audience’s enjoyment of the art. Think of it like the wine that sharpens the taste of the meal.

A current example…

My good friend Joe and I both love the band Pearl Jam. (Ever wondered why we’re named Vs. Theatre Company? Hint, Hint: See album pic above.)

For the last month he’s been sending me a daily text of the top 31 all-time best Pearl Jam songs per Spotify music critics. In addition to the song, he sends me various articles about the song’s creation including Eddie Vedder’s own musings on the lyrics. These are all awesome.

(My favorite part though?…Joe also often sends me what the song and lyrics mean to him personally.)

Given all this context and backstory, my love and appreciation of the music only grows deeper.

Go make your art. And whenever possible, share your backstory. Because your backstory is the story.

P.S. – Unplugged.

The key to maintaining a healthy perspective on life is simple…

The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.

What’s difficult is knowing what the main thing is.

Some things that will help….

Know and order and revisit your values. Know what you want and why.

Be disciplined.

Build good habits.

Have principles that you live by.

And for the day to day, remember the magic focusing question;

“What is the ONE thing you could do right now such that by doing it, everything else would be easier or unnecessary?”

“I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun.” -Ecclesiastes 2: 10-11

“The goals on that first mountain are the normal goals that our culture endorses—to be a success, to be well thought of, to get invited into the right social circles, and to experience personal happiness. It’s all the normal stuff: nice home, nice family, nice vacations, good food, good friends, and so on.” -David Brooks, book The Second Mountain

“I got everything I ever wanted and I’m still miserable.”

A brilliant performer and famous celebrity once spoke this line to open a “Harold” at Improv Olympic in Chicago. And I’ll never forget it. (The Harold is a longform improvisation developed by Del Close. It’s a collage of scenes inspired by a single suggestion which are interwoven and connected and then bend back at the very end. Think Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm).

He wasn’t joking. You could feel the authenticity and emotion behind it. Like a sledgehammer to the audience. We were all stunned. Pole-axed. There was a long ass pause. And then he continued his monologue. The performers then went on to perform an incredible, raucous, 45 minute set building off that first line.

If it’s status or money or power or fame or fortune you seek, just know these will not fulfill long term.

Meaningful work, meaningful community, service to others, making your own art. These things do fulfill. They do bring lasting joy. And the best part?…You can make them happen. You’re in control of your joy. You’re not dependent on external events.

How many more timeless books of wisdom do we need to learn this truth? Or people who’ve scaled the top telling us we’re climbing the wrong mountain.

Turn around. Go back down the way you came. When you get to the bottom, look ahead. The second mountain, the right mountain, awaits.

I don’t wanna think, I wanna feel. How do I feel? How do I feel? How do I? -Pearl Jam, song “Hail, Hail”

This excellent article points out that asking and answering one simple question can change your emotional state. Furthermore, merely attempting to answer it can boost your happiness. Wow. That’s pretty cool.

The question is…”How do you feel?”

Psychologists call it “affect labelling.” I’ll let you read the article as to why exactly this is and how it all works.

But it got me wondering…It’s really hard to pinpoint how we’re feeling. How we want to feel. Or how we want those whom we care about to feel.

Similarly, if you’re an actor, it’s really freakin’ hard to answer these questions when breaking down a script.

But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t give it the old college try. Especially knowing the value lies in the attempt.

“When you walk across the fields with your mind pure and holy, then from all the stones, and all growing things, and all animals, the sparks of their soul come out and cling to you, and then they are purified and become a holy fire in you.” -ancient Hasidic saying

Committing to writing a daily blog nearly three years ago (and now 723 posts later) has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Can’t thank my virtual mentor Seth Godin enough for encouraging this practice and I highly recommend it to any of you who are thinking about it.

One thing I love is receiving recommendations for books, articles, films, podcasts, etc…with a note saying something like “thought you could use this for your blog.” I learn and grow so much from these recommendations so thank you, THANK YOU, and please keep sending!

It got me thinking…when you’re passionate and committed to something and you let people know about it, and they see your passion and commitment in action, all kinds of amazing things happen. Things you could never plan for or expect. It’s one reason I recommend choosing and committing to a yearly “anchor project.” I believe that deep down we all want to help someone who’s all-in. I know I do when I see it. It lights me up.

Decide. Commit. Start. Iterate. Keep it rolling.

My favorite performances are when an actor takes huge risks, makes bold choices, yet still does so in service of the script. Two that immediately come to mind are Gena Rowlands in “Opening Night” and Daniel Day Lewis in “There Will Be Blood.”

They’re out there on the edge. Risking complete disaster. Borderline too much. Too big. But not. Just perfect. Riveting. Scary. Unpredictable. Sublime.

Besides incredible material, you need a director who encourages this kind of risk taking. Who creates a safe, non judgmental space that inspires you to go for it. Yet…because we can’t see ourselves when we act, we have to trust them to pull us back if it’s over the top. Or doesn’t serve the story. If you’re lucky enough to find this person, cherish them for life.

Gena had Cassavetes. Daniel had PTA. Not too shabby.

P.S. – This scene. And this scene.

“Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone, it has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.” -Ursula Le Gun

“The Master, by residing in the Tao, sets an example for all beings. Because he doesn’t display himself, people can see his light. Because he has nothing to prove, people can trust his words. Because he doesn’t know who he is, people recognize themselves in him. Because he has no goal in mind, everything he does succeeds. When the ancient Masters said, ‘If you want to be given everything, give everything up,’ they weren’t using empty phrases. Only in being lived by the Tao can you be truly yourself.” –Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tzu (Stephen Mitchell translation)

It’s not about you.

It’s about THEM. What can you do to help them? To make things better for them? Your family, your friends, your co-workers, your readers, your audience, your scene partner, etc…

Always, always make it about the other person. Can never go wrong when you do that.

Let go. Flow. Trust. Surrender. Be the medium for your art and your work.

Will the good of the other. Love.

Speaking of feeling a little less alone…

Not gonna lie, the last couple of months have been rough. Lotsa life stuff swirling around. Most acutely my dad–my rock, my best friend–isn’t doing so hot. He’s got incurable skin cancer and is back in the hospital.

I’m doing my best to be strong and help him and my mom get through it. I’m blessed to have a wonderful, supportive wife, two understanding teenagers, incredible friends, my faith and my art to lean on. (And 80’s movies on repeat like Fletch and Can’t Buy Me Love, books, plays, Vs. Tuesday Nights, music (thanks Joey for the daily Pearl Jam songs), podcasts and sports, especially the endless Lakers drama around Russell Westbrook.) But even with all that help, I’m struggling. We all are, right?

This past Sunday, I went for my usual, early morning run. It’s about 3 miles. Including an uphill climb which kicks my ass every time. I had to take a few weeks off as I was down with Covid and this was my first day back. There’s a few regulars I see out there Including this one dude who looks like he’s training for the Olympics. Young, no shirt, jacked, tatted up, very expensive-looking neon yellow sneakers, sunglasses, white hat. He runs like a gazelle. I run like a turtle in comparison. (One of the fun side effects of Crohn’s Disease is joint pain. Yay! Plus I’m in my late 40’s. But no excuses and alas, I persist.)

Over the years–other than the occasional, polite wave/peace sign–we’ve never said anything to one another. This day, this time, for whatever reason, as he approaches me from the opposite direction, he slows down and calls out:

“Where you been brother?! Good to see you back out here. Way to get after it!”

I reply with a stunned “Uh…thanks man” and he whooshes past me.

Five or ten seconds later, I start sobbing. Uncontrollably.

Then the waterworks stop, I feel strangely calm and resume the run.

That small act, that one gesture of kindness, meant everything to me. I didn’t know I needed it but in that moment, I desperately did. And in my low points this week, I think about it and feel a little less alone.

If you feel the impulse to smile or wave or compliment someone, do it. Go first. You never how it can positively affect someone.

And thank you super fast, jacked runner dude. Whoever you are.

“You know what it’s like around here? I have watched television. I have seen Brochures. It is impossible to not All the Time be thinking about how other people have Lives, Jack. Other people talk to people. [There’s people out there that all they do is Talk to one another] and there’s me.” -from the play On An Average Day by John Kolvenbach

“During my years caring for patients, the most common pathology I saw was not heart disease or diabetes; it was loneliness. The elderly man who came to our hospital every few weeks seeking relief from chronic pain was also looking for human connection: He was lonely. The middle-aged woman battling advanced HIV who had no one to call to inform that she was sick: She was lonely too. I found that loneliness was often in the background of clinical illness, contributing to disease and making it harder for patients to cope and heal.” Loneliness, he wrote, is associated “with a greater risk of cardiovascular disease, dementia, depression and anxiety.” -Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy writing in the Harvard Business Review

“School performance, public health, crime rates, clinical depression, tax compliance, philanthropy, race relations, community development, census returns, teen suicide, economic productivity, campaign finance, even simple human happiness – all are demonstrably affected by how (and whether) we connect with our family and friends and neighbors and co-workers.” -Robert Putnam from his book, Bowling Alone

But I’m just so tired of this loneliness
I’ve become so tired of this loneliness -Coldplay, song “Yes”

I’m so tired of being alone
I’m so tired of on my own -Al Green, song “Tired Of Being Alone”

As the below two articles and numerous books point out, we have an epidemic of loneliness in this country and the world.

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/04/06/the-history-of-loneliness

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/04/11/how-everyone-got-so-lonely-laura-kipnis-noreena-hertz

One recent study shows that loneliness raises the risk of death by heart attack or stroke by a third. It’s a bigger killer than obesity. It also leads to extremism, division and violence.

We need to do everything we can to combat this epidemic. There are so many ways to do so. Especially through volunteering in your local community. Even simple things like smiling and waving at someone can go a long way.

Making art is another way. One of the reasons I love theatre so much is people gather together in a shared space. We watch live persons going through some intense stuff, which powerfully connects us. It engenders empathy and greater understanding for the human condition. And I believe it can literally change us at the molecular level.

Today and every day ask yourself what can you do to help people feel a little less alone. Let’s be kind and take care of each other. Cause we’re all we got.