The Vs. Studio Blog

And now the end is here
And so I face that final curtain
My friend I’ll make it clear
I’ll state my case, of which I’m certain
I’ve lived a life that’s full
I traveled each and every highway
And more, much more
I did it, I did it my way -Frank Sinatra, “My Way”

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” -African Proverb

There’s definitely something admirable and heroic about the individual who lived life on their terms. Who didn’t take any crap. Who did it alone. Did it “my way.”

But you know what’s more heroic, more noble, more stoic?

The person who made things better for others. Who did it “our way.”

We have just shy of 8 billion people on this planet and a whole lotta challenges.

We can solve them. But we got to start thinking “our way.”

The actor/writer/director Austin Pendleton was recently interviewed on the excellent “Back To One” podcast which I highly recommend listening. In it, he talks craft and process and tells some amazing theatre history stories. One of which surrounds his acting in the very first production of “Fiddler On The Roof.”

The legendary Jerome Robbins was the director/choreographer. They were in Detroit’s Fisher Theatre for an out of town tryout in hopes to eventually get to New York. The early reviews were disastrous.

The cast all gathered together in a bar lamenting the bad reviews and drowning their sorrows in alcohol. Off in a corner by himself was Robbins furiously writing notes in the script. Pendleton sidled up to him asking what he was doing, how he felt about the negative press, what his plans were, etc…

Robbins replied: “Tomorrow, we’re all gonna meet early to rehearse. I’ve found ten small things I want to fix. After we fix those ten things, the next day we’ll get together early and fix ten more, and so on, and so on, and so on.”

So that’s what they did. Every single day. Right up until the end of the run.

The show got better and better and better. Producers came to see it towards the end of the run, loved it and put it up in New York.

And the rest as they say is history….

–Fiddler became the first musical to surpass 3,000 performances.

-It held the record for the longest-running Broadway musical for almost 10 years until Grease surpassed its run.

-The production was extraordinarily profitable and highly acclaimed. It won nine Tony Awards, including best musical, score, book, direction and choreography.

-It spawned five Broadway revivals and a highly successful 1971 film adaptation and has enjoyed enduring international popularity. It’s also been a popular choice for school and community productions.

The lesson(s)? Never give up. Control what you can control. Find and fix ten small things every day.

At the end of every hard-earned day people find some reason to believe. -lyrics from the song, “Reason To Believe” by Bruce Springsteen

“If we want to feel an undying passion for our work, if we want to feel we are contributing to something bigger than ourselves, we all need to know our WHY.” -from the book “Find Your Why” by Simon Sinek

“Once you apprehend the vacuity of a life without struggle, you are equipped with the basic means of salvation.” -Tennessee Williams

We all need a reason to do something, a why. Doesn’t necessarily have to be, but better if the reason is specific and measurable and tangible. And has a deadline. It springs you into action.

For example…

A reason to lose weight might be you want to fit in that old suit again for your 25th high school reunion. Rather than “look good.”

A reason to update your resume might be to apply for a specific job posting you see that generally excites you. Rather than doing it just to have “in case.”

A reason to save and invest more money might be for that pink Cadillac (Yes, I couldn’t resist the Springsteen nod) you’ve always wanted and is now on sale. Rather than to “feel rich.”

We all need a reason to get out of bed in the morning, a reason to work hard, a reason to make art, a reason to be disciplined, a reason to devote ourselves to something bigger than ourselves.

We all need a reason to believe.

Once you find it, you’ll never look back.

“I will not avoid the tasks of today and charge them to tomorrow for I know that tomorrow never comes. Let me act now even though my actions may not bring happiness or success, for it is better to act and fail than not to act and flounder. Happiness, in truth, may not be the fruit plucked by my action yet without action all fruit will die on the vine. I will act now. I will act now. I will act now. I will act now.” -Og Mandino

“Easy choices, hard life. Hard choices, easy life.” -Jerzy Gregorek

“Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try Again. Fail again. Fail better.” -Samuel Beckett

“Fall seven times. Stand up eight.” -Japanese Proverb

So many things, especially when it comes to advice, fall under the category of “easier said than done.” It’s because it’s true. It’s way easier to give advice than to act on advice. It’s way easier to hear advice–even if it’s incredible, amazing, earth-shattering, world-class, “if you do this, then you are guaranteed to get that” kind of advice–then it is to actually ACT upon that advice.

I totally get it. I do. And like all these blog posts, I’m always partially speaking to/admonishing myself when I write…But here’s the thing…if we do nothing, we get nothing. If we do something, we might get something. Might make an improvement. Might make things better for ourselves and others.

While it’s easier to do nothing and stay with the status quo, that doesn’t mean it’s the better choice.

Try this out…The next time you get some advice that rings true, see if you can take one small, tiny, infinitesimal step right after hearing that advice.

An example…you read some inspiring and practical advice about how to declutter your house. Before you move on from that advice, throw out ONE single item and resolve to do it again tomorrow. It’s a minor, insignificant win I know. But it’s a win nonetheless. It’s precious momentum. You can feel good that maybe for the first time in a long ass time, you didn’t just get advice and do nothing with it. It didn’t go in one ear, make you feel good, give you a quick dopamine hit, and then out the other. This time, you got the advice and then you actually did something with it.

Step by step. Drip by drip. Action by action. That’s the way, the only way, anything worthwhile gets done.

“I’m probably more personal when I’m acting than at any other time. More open, more direct. Because it allows me to be something that I can’t always feel comfortable with when I’m living my own life, you know? Because it’s make-believe.” -Phillip Seymour Hoffman

I’m not exactly sure why this is, but the more personal you make your art, the more universal it becomes.

Perhaps it’s because the audience can feel the investment of self, the authenticity of the work and the risk that was taken. The more the artist risks, the more the audience (and they do so subconsciously) opens their hearts, minds and souls to the art. That goes for the writer as well as the actor.

A friend relayed this story to me about the late, great Phillip Seymour Hoffman…

One night after a performance Mr. Hoffman was asked by some students his “secret” to acting. His response:

“Personalize! Personalize! Personalize!” And then (I’m paraphrasing this next part)…”You have to find a way to take everything personally.”

In every beat, every possible moment, make it personal. Take it personally! Act as if it’s happening to YOU now. It is. Risk! Let us in. We so badly want to go with you on the ride.

P.S. – I was inspired to write this post after a beautiful, magical Vs. Tuesday Night Reading of Paula Vogel’s “How I Learned To Drive.” Everyone from playwright to sponsor to director to cast made it personal. Bravo, Bravissimo! to all involved.

Nothing makes me happier than when someone tells me they were positively impacted by one of these posts. So you can imagine my level of joy when my good friend and active reader of this blog, Jason, aka “Sgt. Hulka”, (Can you guess the classic 80’s comedy reference?) emailed me a “guest blogger” post for me to use however I see fit. It’s a beautiful post. Here it is unedited, below. Enjoy!….

Mentorship is one of those things that can happen in any job, at any age, and at any stage of life.  But you do have to ask for it, and that might just turn out to be the heaviest weight you ever pick up.  But once you take that action, you will unlock a unique part of life that can’t be quantitatively measured.  After all, how do you put a value on someone who says “Make no mistake. I don’t care where you come from, I don’t care what color you are, I don’t care how smart you are, I don’t care how dumb you are, ’cause I’m gonna teach every last one of you how to eat, sleep, walk, talk, shoot, and shit”?  (I actually said that to some new recruits I was training for a new job).  Mentors come in all shapes and sizes and sometimes you don’t even know – a mentor could be in the room with you right now as you read this.  You may not like them at first, but if you hear them later on refer to you as their Uncle, well then you know you’ve made an impact. -Sargeant Hulka, United States Army

Thank you Sargeant for these words of wisdom. I hope we get more posts from you. And anyone else out there…if you’re so inclined and want to write a “guest post”, I would love it!

Another post inspired by George Saunders excellent book “A Swim in a Pond in the Rain”…

One reason Saunders focuses on the classic Russian writers in his class at Syracuse, besides their excellence of craft, is that they weren’t afraid to “ask the big questions.” There’s a weight and depth to their stories. They’re epic in scale and scope. You can feel them wrestling with these questions at every turn. The degree of difficulty they’re pursuing in their art is off the charts.

If you’re looking for some writing inspiration, it might be helpful to pose the following “big” questions (I cut and paste them directly from Saunders’ book) to yourself and your characters:

(1) How are we supposed to be living down here?

(2) What were we put here to accomplish?

(3) What should we value?

(4) What is truth, anyway, and how might we recognize it?

(5) How can we feel any peace when some people have everything and others have nothing?

(6) How are we supposed to live with joy in a world that seems to want us to love other people but then roughly separates use from them in the end, no matter what?

Put your characters in a room and see how they duke these questions out. This might just be the fuel for your next play or story or novel. (And perhaps for your own life’s work.)

“Years ago, on the phone with Bill Buford, then fiction editor of The New Yorker, enduring a series of painful edits, feeling a little insecure, I went fishing for a compliment: ‘But what do you like about the story?’ I whined. There was a long pause at the other end. And Bill said this: ‘Well, I read a line. And I like it…enough to read the next.” -George Saunders, book A Swim in a Pond in the Rain

As an artistic director of a theatre company, I often get asked some variation of this question: “What do you look for in a script?”

The short answer: “Make me want to keep turning pages.”

George Saunders recently published an excellent book entitled “A Swim In The Pond In The Rain” about what makes for compelling literature. Based on his class at Syracuse University, he dissects several classic Russian short stories and breaks down exactly why we want to keep reading them. I highly recommend it (h/t to my friend Ron for recommending it to me).

“Make it compelling” isn’t just for writing. It’s for all the arts. For example…

If you’re an actor, be so filled up that the audience has to keep watching.

If you’re a musician, make a song and album that’s unpredictable, that the audience has to keep listening to.

If you’re a director, craft a play or film that people are riveted to stay in their seats.

Especially now with so many distractions, so many things competing for our time and attention, whatever you’re trying to do, you must make it compelling for others. (Easier said that done, I know. But it’s still true.)

So how do you do that?

Well….Start with yourself. Be your own toughest critic. Be brutally honest. Are you compelled with your art throughout? If not, where and why? Don’t stop revising until you fully get there. (Saunders book will give lots of useful insight to help). If need be, engage a trusted friend or colleague who will also shoot you straight.

Chances are if you’re compelled, we’ll be too. (And if not, you can rest knowing that at least you compelled yourself.)

A special shout to two friends and artists, Sasha Hawkes and Amy Marcs, who’ve formed Gladiolus Media, “a female owned production company that focuses on true and personal stories.” They met in our Vs. Studio Solo Performing and Writing Workshop taught by Paul Stein. For the last year or so in these workshops, they and other artists have explored their personal stories, journeys and vulnerabilities and courageously shared them on our Tuesday Night Readings.

Desiring to go deeper and share these stories in a live setting, Sasha and Amy have produced “Iron Skirt Stories.”, three live evenings “that feature eight women sharing ten minutes of courageous, funny, brilliant and resilient true stories.” Not surprisingly all three evenings are sold out. But I have a feeling there will be more to come. Make sure to follow them on Instagram Here.

In the meantime, tonight is opening night. Woot! Woot! Let’s wish them well…

Break legs Sasha and Amy and Carole and Madelynn and Martha and Robin and Cara and Karen. We’re all super proud of you and are rooting for you big time!

“Let me tell you this, the older you do get the more rules they’re gonna try to get you to follow. You just gotta keep livin’ man, L-I-V-I-N.” -Wooderson as played by Matthew McConaghey in Richard Linklater’s film, Dazed And Confused

Speaking of mantra’s, I think the Stoics would dig Wooderson’s “just keep livin’.” Like any great mantra, it says so much without saying so much.

How about this one?…

Just Keep Lovin’. L-O-V-I-N.

I think Aquinas would dig it, don’t you?

P.S. – This scene and this scene.