The Vs. Studio Blog

Do the work.

So that when the times comes.

You can be free to drop the work. And just trust. And be.

“If you’re not feeling those butterflies, you’re not taking a big enough risk.” -Ray Manzarek

A perfect mantra or tattoo or billboard or t-shirt would be:

“No risk. No art.”

And it actually is a t-shirt…The actor and director Fisher Stevens once made his own with the above quote and wore it constantly. To remind himself to always be risking. What a perfect encapsulation of our inspiring definition of art! (H/T to my friend Gareth for this backstory).

Unless you work in the theatre, you might be wondering what the heck is a dramaturg? This article and this one explain in detail. Basically it’s someone who provides valuable research and context to theatre (and opera-makers). They also help playwrights shape material similarly to how an editor helps writers.

The best dramaturgs, editors, coaches, teachers, etc…anyone involved with providing feedback, follow one simple rule:

How do I help the person make the best possible version of what THEY are trying for?

It’s not about the the dramaturg or editor’s personal taste or preference. It’s about the artist. What does the artist (or player or student) want? 

It’s not about you. It’s about them.. 

The best dramaturgs help playwrights recognize what exactly they’re trying for and how best to manifest excellence with it. As such, they must love and be steeped in all kinds of different art forms. They must be students of history. They never stop learning. They remain open to all possibilities and new ways of doing things.

If you’re lucky enough to work with a world class dramaturg (or editor), thank them today and everyday going forward. If not, seek one out. Much like a great coach, they’ll push you to heights you never thought possible.

“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.” -Joseph Campbell

There are lots of reasons people love scary movies. As this article points out, some include wanting novel experiences, sensory stimulation, and curiosity about our darker or shadow sides.

I think another reason is presence. Feeling alive. Being focused on one thing and one thing only. Similar to a flow state.

If you want a good scare tonight, you could watch “Halloween” or go visit a haunted house.

Or even scarier…making your own art. What about inventing your own scary story and telling it to someone else? Just like a stand up comedian working out a new routine for the first time…that risk of falling flat on your face?…Now that’s terrifying.

It’s also where your treasure lies.

“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” -Epicurus

I can’t get no satisfaction
I can’t get no satisfaction
‘Cause I try, and I try, and I try, and I try
I can’t get no, I can’t get no -“Satisfaction”, song by The Rolling Stones

“Desire is a contract you make with yourself to be unhappy until you get what you want.” -Naval Ravikant

The writer and social scientist Arthur Brooks provides this formula for human satisfaction…

Satisfaction = what you Have / (divided by) what you Want

Or simply…

S = Haves / Wants

The problem, especially for those of us in the West, is that we’re entirely focused on increasing the numerator, the Haves. More money. More stuff. More status. More power. More, more, more. And the more we have, the more we Want. Thus we’re never satisfied.

Instead, Brooks advises us to focus on the denominator. Decreasing our Wants. Enabling us to realize we have enough. Ultimately leading to increased satisfaction.

He tells a story about seeing a beautiful jade sculpture in the National Art Museum of China. The guide he was with discussed the major difference between the West and East’s philosophies of art….

In the West, we see art as a blank canvas that needs to be filled up.

In the East, they see the art as already existing. In this case, a big jade block. All the artist needs to do is to strip away the excess jade to reveal the beautiful sculpture that was always there, within the block.

“Gratitude is the closest thing to beauty manifested in an emotion” -Mindy Kaling

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive-to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” -Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

If you are your own power plant, then you need a source of fuel to make it all run.

Try gratitude. Like the sun, it’s energy supply is limitless.

If you want to tap in to this fuel source, start thinking and saying “thank you” every chance you get.

My friend and go-to director/collaborator Ron once gave me this fantastic advice after a rehearsal in which I was pushing, “acting”, trying to do too much…

“You don’t have to land a 747 on every line. Sometimes a line is just a line.”

He’s right. If it’s good writing, we in the audience will feel it. Don’t worry. You can just say the line (with a specific intention, of course).

If you feel something while delivering the line tonight, that’s cool. It’s a bonus.

But it’s certainly not a requirement. So please don’t lock in or obligate yourself to that emotional result.

Remember…It’s about them. Not you.

P.S. – Speaking of landing 747’s…“We’re all counting on you.”

“Hamlet likely marks the first time that Stanislavski put together several key concepts of the “system.” Having already realized that a script could be divided into bits and that characters had a supertask, a sverkhzadacha, he next realized that each character’s bit had its own zadacha: a little step taken, often unsuccessfully, toward the character’s ultimate goal. Zadacha means both “task” and “problem.” It is a thing that a character needs that is important enough to demand actions. Those actions are then generally phrased as infinitive verbs (“ I want to _____”). To take a mundane example, if your problem is that you are thirsty, then your action might be to get a glass of water. Zadachi were not psychological to Stanislavski. They were the immediate actions that needed to be accomplished to move the character closer to their goal.” -excerpt from the book, “The Method” by Isaac Butler

Regardless of your feelings about “The Method”, we can thank Stanislavski for his discovery that action leads to feelings. Not the other way around. You can read more about it and the whole history of method acting in Isaac Butler’s wonderful book “The Method: How the Twentieth Century Learned to Act” (Vs. Book Club on Tuesday Night, November 15th! Anyone interested in joining, email me or leave a comment with your email address and I’ll reach out.)

Whether it be acting or life, the order should be: decide, do, feel.

Far too many of us wait to feel before we decide. Which is why so little gets done.

“We don’t rise to the level of our expectations; we fall to the level of our training.” -Archilochus

99 percent is training. (Or process.)

1 percent is performing.

Find a way to love the training. Otherwise, plan for it not to go as well as you hoped.

P.S. – The best training montage of all time.

“There is one river of truth, which receives tributaries from every side.“ -Clement Of Alexandria

“There’s no disappointment in memory, and one’s exaggerations are always on the good side.“ -George Eliot, novel Daniel Deronda

I know the truth lies in between
The first and the fortieth drink -Tori Amos, song “Concertina”

“Be tolerant with others and strict with yourself.” -Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

If you choose to receive feedback on your art, it’s important to first have your own inner citadel. Your own inner scorecard. A ridiculously high standard of excellence. That way you can remain open to criticism that makes your art better. And remain unaffected, yet appreciative, of other’s praise.

Also remember that it probably didn’t good as well you hoped. Or as bad as you feared. The truth usually lies somewhere in the middle.