The social scientist and writer Arthur Brooks shares research stating there are three basic building blocks of happiness. They are:
Furthermore, happiness is 50% genetic, 25% circumstantial and 25% in your control.
Want a better life and to feel better about your life?
Change your habits.
Nothing else will do.
I got rhythm, I got music
I got my gal, who can ask for anything more? – “I Got Rhythm” by George Gershwin
For The Actor…
Character is rhythm. And rhythm makes character.
To find the character, find the rhythm.
How?
Two tips…
One…Say the words out loud hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of times.
Two…Type out the entire script.
“Most people overestimate what they can do in one year and underestimate what they can do in ten years.” -Bill Gates
We overweight the obstacles and other people’s opinions, while at the same time we underweight our own capability.
As a result, many a passion project never gets started.
Yes it’s hard.
Yes it will take longer than you think.
Yes you will be pushed and challenged to your core.
But it’s all worth it and you can do it!
Go make your art.
P.S. – “Under Oveur, Oveur Dunn”
For the playwright…
You must have some kinda conflict on every page of your script. Or at the very least, in every beat.
When you get to the end of your first draft, break the play down into beats. If any of them don’t have conflict, they gotta go. Excise immediately. Call it character backstory and move on.
No one wants to watch two people “hang out”/”get to know each other” on stage. Not for very long anyway. Even if it’s super-charged, very fun, highly vulnerable, and remarkably intimate, the powder in the beat keg will run dry. Fast.
Conflict. Conflict. Conflict…And more conflict.
P.S. – If you’re acting in a play that has “hang out” beats, beware. It’s a huge trap. You gotta find a way to inject conflict. Even if it’s internal, that’s great. And it could be riveting.
“Trust is earned in drops and lost in buckets.” -Shane Parrish
“It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently.” -Warren Buffett
“We kept our rep bro.” -Sue in the film, Swingers
I know I got a bad reputation
And it isn’t just talk, talk, talk
If I could only give you everything
You know I haven’t got -Freddy Johnston, song “Bad Reputation”
Your reputation.
Hardest thing to gain.
Easiest thing to lose.
Guard it with your life.
Agreement between theatre-maker and audience member.
I, theatre-maker, agree to…
-only produce that play which I am extremely passionate about.
-strive for excellence and generosity at all times. Go all out. Leave no stone unturned. I shall give myself, my fellow artists and stage crew a long enough runway to make that happen.
-always foster an empowering, creative and inspiring environment for our artists and stage crew to do their best work.
-employ radical hospitality towards the audience who’ve agreed to sacrifice their precious time and dollars to be here tonight.
I audience member agree to…
-show up on time.
-show up with an open heart and mind to the story I’m about to witness.
-have a rooting spirit for the actors who are up there giving their all
-if I loved and was moved by tonight’s play, then I will tell everyone about it.
You’re exactly where you’re supposed to be. This is it. Everything you’ve done before, including the failures, the mistakes, is exactly what you were supposed to do and has led you right to this point.
Do you truly believe that? Yes?…Good. You should, because it’s the truth.
Take a deep breath.
Now that we’ve got that covered, what would you like to do?
Go for it. Make it happen. Clear eyes. Clear hearts. Can’t lose.
“The most valuable commodity I know of is information.” -Gordon Gekko in the movie Wall Street by Oliver Stone
“Knowledge is shit, okay? ‘Knowledge for Knowledge’s Sake’ is pure bullshit. All learning ever does is remind you of what you haven’t got. Teaches you about new stuff you’ll never be or have. Because unless you can apply that knowledge and do something with it…it’s useless. It’s crap. Worthless shit. An M.B.A. is one thing, but Jeopardy! is for assholes.” -Ben in the play The Mercy Seat by Neil LaBute
Synthesis (as defined by Merriam Webster):
1a : the composition or combination of parts or elements so as to form a whole
b : the production of a substance by the union of chemical elements, groups, or simpler compounds or by the degradation of a complex compound
c : the combining of often diverse conceptions into a coherent whole
Francis Bacon is credited with coining the phrase “knowledge is power” in 1597. And for centuries that was true. One’s ability to retain and recall information was a superpower.
But now with just about everyone having a smartphone in their pocket, information is ubiquitous and therefore largely a commodity.
What matters and is so desperately needed today is what we do with this information. How we apply it to lead and solve interesting problems. Synthesis is the new superpower.
You know what’s a great way for you to hone this superpower? Look again at the definition above. Yep, you guessed it…
Decide and be courageous enough to go make your art.
For the actor…
Just like most people don’t know what they want in life, is why it’s often hard to figure out what your character wants. But you must. What does the character want? So much so that they will die (metaphorically and sometimes literally) if they don’t get it?
Even Hamlet, the king of indecision, wanted something deeply at first. But then when he was presented with new information, he wanted something else. And then something else. And then something else. And so on and so forth. The sum total of all these different wants was indecision. But make no mistake, he had giant, all out, desperate wants.
Work your ass off to figure out what your character wants. I recall an acting teacher saying you should get a headache from all the thinking about wants and desires. But here’s the thing…once you get those wants down and lean into those bold choices, you cannot go wrong. You’ll have fun every night trying to achieve them and in doing so, you’ll be riveting and on fire to watch.
Yo, I’ll tell you what I want, what I really, really want
So tell me what you want, what you really, really want
I’ll tell you what I want, what I really, really want
So tell me what you want, what you really, really want
I wanna (Hey!), I wanna (Hey!), I wanna (Hey!), I wanna (Hey!)
I wanna really, really, really wanna “zig-a-zig”, ah -“Wannabee” by Spice Girls
You can’t always get what you want
You can’t always get what you want
You can’t always get what you want
But if you try sometimes, well, you might find
You get what you need -“You Can’t Always Get What You Want” by The Rolling Stones
What do you want?
Not what you think you should want.
Not what society tells you to want.
Not what your friends and family want for you.
But what do YOU deep down, really, really, really WANT? And get super specific.
Don’t know?
Keep asking. Keep searching. Keep after it.
Because until you come up with an answer, you can’t even try. And if you aren’t trying for something. then what exactly are you doing?
The Vs. Studio Blog