Insights and Inspiration
This is where I think out loud. About leadership, theatre, creativity, grief, power, ego, and the occasional sacred cow that deserves a firm shove. Some posts are sharp, some are personal, all of them are honest—and none of them are written to keep everyone comfortable. If you’re looking for polish, this might not be it. If you’re looking for truth with a pulse, welcome.
The Most Important Line in the Script Might Be the One Nobody Says
One of the things I find myself saying a lot in rehearsal is this: “Don’t rush the silence.” An actor will land a line beautifully. The intention is clear, the moment works… and then they immediately charge into the next line and I have to stop them. Because the...
Stop Acting So Hard: The Difference Between Histrionics and the Real Thing
There’s a very specific energy that shows up in rehearsal sometimes. It’s not nerves or passion. Nor is it even bad acting. It’s trying too hard. And after years of acting, directing and coaching actors, I can spot it in about three seconds. Let’s talk about the...
Don’t Rehearse the Grief to Death
I’m in the middle of directing Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire at WCT right now, and I’ve made a decision that might sound counter-intuitive: we’re actually cutting back on some of the rehearsal time we were given. It’s not because we’re behind because we...
The Day Rush Hijacked My Brain
I was eight years old when my brain got rewired. It happened at the Thornhill Public Library. I was there with my Mom — probably looking for something wholesome and educational, because that’s what good parents do — and I wandered into the record section. And then I...
5 Ways Community Theatre Directors Can Give Better Notes
If there’s one thing every community theatre director knows, it’s this: notes are part of the process. But how we give them — when, where, and in what form — matters almost as much as what the notes actually are. A recent article on OnStage Blog by Chris Peterson...
In Community Theatre, Your Reputation is Everything
Here in the land of regional theatre, there is no HR department. There is no agent smoothing things over. There is no publicist spinning your bad behaviour into “artistic temperament.” There is no paycheck large enough to justify misery. All you have is your...
Greed vs. Success
They are not the same thing. Stop pretending they are. Somewhere along the way, we let a dangerous lie take hold in our culture: that more money equals more success. It just doesn’t. Full stop. It’s the justification of greed, which is what happens when success...
The Thought I Hate Having About Donald Trump
I have a confession I don’t enjoy making, mostly because it scares the hell out of me. I have never wished death on anyone. Not an ex. Not a bully. Not the people who have hurt me deeply. I’ve always believed that once you cross that line—once you genuinely want...
Flinching at Headlines: The Jewish Experience No One Talks About
How do you hold your identity when Epstein, Weinstein, media pundits, and even other Jews weaponize it against you? There are few moments more stomach-turning than realizing some of the worst human beings alive—Jeffery Epstein and Harvey Weinstein—share something with...
Mocking Medication: The Last Refuge of the Emotionally Bankrupt
How Rachel Gilmore’s vulnerability exposed the hollow noise machines masquerading as humans. What do people get out of mocking someone for taking an antidepressant? Absolutely nothing—unless you count the temporary dopamine bump insecure people get when they mistake...