Always come from a place of curiosity.

Yes, we want to get every detail down correctly. But it’s too tempting to be hard on ourselves, particularly in the intensity of a rehearsal or workshop situation. Too often we think, “I should be able to get this”, and become our own worst critics.

Instead, by being curious and allowing every moment to be a discovery (“cool! That didn’t work and I learned something”, “Cool! That was really close to it!”, or “cool! That worked and I learned something!”) we train ourselves to enjoy the process, and find excitement in learning. Conversely, by being hard on ourselves and beating ourselves up, we condition ourselves to dislike the process and resent learning and rehearsal.

Endeavour to find the balance between objective self-assessment and a positive outlook while training and rehearsing. This way, you’ll be able to improve upon your weaknesses, while still enjoying the process of developing, training and rehearsing. This way, you’ll maintain your joy for making art.

Many thanks to Bob Charron who first instilled this approach in me.