Crazytown

CRUNCHING THE NUMBERS ON ART

Here's why money doesn't matter. And why you should (or shouldn't) care.
by Loren A. Roberts (guru of multi-hyphenate media)

I have never seen this much money...and that's my own fault.

FOOLISH BRAINS

I want to talk about our wrong-mindedness. Yes, I'm calling it out. You, and I, are constantly thinking about the wrong things. Specifically money. And it's stressing you out.

Why? Why do we spend so much time worrying about money -- something that has nothing to do with our art -- and therefore stresses us out so much that we lose sight of the reason we originally dropped everything to become an artist?

Really?

Stop it. This preoccupation with money is a distraction.

I'm not saying to let your finances go in the toilet. In fact, I'm saying the opposite. Go get some simple financial training. Take a class. Math is not hard, if you stick with it for a while. (The main reason that so many of us hate math is that many of our teachers in gradeschool were either scared of math themselves, or scared of their school's math curriculum. Honest. But that's probably another blog post.)

And here's the thing: making your monthly rent is infinitesimally small compared to the truckloads of money being thrown around on paper just a few blocks away from you or me (that's New York City and L.A.).

Okay, get ready for a wild, and completely non-scientific, comparison of your money to their money.

Oooo, looky here: a stupid non-sequitur comparison infographic.

(Hey look: I got a Smash reference into this post!) In Hollywood, as on Broadway, many small people are paid peanuts so that a few people at the top can make millions. Just this past week, Los Angeles watched FX house Rhythm and Hues die (well, Chapter 11) a horrible death, because the major Hollywood studios have decided that they can make tons of money on the backs of small companies to do all the heavy lifting for their tentpole (massive summer blockbuster) films. And there are plenty of us who will bend over and take it in the behind just to get a shot at the celebrity of having the next "The Last Five Years" or "Pirates of the Caribbean," right? But I gotta tell you, it's not worth it. Rhythm and Hues found that out that hard way, and now lots of people (people I know) have lost their jobs.

SO WHAT'S THE ANSWER?

Make your art because you believe in it. Not because it's going to make you gobs of money or celebrity. And then handle your money shrewdly. If you don't know how, find someone who does know how to handle money -- that can be trusted -- and pay them to help you. And then stop spending (even I need to work on this one!), and save and save and save, and spend shrewdly only when you absolutely need to.

Why? Because I want you to have the space -- and place of rest -- to do your art.

CREATIVITY AND SLEEP

We have been told time and time again that rest and sleep help us be more creative. So what happens when you are worried about money? Do you -- literally -- lose sleep over money issues? I know I have. Stop it. Take a break. And if you don't feel you can take a break, then you haven't figured out how to manage your money well enough. Go back and do the math again.

SO WHAT ABOUT THIS WRONG-MINDEDNESS?

Check out that graphic above. I know I'm comparing apples to oranges to Fruit Loops, but check out how much money Apple has on hand. And how much NBC spends on each episode of Smash (it's probably a bit lower this season, or will be as soon as they look at their ratings...). And now let's look at ourselves. A 2-bedroom apartment in NYC could cost you $3,000-$3,500 per month (on average), or up to $42,000 per year. The same apartment in L.A. will cost you $2,000-$2,500 per month, or $30,000 per year. You are spending 1% of the cost of one episode of Smash on your entire year's rent. So get over the money, make the money work, and just get down to the business of making your art. Smash/Wicked/Apple are all a long way off from your reality, and should not be considered part of your income-generating plan. If you win the Broadway/Hollywood lottery, good for you; but most of us won't. And that's fine, as long as our financial house is in order. We can get our rest, be comfortable enough to have the energy and mental capacity to create, and go ahead and make art.

Why am I telling you to do this? Well, first, I'm writing this as much for myself as for you. I need to pull back and get my own financial house in order, and do it so that I can carve out space -- and restful space -- to be creative. But also I'm concerned for many of my friends who believe grabbing part of that Broadway/Hollywood lottery is the only way to succeed at being a performing/writing artist. It's not, and it's dangerous to get distracted by hopes for celebrity, when in actuality what you want to be doing is making good art.

So what are you going to do?

LOREN A. ROBERTS produces films, videos and music, designs magazines and logos, plays and sings in a Doobie Brothers tribute band, and is a student of what happens when science and technology and the arts and culture collide. www.hearkencreative.com
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YOUR BRAIN IS HUNGRY, FEED IT SOMETHING

How thinking in patterns can help you to become a more creative individual
By Joanna Syiek (Director/Producer/Blogger)

Neuroscientist Daniel Bor gives us a whole new idea of brainfood with his book The Ravenous Brain: How the New Science of Consciousness Explains Our Insatiable Search for Meaning. Just like Steve Jobs' famous postulation that "creativity is just connecting things," Bor explores the human need for pattern-making and how it is essential to creativity.

Delish.

One of the more fascinating stories he tells focuses on "chunking," that is, grouping items together to make more room in your memory. One man, an undergraduate of average IQ, learned to use this mental trick to unlock the boundaries of his working memory. He participated in an experiment where researches read him a list of random digits and asked him to repeat them back in the order he'd heard them. If he got the sequence right, the next list would be one number longer. If incorrect, one digit shorter. And he did this one hour a day, four days a week, for two years.

At first he was able to remember 7 digits - better than the average person's 4 digit sequence and not unusual that it was the length of most phone numbers. But Mr. Test Subject soon got so bored by the experiments that he tried to challenge himself to improve his limit tenfold. Which he did. By the end of the test period, he was able to repeat back 80 digits with ease. That's 11 new friends phone numbers back to back (10 from the city, one out-of-towner with a different area code). Which is astounding. But also a stark reminder that the brain really is a muscle, and it benefits from a good workout just like the rest of your body.

But how you ask?

THE BRAIN GYM

By RSO

 Have you heard about Lumosity?

 

It's like the gym for your brain.  I enrolled, and I've started everyday but two in the last three weeks with a "training session."  The program is as competitive as you want it to be -- whether you're competing against yourself or you're competing against other users in your age group, there's always a new level, new goal to aspire to.

Lumosity isn't that pricy.  Either like $15 for one month, or $70 for a year ... If you're the kind of person who is into this kind of thing, it's totally worth it.

And because you get them for a short period of time and it's constantly being changed up, you don't really get tired.  Personally, my favorite games include the Memory Matrix, where you see 3, 4, 5 and more red squares for a brief glimpse... but then must remember where each block was.  At 10, 11, 12, 13 -- it gets insanely difficult.  Well, for me...

Another interesting game is a word game in which you're given an initial steam, say rece-, and you have to come up with as many words as you can as quickly as possible that start with that stem.  Receptive, recede, receding, etc.

You can get three days free, and they're totally worth it.  Go to Lumosity.com to enroll today!

RYAN SCOTT OLIVER wrote the music and lyrics for Darling, Mrs. Sharp, 35mm, Jasper in Deadland and more. www.ryanscottoliver.com
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MARK RYLANCE CAN SLAM A REVOLVING DOOR

“Well, it’s true.”
Miles Mandwelle (Actor/Musician)

Last year I stumbled into the Music Box theatre in New York to see La Bête, not expecting my life to be changed. I mean, I was seeing David Hyde Pierce and Joanna Lumley (of “Ab Fab” fame) in a play, which was good enough for me.

I was previously aware of Mark Rylance, but hadn’t seen him in anything. I volunteered for the Drama Desk Awards the year of Boeing-Boeing, cutting gels in the basement of LaGuardia High School in exchange for the chance to see the show, and got to see his highly amusing acceptance speech, with the additional bonus of watching his presenter, Patti LuPone, struggle with what to do with it all.

I later read his comments on why he chose to do that, which you can read here.

La Bête was already a first-rate production with Mr. Pierce and Ms. Lumely, and the direction of wunderkind Matthew Warchus, but the second Mark Rylance walked onstage, everyone in the audience could not help but be enraptured in his aura of awesome.

I was f$&)@in' speechless. Gobsmacked.

What saddened me about this extraordinary night in the theatre is that the house was half-empty. My understanding is the case was similar for Jerusalem, which I regrettably didn’t see.

Is Mark Rylance cursed in New York? In London, it’s been said that women would throw their panties at curtain call.

I, Miles Mandwelle, unfortunately do not have any panties I can throw at Mark Rylance. But what’s worse is that on a show I worked on recently, an astonishing number of people in the cast had no idea who he was. For the record, 85% of the actors were living in New York at the time.

So I have a proposition.

To raise awareness for the existence of Mark Rylance, I propose that all fellow Mark Rylance lovers make a conscious effort to turn him into a household name. And I propose this be done by turning him into the next Chuck Norris.

For example:
           
Mark Rylance can divide by zero.

Mark Rylance can slam a revolving door.

If Mark Rylance wants an egg, he cracks open a chicken.

Global warming is just a myth, it’s Mark Rylance’s body heat coming from the Music Box Theatre.

See how easy it is?

Spread the word and be well.

Here are some quality Mark Rylance clips.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

 

 

  

 

MILES MANDWELLE shamelessly loves Mark Rylance.
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ART VS. SCIENCE, THE PERSONAL EDITION

I find the cultural divide between the arts/humanities and the sciences puzzling.
by Loren A. Roberts (guru of multi-hyphenate media)

Was this your dilemma in school?

This had to be one of the hardest weekends to program -- I wish I could have had a clone of myself. On the one hand, one of my biggest clients -- The Planetary Society (and Bill Nye the Science Guy) was having a weekend-long festival surrounding the landing of the Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity rover) on Mars, for which I had designed countless pieces of signage, programs, logos, etc. Four blocks down the street from that festival, the Pasadena Musical Theatre Program (of which I am a board member and all-around support staff) was staging their final show of the summer in a little theatre above the Pasadena Playhouse. How could I choose where I should spend my time?

(I chose the theatre, 'cuz my son was one of the leads. Family ends up trumping all else...)

The choice between SCIENCE and ART has bedeviled students and scientists and creatives and educators for years. Here was my chance to choose one or the other. But it begged the question: why do I have to choose? (Dammit!) Why does becoming an artist prevent me from pursuing scientific pursuits? Or, conversely, why would becoming a scientist keep me from exploring theater, or music, or photography?

And we all know of anecdotes of famous “renaissance men (and women)” from history: Da Vinci, Galileo, etc. But it still continues today: listen to Herbie Hancock, whose jazz improvisations inspired how I developed as a pianist:

"I've always been interested in science. I used to take watches apart and clocks apart, and there's little screws, and a little this and that, and I found out if I dropped one of them, that thing ain't gonna work.

He believes that the greatest thing young artists can do is study math and science, because the skills required -- and the dedication and hours -- are useful/transferable to studying art and music. The fact that both creativity and scientific thought require a shared set of skills is intuitively true, as this blogger has illustrated in his Venn diagram:

Doesn't that look a lot like what is needed for your artistic career? So, too, for scientists.

Two problems.

1. Who has time? As an incoming freshman at Occidental College (whose orchestra is named the Occidental/Caltech orchestra, 'cuz those scientists are pretty incredible musicians too), I couldn't find room in my schedule to have both music and science (I declared as an engineering major, before transfering to education/math, before transfering to economics, before transfering to...well, you get the idea). Educational models in secondary and graduate education don't really allow for polymaths.
2. Who has money? President Obama recently committed to funding more STEM (Science/Technology/Engineering/Math) teachers for schools across the country, if school districts commensurately committed to STEM education. And you know what the result of that is? Further drops in funding for the arts, as the funds go over to STEM. A teacher friend who has spearheaded a 30-year-old choral/musical theater program in Pasadena for at-risk youth is herself at risk of losing her job, because Pasadena wants to turn her school into a STEM school (probably to get additional funds from the federal government). How stupid is that? Don't people recognize that art and science are interrelated?

Personally, I have never found a separation between art and science. My musicianship was transformed the year that my wife and I started to subscribe to Scientific American. It wasn't that there were "tips and tricks" for improving my musical ability inside the pages of the magazine; rather, my brain exploded while reading up on the mind-bending advances in science that are happening every day, and my brain dealt with these new ideas by channeling it into new, creative, crazy, wonderful music.

Takeaways:

1. Don't get caught in "art and science don't mix" thinking. You're dead wrong.
2. Expand your mind! Read, educate, create. Repeat.
3. Advocate to your local/state/federal politicians to not forsake either STEM or the arts.

Wow. Just Wow.

It was amazing to see, once again, something that we built -- through both the creativity and scientific amazingness of a group of dedicated/talented/creative people -- land on another planet. That I was not in the building for Planetfest with my client will soon be forgotten; what will not be forgotten is the creativity that spurs scientists on, or the passion for math and science that inspires countless artists.

LOREN A. ROBERTS produces films, videos and music, designs magazines and logos, plays and sings in a rock-and-roll tribute band, and is a student of what happens when science and technology and the arts and culture collide. www.hearkencreative.com
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HAPPY PI DAY

By Gregory Jacobs-Roseman (Composer-Lyricist)

I have a confession to make: I had absolutely no idea what to write about this week, so as a result this post is on a subject that my friends will agree I have no business being within ten city blocks of, let alone writing about – and that subject is: math.

That said, today is March 14th, also known as “Pi Day.” 3/14 being the first three digits of that mathematical concept called "pi" or "π" which is really, really, really long and has something to do with circles or whatever. Sorry, I've blocked most of high school from my memory – geometry class being no exception. To help us out, here’s my not-at-all-secret intellectual lover Rachel Maddow explaining the idea in 2009 (I've gone ahead and cued up the video to the 1:01 mark where the pi segment begins – I may be bad at math, but I totally rock at embedding YouTube videos):

I’m terrible at math (don’t blame me, I’m an Emerson College alum). People assume if you’re a musician you’ve got some mathematical talent, but in my observation that’s not always the case. Still, I do remember my junior high school math teacher getting all geeked out about Pi Day, and apparently she’s not the only one. To demonstrate, I get another excuse to show a Maddow clip (woo-hoo!). This one's from 2010 (which when compared to the previous video is apparently after MSNBC made the jump from standard definition to HD):

 
Work that hula hoop, gurl! Also, I'm always jaw-to-the-floor amazed by people who know how to systematically solve Rubik's Cubes. 

So there you go. Pi Day. Apparently you’re supposed to eat pie today as well, and that’s something I can totally get behind. Even if I still suck at math.

Blasphemy!

GREGORY JACOBS-ROSEMAN is a composer/lyricist and theatrical sound designer currently developing Save The Date: A New Musical Comedy. www.gregjr.com
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ART LOVES SCIENCE

Exploring that place where Science and Art meet, and fall madly in love.
By Brett Ryback (Actor-Writer)

I've often thought that if I weren't an artist, I would have been a scientist.  And on those many days when being an artist is particularly hard, I wish I HAD been a scientist.

For me, there is a huge overlap between the two disciplines.  In each there is an intense desire to understand.  To find out why things happen the way they do - what makes things and people tick? 

The beauty in each, is that the deeper you go, the discoveries begin to blow your mind, and you will inevitably reach a trascendant point in which you can't go any further without saying, "I just don't know."

One of my newest obsessions on this front is the NPR radio show Radiolab.  If you've never heard of it, drop what you're doing right now, find an episode, and listen.

2011 MacArthur Fellow Jad Abumrad hosts along with NPR science consultant Robert Krulwich, and together they take you on a rivetting, and emotional journey through the science of various topics in a way you never would have thought of. 

For example - why does music affect us the way it does? If what Walter Pater says - "All art aspires to the condition of music" - it's a fair question to ask, and it's explored, along with other fascinating questions, on one of my favorite episodes of Radiolab, so far.

By the way, for anyone keeping track, Jonah Lehrer, who is a regular contributor on the show, is the author of a book that I want called Proust was a Neuroscientist.  My birthday is July 3rd.  Do as you will.

Regardless of the topic, I am always inspired when I listen to Radiolab, because science and art both grapple with The Big Picture.  And no matter how improbable the answers to life's biggest questions may be, there is always logic and simplicity, and beauty. 

And if you dare to ask enough questions, you inevitably arrive at the brink of that wonderful joint birthplace of both great art and great science: The Unknown.

BRETT RYBACK wrote the music for Liberty Inn (Ovation Nominee, Best Music/Lyrics), the book music and lyrics for The Tavern Keeper’s Daughter, and the book for Darling. He also acts on stage and TV. www.btryback.wordpress.com
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MATH AND I MIGHT BE MAKING UP!

With the help of a great professor, I might - I repeat, MIGHT - be changing my attitude about the Hellish nightmare that is math.
By Geoffrey Kidwell (actor-student)


Spotlight up on a young boy sitting at a desk.

In the hazy glow of the light we can see that the boy sits in a long row of other desks occupied by happy-looking students – hands raised; slapping high-fives, eagerly waiting to answer the teacher’s next challenge. But the boy in the spotlight slumps low in his chair - his hands dropped to his side and his head hanging low.

He’s covered in a mess of pencil shavings and eraser shrapnel.

He simply doesn't get it.

I was that little boy.

My first grade teacher, Mrs. Leach took her cues from the old school. And I mean like waaaaay old school. I'm talking like Little House on the Prairie old school. To this day, she is the toughest teacher I have ever had.

On one occasion, this kid in my class raised his hand and said he had to use the bathroom. "You should've gone at recess," Mrs. Leach said. "But I didn't have to go at recess," the young kegel-flexing student cried. "I'm sorry, R.J., but you'll have to wait until lunch." In despair, the young student accepted Mrs. Leach's decree...and pissed all over himself and the desk.

RUDE, RIGHT?!

PUT THIS IN YOUR MOUTH!!

Robert: The man of my dreams. My blueberry muffin hero.
By Geoffrey Kidwell (actor-student)

Last week was a rough one:

The kid I nanny had a complete nervous breakdown because it was a thousand degrees out. Apparently, excessive heat turns otherwise lovely six-year olds into miniature depressives.

I was running all over the place in order to get to rehearsals.

I had a sinus infection. RUDE, right?!

And to top it all off, I had to prepare for a math midterm. Math?! WTF?!

Anyway,  my point in saying all of this is not simply to complain - although I hold a black belt in the ancient art of bitching and moaning. No. I come to you today to admit that sadly, I was unable to bake/cook/even get near my kitchen for anything other than vodka and Honey Nut Cheerios - not at the same time. Although...?

I assumed the kitchen would become a ghost town for the week until the other night when Robert announced that he was going to bake.

I must say that Robert is the angel man of my dreams.

(An actual image of Robert in all his angel glory. He didn't know I was photographing him.)

YOUR GUIDE TO SUMMER NECESSITIES

I always say I’ll never do it again, but each year it happens.

 By Jenny Donoghue

Since seasons don’t exist anymore, Summer snuck upon us this year, the cheeky ol’ blighter. But never fear! With my top tips, you can be prepared for everything Summer, that harsh mistress between The Seasons Formerly Known As Spring and Fall, can throw at you.

THIS SUMMER, YOU WILL NEED:

• The Frying Pan. THIS IS A BAR ON A BOAT. Let me repeat that: a BAR on a BOAT. A really cool old boat that sunk and now lives in the sea off Chelsea Piers. Gorgeous views of the river and the city and they serve excellent food (highly recommend the hummus and vegetables wrap). Go hang out there immediately. If I can’t live on a houseboat, this is the next best thing. 

• Summer lovin’. Or at least someone to make out with in outdoor beer gardens and toward the end of sweaty dance parties. If you already have love from previous seasons, it still counts, you lucky person. 

• SUNSCREEN. Just like Gozilla, no one is safe. The sun is a ball of fire thousands of millions times the size of you. Why aren’t people more scared of that?

• For my pasty white bretherin and sisterin, Jergens lotion to give your skin a hint of tan.^[1] It requires several minutes and dollars of investment but aside from making your legs soft and physically bearable to look at in shorts (white reflects; in the sun I look like my own light source) it’s amazing how slimming a brownish tint can be.  Totally worth it, as long as you can get past the musty teabagy not-quite-human tan lotion smell being on every part of your skin. 

• Air Conditioning. If you don’t have it, mine is FREE (what?!) so you’re welcome to come be cold at my place. We crank it UP. (Your challenge is to work out where my place is. Then you’ll have earned the coldness.)