"Go before you're ready"
Annie & Alison Newsletter #18
“Go before you’re ready” is a mantra heard all the time in the theater building at my alma mater. During my four years there, I was privileged to participate in an ensemble called “Workout.” It’s an audition-based assembly of 40-ish theater makers who facilitate all of the plays for the year. This community totally changed me. It would take a lengthy book to describe all the ways I was formed by it, and even that book would do so inadequately. Which is why I can only describe it in bits and pieces. Like going before you’re ready.
Actors have a tendency to overthink. We spend so much prep time analyzing our characters, their emotions, their realities. But analysis will only take an actor so far. The most compelling actors let their instincts drive them. They let their own raw humanity connect with that of their character, and then freely give those honest connection points away through their presence on stage. Stated differently, they let their head get “cold” and their instincts, body, and heart get “hot.“ They go before their brain has a chance to overcomplicate the moment.
This acting principle has been buzzing around in my head a lot these days. I just started a new job in a new (to me) industry and there’s so much I don’t know. As someone who values knowledge and feeling “in control,” this presents a personal challenge for me. I have two choices: stay in my head and feel overwhelmed, or channel my heart and instincts, and let the excitement of a new challenge propel me to dive in. In other words, I can choose to go before I’m truly “ready.”
If “ready” means that I know exactly what to expect, how to be successful, and have all the answers with all the confidence in the world, then of course, I’ll never be ready. So perhaps a better question is, “am I willing?” Am I willing to try, learn, grow? Well, yes! Yes, I am. I have to let that be enough.
I’m always willing to cook! The latest reviewed recipes are:
109 recipes cooked, 116 to go.
During this week of cooking…
I learned… that clams are delicious. This project is slowly exposing me to foods I never had the courage to try before, like branzino, olives, and dandelion greens, to name a few from the past two weeks. I learned that clams are far less fishy tasting than I expected, and they only take about 6 minutes to cook. They are especially lovely when paired with spicy chorizo and brothy noodles with a sprinkling of toasted walnuts and parsley. Alison’s Clam Pasta recipe (pictured above) is one of my favorites from this project.
I watched… There’s this show recently added to Netflix called “Manifest.” It’s a sci-fi thriller about an airplane flight gone wrong and the drama that ensues when it lands. The acting and special effects are often painfully cheesy. But every episode ends in a compelling way that forces me to watch the next one. If you’re looking for the next show to binge, I suggest this. Just remember – I warned you about the cheese.
I read… Last week was Sauce Week over at New York Times Cooking. Yes, a wise group of people chose to spend an entire week celebrating the power and beauty of sauce. Such a gesture nearly moved me to tears. (I love sauce. All sauce.) They published this article with their top 20 sauce recipes, and wow, what a read.
xo,
Annie
