OK, I stole that headline from the movie Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story, one of my favorites. (Thank you, Chuck Norris.)
But a recent trip to my hometown of Fort Worth, Texas, made me a believer in unlikelihood . . . and there’s a good tip in that for theater creators of all varieties.
Here’s the tip—Serendipity happens. When it does, dip deeper.
Serendipity Happens
We’re so used to thinking of the downside of that. You know . . . poop happens. Bad things happen. Life is always throwing the curve ball that puts you down swinging.
Truth is good stuff happens unexpectedly all the time. Unlikelihood. Serendipity. I haven’t been in Fort Worth for more than 24 hours in two years. A wedding took me back, and I happened to see a bus bench ad for a commercial production of Thoroughly Modern Millie produced in a beloved but seldom-used venue. It was a new theater company, Prism Theatrics, with roots in New York and Fort Worth and interested in theater that is in my wheelhouse.
What are the odds? This was a great new contact for me, and I never would have known if my sister’s daughter hadn’t fallen in love with the grandson of my father’s college roommate. (Do you believe in unlikelihood?!?!)
Dip Deeper
Serendipitous occurrences do just happen. But you can also help them happen better by dipping more deeply into them when they do. I Googled the production, learned about Prism and sent an email—“I’m in Fort Worth. We like the same things. We should meet.”
The young producer, Blake Floyd was crazy busy with his show opening 10 days away. Yet he responded. We met. Had an outstanding conversation. (It turns out he went to the same performing arts high school my daughter did.)
Who knows where this will lead? But it was guaranteed to lead nowhere if we both hadn’t dipped deeper into that serendipitous moment.
So, sure, I believe in unlikelihood. And when it shows up . . . I help it.
OK. That’s it, and that’s enough.
But a recent trip to my hometown of Fort Worth, Texas, made me a believer in unlikelihood . . . and there’s a good tip in that for theater creators of all varieties.
Here’s the tip—Serendipity happens. When it does, dip deeper.
Serendipity Happens
We’re so used to thinking of the downside of that. You know . . . poop happens. Bad things happen. Life is always throwing the curve ball that puts you down swinging.
Truth is good stuff happens unexpectedly all the time. Unlikelihood. Serendipity. I haven’t been in Fort Worth for more than 24 hours in two years. A wedding took me back, and I happened to see a bus bench ad for a commercial production of Thoroughly Modern Millie produced in a beloved but seldom-used venue. It was a new theater company, Prism Theatrics, with roots in New York and Fort Worth and interested in theater that is in my wheelhouse.
What are the odds? This was a great new contact for me, and I never would have known if my sister’s daughter hadn’t fallen in love with the grandson of my father’s college roommate. (Do you believe in unlikelihood?!?!)
Dip Deeper
Serendipitous occurrences do just happen. But you can also help them happen better by dipping more deeply into them when they do. I Googled the production, learned about Prism and sent an email—“I’m in Fort Worth. We like the same things. We should meet.”
The young producer, Blake Floyd was crazy busy with his show opening 10 days away. Yet he responded. We met. Had an outstanding conversation. (It turns out he went to the same performing arts high school my daughter did.)
Who knows where this will lead? But it was guaranteed to lead nowhere if we both hadn’t dipped deeper into that serendipitous moment.
So, sure, I believe in unlikelihood. And when it shows up . . . I help it.
OK. That’s it, and that’s enough.
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