October fourteenth, two thousand nine

This blog is, for the time being, a list of things I'd like to remember while making work.

Number one: Collaboration is hard.

At the risk of pointing out the obvious, collaboration is hard. It requires patience, perseverance, humility, an open-mind, and an ability to listen to an extent rarely used in daily life.

Even if you know the people you are working with well, its still extremely difficult. I have worked with a collaborator in San Francisco since 2002 and while I grew increasingly capable throughout the years of partnership, it never became "easy."

Now trying being thrown into a room with eight people you've known for two weeks and try making a ten minute event in three hours.

This is really difficult work requiring muscles I haven't flexed in a long time and the prospect of doing this for the next year is exciting and terrifying.

What if I don't click with anyone? What if I come off as over-bearing? What if my ideas don't resonate with the others? What if I talk too much? Or too little? What if I try to assert my directorial instincts where they aren't welcome? What if I don't meet other people who share my aesthetics? What if I'm not able to make work that excites me because I compromise too many of my own principles?

On the other hand: There are so many opportunities ahead of us. There are so many perspectives amongst our class to learn from. There is a tangible energy and thrust in our group and I'm thrilled to be a part of it.