Wild World of Shorts

Remember when I said all summer that I was all about the small projects? For me right then, when my brain was putty after jumping off the graduate school sprint train, I think that was true.

Except I'm now remembering what I've refused to admit for years: there's no such thing as a small project. A filmmaker friend once tried telling me this truth. I nodded and simultaneously shook my head in response. I knew he was right but I didn't want to believe it. 

I LOVE the small projects I'm working on right now: the short plays, the puppet plays, the bitty flash creative bursts of things, but oh BOY there's a lot that goes into each one. Meanwhile, I have a couple major projects (or five...) I really want to lean into.

I need to go big with those giant pieces. I know that takes huge energy and longterm commitment, and it's a turbulent swim full of a trillion short steps within each large thing. So after these four shorts go up and down by the end of next month, I need to bat away the temptation of accepting the tiny stuff. This is going to be hard to do. I think I can. I think I can. Help me stay strong.

It's not that I won't do another small project again after October, but with the number of big ideas that are asking for my attention, and with the amount of dedicated focus each will take, I've got to be more conscientious about my reservoir of time.

Yet now, while my nose is in these current beautiful collaborations with outstanding artists and brilliant humans, these small shorts have my heart and mind. And it's a gorgeous water treading. I can't wait for you to see these plays I'm making with dear friends when they open next month. And in advance, I relish the spaciousness ahead, when I will carve out actual time for the big stuff.

Big projects are ocean swims. That's where I want to be. Photo Li Yang.