A gentle close to an incredible week

And six things that made life brighter and better / Issue 1,431

Oh, hi friends! 

Last night was the first table reading of the musical I've been writing for the past year with Kris Bjarke. 

You've probably heard me talk about this project for a while. You've seen the starts and stops, the roundabouts and distractions.

And you know what?

The reading was absolutely perfect. Exceeded my wildest expectations.

The actors were kind and generous and brilliant, and the space radiated with exactly the feeling I wanted to achieve. 

Sometimes you have to work really hard for months to find three hours of perfect flow.

My happy place.

(Don't worry, the musical isn't three hours lol; it's one act, 100 minutes!)

I could say “I’m definitely rewriting half that song” or “welllll, it's not entirely finished,” but I don't have any qualifiers or explanations. Because it will be finished. 

And for now, it was absolutely perfect.

I'm reminded again that doing exactly what you set out to do is incredibly satisfying. 

Let the rewrites and polishing begin, but wow. I just had to share this moment with you. I am so happy. 

Because we're in each other's inboxes and minds every weekday, you know that it doesn't always feel like this. Boy are there sloggy and challenging periods. And so I say this to you as I know you're navigating your own big work — keep going.

You are gonna love the finish line. 

We closed down the studio, so got a self-timer selfie lol: Marshall Hagins, Julia Gannon, Brandon Schumacker, Barbara Haas, Hannah Fairchild, Tracy Sallows, Janine McGuire, Julian Guerrieri, Stephanie Bacastow, me, and Kris Bjarke!

6 Things That Made the Week Brighter & Better

• Giving myself (literal and metaphorical) space. We held the reading at Open Jar Studios, which, in the words of my friend Stephanie, feels like The Ritz haha. Seems like a minor thing, but having the room early allowed us to set up, rehearse, relax, and settle in. Previously I would have been hustling around at the last minute, but I'm understanding more that while I enjoy the pressure to perform within constraints, I do not love being rushed or feeling behind. Giving ourselves space made everything smooooth. And as I told Aransas this morning, I think we all deserve nice things.

• Speaking of shows, Colin and I saw two good plays this week: Patriots and Mother Play (Jessica Lange!!). If the TONY nominations got you eager to see shows, a reminder that the TodayTix app has a ton of easy-to-enter lotteries. And if you're a freelancer, arts worker, or work at a non-profit, discounted tickets to dozens of Broadway and Off-Broadway shows are available on TDF!

• My friend Jonathan introduced me to the Lotus Garden, a private garden on 96th and Broadway, which is a gorgeous respite in the city — $20 a year gets you a key to enter the gates!!! Just look at it!

• I'm a big fan of the restaurateur Danny Meyer, and finally tried the patty melt at Daily Provisions, which was plugged in this NYT article all about…patty melts. Wow. Worth the wait. 

• Accepting there's a time for everything. A fellowship deadline came and went this week, and after a brief second of remorse on realizing I missed the window, I remembered, "That isn't my focus right now." (It was the Nicholl Fellowship for screenplays.) That simple moment of acceptance, of "This is not for me right now," was…freeing. Do I want to try everything, or do I want to finish one thing at a time? A lesson I learn over and over again…

• Btw, brother Eric just sent me this quote from The Artist’s Way, which is too apt.

Well, that's a lot! I'd love to know what made life brighter and better this week.

And Colin and I are off on vacation next week—to Ireland!!!—so newsletters will be on a break, but I'm opening up the calendar for Launch the Plane sessions on Monday for May and June, and hope you can join me if there's something big on your mind that you're ready to get out in the world. I'm here, and it’s time.