Full circle

And trusting your audience is out there / Issue 1,114

Oh, hi friends!

I probably would have teared up if I hadn’t been surrounded by so many people? 

Last night was the first in-person return of my musical theater workshop (with all the people and all the classes). And I know you might not write lyrics or be interested in theater, but I think you probably understand the pure buoyant energy of a return to Old Ways, and how that feels.

I was thinking about who I was two and a half years ago, where I was working, what I’ve created, what I’ve lost, who I’ve lost — and how everyone else in that room has their own stories, too. 

There were friends I hadn’t seen in three years, new friends made during the pandemic, and an incoming class sitting where I once sat, scared out of my mind. 

It was a wonderful, full-circle feeling and being around other people made me, quite simply, want to make stuff. These are your collaborators, these are your champions. 

And I realized the degree to which it was so awful and adrift to be outside of that room was the twin feeling of just how wonderful it was to be in it. 

Find your rooms! Get back to them, if you can.

And if you can’t, make your own. We all need it.

On going forward with your ideas:

“Something that resonated with me and continues to resonate with me is the idea of trusting that the audience for your work is out there and that the things that you are writing about and the things that you are interested in and excited about will be interesting and exciting to other people, even if it doesn't feel like it at the moment. I think it was Lynn Ahrens that actually told me that advice. You're interested in writing this thing for a reason and other people are going to see that reason. You have trust that and write what excites you and write what you are interested in. And it will find the people who are also interested in that thing.”

—Adam Gwon, Do It Today

Another Full-Circle Moment

Chatting with the wonderful composer/lyricist Adam Gwon for the podcast — I took my first lyric writing class with him years ago and the rest is history (actually the rest is writing bad songs and OK songs and learning a lot lol).

I loved his honesty and perspective about the highs and lows of the writing process.

Listen to our chat on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, my website, or your favorite podcast platform.

PS — Adam is teaching a class at the Dramatists Guild Institute that starts this week!