I often draw parallels with food and cooking and acting. As you develop your own method for what works for you, remember: your recipe is yours and yours alone. Even if people ask…let’s be honest – most of the time it’s none of their business. Let them enjoy the food you’re serving (i.e. the result of all your methodical preparation in whatever medium you perform it in) and always leave them wanting more.

Likewise, there is really no one way to arrive at a result. Some recipes or methods work better for you than for others and vice versa. That’s okay. There’s no point wasting energy deriding other recipes or comparing what’s better. Better is subjective.

The way in which you create your own recipe or preparation guide will and must always vary and change depending on the genre of the production, the medium you are performing it in, the cast and crew involved and so on and so forth. Find ways to make your work efficient without becoming robotic, stubborn, or a slave to your method. Figure how you can be adaptable, flexible, and open to new ways of working. Your method, like a chef’s recipe, is a departure point. It is a point from which you know what you are making; where you are headed; where you can roll with the punches with whatever that comes your way. And when the dish is served (or in this case, the curtains open) you can be proud of the work you have done not because it’s the finished product but because you dedicated sufficient time, effort and energy to create the best possible show/dish. Your work must and will always speak for itself

And if people don’t like it,

a) at least your work moved them
b) if you know the intention behind the feedback is constructive, try to understand what’s not working about what you did so you can adjust accordingly for the next time
c) it’s their right to feel a certain way about your work just as it is your right to accept or ignore their feedback and reactions. Feedback is not an attack on the ego.

Here’s to a new school year ahead and may everyone who has the capacity and audacity to create find a way to bring your wildest dreams to life.

With Hope Towards The Future,
Kamil Haque

(Video Source: PBS News Hour, “Jacques Pépin says following a recipe can lead to disaster”)