Thank you Mr. Jobs
Like so many of you, my emotions were a tumble when I first learned of the news that the man who has shaped so much of our environment today has passed on. I will never forget the day I was given the task of writing the prototype for the first Broadway JR Director's Guide in 1996. I was charting virgin territory. I had a million "out of the box ideas" in my head, but no clue to how the finished product would look as I started with page 1 of the script of "Annie JR". My best friend through that process was an Apple IIe computer. Many of you are not old enough to have seen that little dinosaur that was "nirvana" to me. I clearly was not proficient at computer skills, but plugged away and turned in the first draft by November. I had never spent so many intimate hours with anything or any one except my husband. That ancient Apple was patient, correcting, freeing, and my partner. When it was time to upgrade, it was like saying goodbye to an old boyfriend. Wonderful memories but time to move on.
I couldn't help but flashback Thursday morning when I heard the news. A man who left us with a legacy of ideas on which the next generation of charismatic, artistic and critical thinkers can build upon. His view about loving what you do to achieve happiness is the mantra that a majority of us in musical theatre use as a compass. True artistic compensation is difficult to measure and, many times, priceless.
"Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don’t settle." Steve Jobs
You are right Steve. The love affair with musical theater and how it affects kids keeps getting better in my world. From an inner city school, to a pilot, to writing another Director's Guide, it definitely is a matter of the heart.
Thank you Mr. Jobs
CR
