jedscott

Lin-Manuel Miranda often says, “I have absolutely no chill.” Like his alter ego and artistic subject, Alexander Hamilton, Miranda seems possessed by enthusiasm, excitement, and a drive to “write like he’s running out of time.” He’s not the only one, of course. Steve Jobs had no chill. Mozart, Bach, Picasso – no […]

There is no such thing as Conductor’s Block. When you were just starting out, perhaps you dreaded rehearsals further into the process. Early rehearsals mean teaching notes – that’s easy…you know how to do that. As the weeks pass, though, your leadership shifts into musical decisions, fine adjustments, and all sorts of […]

No one episode of the show represents what the show is about…. To me, like, I’m drawing this regression plot so there’s, like, this episode’s about this, this episode’s about this, and it all kind of scatters…and then you draw this regression line, and that regression line is the thesis […]

“You never get a second chance to make a first impression.” (Will Rogers?) “My first impressions of people are invariably right.” (Oscar Wilde) “A good first impression can work wonders.” (J.K. Rowling) Maybe we put too much stock in a first impression. I’m more interested in people making a good third […]

Leading psychologist Dan Gilbert tells us that we humans consistently underestimate how much we’re going to change. At every age, from 18 to 68 in our data set, people vastly underestimated how much change they would experience over the next 10 years. We call this the “end of history” illusion. To give you an […]

Leaders guide. Bosses direct. Leaders teach. Bosses demand. Leaders see us. Bosses see us vs. them. Leaders enlighten. Bosses impose. Are you a leader in front of the choir? Or are you the boss?

Put kids who’ve never met together, and it doesn’t take long for them to find commonality, play games, climb trees, or just run around. Kids are built to make friends easily. We all are, I think, but our adulthood gets in our way; forces barriers against openness and slows down the friendship train. […]

I’ve been searching for the right audition management approach that provides all-digital audition form and signup. I think I finally found the right combination (and free!) with the following. (This is not paid – I’m just excited!). For audition form, nothing beats a Google Form. all the information is in […]

Auditions are a leap of faith – for everyone involved. As an auditionee, you are trying something – something you might not feel ready for – because you want the experience. You go into the unknown. As an auditioner, you are trusting that at the other end, there is an ensemble that […]

A couple of years ago I committed to a little note (sometimes words, sometimes drawings) in each of my kids’ lunchboxes, every school day. Today I was reflecting on what makes something special, in reality and perceptions. First, I have to say up front that I’m not tied to their reaction – I’m doing […]