What is (required field) Productions?
Welcome to a multimedia mini-studio.
Let’s talk about the joys (and occasional horrors) of creativity and making stuff.
First of all, thanks for being here
You’re important. Vital, even. Without you, this whole thing falls apart. Zen koans about trees and forests aside, I believe creativity is only complete when it is seen or read or heard or worn on a tee-shirt or even applied as a temporary tattoo. So thank you for being here to close the loop of the creative process. I appreciate you taking the time.
(required field) Productions was named of necessity
Cast your mind back to the pre-pandemic era. There I was, filling out a performance registration form to bring the puppet lounge singer Danny O’Hare to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (that’s a whole ’nother story I’ll tell you sometime), when I came to the field “Production company name”. Well, I didn’t have a production company, it was just me and a couple of friends taking on a crazy challenge. But not having a production company name stalled the entire process. Because it was, you see, a required field. I had to input something. And thus, in a fit of literalism, (required field) Productions sprang to life.
This is a multimedia mini-studio
Think of (required field) Productions as a virtual TV/movie/publishing/theatrical studio. I like to make stuff, either by myself or with the help of some delightfully talented friends and family. I like to share these crazy things I make. And I think I’ve found a home for all that here on Substack—a sheltering Big Top tent for all that is (required field) Productions.
So what’s next?
More of everything:
- The Four Weeks of Halloween just wrapped up for 2022, and Mari and I are discussing if we want to do more similar podcast episodes before next October. Holiday specials? Seasonal previews on solstices and equinoxes? We don’t know yet, and when we do, we’ll let you know right here. And if you have any ideas, let us know in the comments. The ability to easily hear from you is one of the reasons we switched to Substack.
- 1 New Message returns next week. Yep, a new season of on the comedy/genre short video series that won awards on two continents. I’m excited about this season—I think I’m getting a little better at video and audio production, and I’m finally ready to get to some scripts I’ve had in mind for a while now.
- Not Even a Season, the musical journey through time, space, and alternate realities as manifested by TV theme songs, has also moved over here to the (required field) Productions Substack. If you didn’t get a chance to listen to the musical madness the first time around, you might enjoy having a listen.
- Danny O’Hare is lounging around my office in his new cardigan, planning his next triumph. There’s a strong possibility he may provide yet more sage misguidance via another evening of Ask a Puppet. Again, as soon as he lets me know, I’ll tell you here.
Stress + Rest = Growth
What I make leans heavily into “comedy” and “quirky.” Those are my strengths. And I long ago came to accept that, in a world where so much is going on, where so much is going wrong, where there is so much we need to do, maybe quirky comedy still has value. Maybe it especially has value in such a world.
Because stress + rest = growth. This old weightlifting formula applies to much of life, really. And I figure the world is providing enough stress already. We’re all pretty loaded up on stress. Stress we got. So if I can provide a distraction, a vision of a world where the problems are lighter, trivial, simpler—albeit quirky—maybe I can provide a few moments of rest. And then we can grow. At least a little. And that’s got to help, right?
Last of all, thanks again for being here
I’m so happy you’re here. And I hope you’re enjoying it, too. I kind of know what I want to do with (required field) Productions, and I kind of don’t, and I think it’s the parts that I don’t know that are the most interesting, and make me want to build more stuff to show you.
Till we talk again, I remain,
Your pal,
Jamie