Pat Tuesday: why we write what when
Hi y’all! Happy Pat Tuesday.
FIRST OFF: Thank you for all the love on the cast announcement! This cast is truly the best and I can’t wait for you to see this thing. I’m excited to announce that we’re going to start crowdfunding for this show in two weeks! We’re building an incredible team and the coolest thing about this is that if you help us in August, you’ll see this thing in October. We want to make this the best we possibly can, and it’s so exciting to see so much enthusiasm for this original work already—if you could click Notify Me On Launch on this Kickstarter, it would be a huge help!
Also, during formatting my note about one actor was removed by accident, so here it is:
ALLIE - LAUREN LOPEZ
One of my favorite people from Starkid, Lauren Lopez and I have worked together on a couple things and I’m in AWE of her talent! She’s so funny, and as the driving motor of the action in this play, she’s gonna be truly truly remarkable. I can’t wait for you to see her be absolutely wild and insane in this!
Okay, now for today’s run-on sentences…
One question I get is how I decide on which ideas I work on, and “why this one”. Picking ideas is one of two guards at the entryway of beginning to write—weirdly, the first guard is “what is ONE idea I can work with?”. Then, once you get past that dork, you arrive at “okay, now I have too many—but which of THESE are worth my time?”
I think one of the Great Excuses is that someone doesn’t have any ideas for something to write. I would say that’s not true—you have a lot of ideas. My theory is that you’ve decided for one reason or another that the ideas that have gingerly presented themselves to you are not worthy of your sponsorship. They’re the inventor, you’re the Shark, and because they didn’t have more than a sentence or a feeling, you’ve told them they’re a bad investment, and you’re “out”.
But if we’re going along with this Shark Tank analogy, what you need to know is that the idea itself is not designed to do the heavy lifting. Do you have the resources to invest in that current thing at that current moment? Are you tickled enough by this idea, curious enough to see its outcome, eager enough to get it out of your head? Let’s do another analogy: if your product is a car, I don’t think the idea is the motor—that’s your passion for it. I think the idea might be like, the floorboards, or even just the door handle. The idea is what gets you in, but it isn’t what keeps it going. It’s the moment of birth, but we don’t define our lives by our first minutes, do we? Your idea’s gonna live a life, go through phases, try on different outfits. The only question is what kind of parent you’re able to be to it at this current moment. And if you’re not ready, let it gestate. It will let you know when it’s ready to be born. Some ideas take years to get to that creating phase—like BIG BEAR.
I fell into writing BIG BEAR after working through some inner anxieties about how people around my age (late 20s-mid 30s) have developed these “friend ecosystems” with group texting, group trips, and constant contact that I’m not too sure is sustainable or healthy. As a way in, I always make lists of a bunch of things until the idea becomes clearer and clearer. No judgment, no forethought—just things that could be things. Here’s a note I found from August 2021 (forgive the typos, it wasn’t about precision):
And even then, this thing didn’t feel showable until February of 2025—I needed more life and outside perspective to speak to it. In conclusion, don’t diss the ideas that show up at your doorstep! Be patient and kind—they know they need help, that’s why they’re coming to you!
PAT’S PROJECTS - some stuff I did this week!
My Interview with Ty Burrell - got to speak to one of my favorite actors and frequent collaborators, Ty Burrell! He’s been such a role model of mine since I came out here, and being able to chat with him on a podcast I run was a dream. Listen in!
Havin’ A Day with Emily Skeggs and Gabe Gibbs - BIG BEAR cast member Emily Skeggs and friend of BIG BEAR Gabe Gibbs joined me in the car to sing karaoke songs and eat shaved ice on a hot day
AOAOAOA Live! at Dynasty Typewriter - We had an unbelievable live show at Dynasty this week, featuring a top moment of my entire live comedy career: an audience responding, in complete unison, with absolute silence. Livestream is up, go get it!
PAT’S PICK
“Monterrey Pop (1968)” - I went to Vidiots and saw this 1968 concert film featuring Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, The Mamas and The Papas, and so many other people, and it blew me away. D.A. Pennebaker’s documentaries are so so deeply intimate and capture people simply existing—it’s literal catnip for me. Put this on and watch people watch stuff. It rocks.
Okay that’s it! Love y’all!
Patrick