Philosophy From Steve Martin

As a performer, most nights you’re going to be disappointed with your work. Sad, but true. You need to accept that and continue to ‘play hard.’ And, when you really do it right, don’t fool yourself into thinking you’ve unlocked the secret

Steve Martin has an article in the current issue of Smithsonian Magazine. I’m a real fan. He is a Renaissance man in an age of Luddites.

There’s a quote I want to share. As a performer, it makes a lot of sense to me.

“I learned a lesson: it was easy to be great. Every entertainer has a night when everything is clicking. These nights are accidental and statistical: like lucky cards in poker, you can count on them occurring over time. What was hard was to be good, consistently good, night after night, no matter what the circumstances.”

As a performer, most nights you’re going to be disappointed with your work. Sad, but true. You need to accept that and continue to ‘play hard.’

And, when you really do it right, don’t fool yourself into thinking you’ve unlocked the secret.

No matter what, if you grade your performance over time, your average will be average.

4 thoughts on “Philosophy From Steve Martin”

  1. There’s a story about a famous stage actor–Olivier, I think it was–who gave a fantastic performance one night. After the show, one of the other actors went to congratulate him, only to find him fuming in his dressing room. “Why are you so upset?” the second actor asked, “You were amazing!” The response: “Yes, I was, but I have absolutely no idea why!”

  2. Thanks for mentioning the Steve Martin article.

    I’m right in the middle of his latest book, Born Standing Up, A Comics Life.

    If you liked that article in the Smithsonian, you’ll enjoy the book…

    I was unable to open the Smithsonian’s video.

    It’s also fun to go to YouTube, etc. and check out some of the old Steve Martin videos…

    Jim

    Truckee, CA

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