“The art and science of asking questions is the source of all knowledge.” -Thomas Berger

If the past couple months have taught me anything, it's that I have been an idiot fairly frequently. Here is why:

I am not, by nature, one to ask questions. I prefer to figure things out for myself. This is a very good quality to have at times. However, it can be detrimental, especially when you are a young professional and don't know anything.

Since I've started interning at O&M Co., I've had a crash course in who's who in the theatre biz. Who knew that Andy Cohen was so damn important? I thought he just interviewed people on Bravo. Wrong. I'm looking back in time and seeing my missteps. The best examples are the internships I turned down for my summers between college school years. One was with Signature Theatre Company (http://signaturetheatre.org/). You may know them as the hosts of the currently much acclaimed The Orphans' Home Cycle. I turned that one down for a job teaching 11 year olds how to put together their own show for several weeks one summer. The other was with producer Ken Davenport (http://www.davenporttheatrical.com/). Don't know him? You should. He's important. Turned that one down for a summer hauling lights around HERE Arts Center.

Both of these internships would have been several times more advantageous to me than what I choose to do instead. However, I didn't ask anyone who actually knew the lay of the New York theatre land to help me with my decision. In the first instance, I took the paying job in my hometown. In the second instance, I picked the theatre that a friend of mine had SM/AD-ed for. Sure, I did my internet research but that couldn't tell me just how highly situated in the hierarchy of theatre these companies were.

You can't know everything, you never will. The best you can do is ask questions when you don't know and when you are young and starting out YOU MUST ASK QUESTIONS! Just today I asked the agents in my office to recommend a space for Mark Sanderlin (marksanderlin.com) and me to present the first reading of our new musical (April 7, 2010 get psyched!). One of the agents gave me three great recommendations, one of them being Manhattan Theatre Club. Okay, I didn't know they offered spaces for readings and when I looked at the prices, glory be, it was within our budget! I haven't booked the space yet (note to self, get on that) but how much more amazing would it be to premier our work at MTC instead of Simple Studios??? No offense to Simple Studios. I love Simple Studios. $10/hour space rentals on Fridays saves my life frequently.

So, I don't really have links for you today because you better know the people you need to ask to have your questions answered. Go to it then!

Be happy, be brilliant!