Pillar Five — Eliminate Weak Spots

5 posts in this series

Reading Order

1 of 5 — 9 min read

Pillar Five: Videotape Yourself and Watch It Five Times Before You Believe What You See

I finally recorded one of my performances. What I saw on that screen bore almost no resemblance to what I thought I had been doing on stage. It took five viewings before I could even begin to accept the truth.

2 of 5 — 9 min read

Speed Kills -- Play Only the Moments That Are Necessary

I used to think a fast-paced show meant an exciting show. Then I watched myself on video and realized I was not creating excitement -- I was creating a blur.

3 of 5 — 8 min read

The Pause That Refreshes: How Intentional Pauses Add Power

The most powerful moment in my show is the one where I say nothing at all. It took me two years to learn that silence is not the absence of performance -- it is the performance at its most concentrated.

4 of 5 — 9 min read

Magic Is Rarely Enough -- You Need Comedy, Charm, and Personality Alongside It

I spent years perfecting my effects, thinking the magic would carry the show. It does not. The magic is the excuse. The personality is the show.

5 of 5 — 10 min read

How to Become Your Own Director Using Weber's Framework

This is the final post in the Six Pillars series. Sixty-five posts ago, I opened a book that changed how I think about performing. Now I want to close this chapter by sharing the most important thing it taught me: how to see yourself from the outside.