Theatre 271

The Artist’s Way

Chapter Questions:

Chapter 1: Recovering a Sense of Safety

1. Examine the negative beliefs you have about yourself. Identify your top
10 core negative beliefs.

2. Time Travel. List 3 old enemies of your creative self-worth. Please be as

specific as possible in doing this exercise. Your historic monsters are the
building blocks of our core negative beliefs. (yes, rotten Sister Ann Rita
from fifth grade does count, and the rotten thing she said to you does
matter. Put her in.) This is your Monster Hall of Fame. More monsters
will come to you as you work through your recovery. It is always
necessary to acknowledge creative injuries and grieve them. Otherwise,
they become creative scar tissue and block your growth. Describe what
they said to you and how it made you feel.

3. Time Travel: List three old champions of your creative self=worth. This is
your Hall of Champions, those who wish you and your creativity well.
Be specific. Every encouraging word counts. Even if you disbelieve a
compliment, record it. It may well be true. Describe what they said to you
and how it made you feel.

4. Questions/Comments/Discoveries about the chapter.

Chapter 2: Recovering a Sense of Identity

5. Where does your time go? List your five major activities this week. How
much time did you give to each one? Which were what you wanted to do
and which were “shoulds”? How much time is helping others or doing for
others and ignoring your own desires?
School
Music
Games
Work
Sleep?
I dunno, I haven’t really diversified myself much beyond that. I don’t think
I’ve even really seen any friends this week. I spent honestly probably most
of my time playing games. That should not be how it is. I wish I would
have read some for pleasure, and spent more time on school and music. I
 wish I didn’t have to work. I want to get a work study, so I can do work in
things that I actually care about and get paid for it, but I think the window
of opportunity is passed. Not a lot of my time is for others, really. I guess
work kinda counts as doing for others, but mostly it’s getting the money for
myself so I have the opportunity to do things like go see live theater. I’m
kind a selfish person, whoops.

6. Draw a circle on a sheet of paper. Inside that circle, place topics you need
to protect and names of people in your life who are supportive of you.
Outside the circle place the things or names of those you must be self-
protective around.

I can’t really do this online, so I’m just gonna do a line and put people and
things above and below the line.

Sisters, Mom, dad, theatre, art

Professors, Dad, non-artists

7. List 20 things you enjoy doing (rock-climbing, roller-skating, baking, riding

a bike, riding a horse, playing catch, shooting baskets, going for a run,
reading poetry, go-cart racing, dancing etc…) When was the last time you
let yourself do these things? Next to each entry, place a date you last did
this thing. From this list, write down 2 favorite things that you will do this
week. They need not be major; they can be small things. Find small bits
of time that you can pursue these goals.
Theatre – This summer, if you count full scale productions. This week if
you just mean work.
Video Games – This Saturday
Reading – probably a week ago
Eating good food – today
Traveling – August 30th
Buying Carelessly – August 20th
Movies at the theatre – August 20th
Dancing – Thursday
Singing – Today
Coffee with friends – about a week ago
Board Games – a month or so, maybe more
Taking a bath – August 30th
Drawing – A few days
Making new friends – Today!
Tubing – First week of july
Taking pictures – a long long time. I’ve snapped a few in the past day
Organizing – Yesterday
Baking – a couple of months
Sleeping in – a couple of weeks
Knitting – a year or so
 8. Life Pie: Draw a circle. Divide it into 6 pieces. Label one pie Spirituality,
another exercising, another play, one work,, one friends, and one
Romance/adventure. Place a dot in each slice at the degree to which you
are fulfilled in that area (outer rim indicates great; inner circle, not so
great). Connect the dots. This will show you where you are lopsided.
Okay, so I did this, but I can’t get it online. I’ll bring it to class I guess?

9. List 10 Changes: List ten changes you’d like to make for yourself, from
the significant to the small or vice versa. Write them out… “I would like
to… before naming each one.

I would like to discover my full potential

I would like to take a leap of faith
I would like to strive to be more understanding
I would like to learn to step back from situations easier
I would like to move away
I would like to take more time for me
I would like to put more time into school
I would like to learn to commit easier
I would like to plan more
I would like to dress better

10. Questions/Comments/Discoveries about the Chapter.

Chapter 3: Recovering a Sense of Power

11. Describe five traits you liked in yourself as a child.

To be honest with you, I can’t even really remember what I thought of

myself as a child.
Uh, I think that I thought I was funny.
I also think that I thought I was smart.
I liked that I thought I was a good writer.
I liked that I was energetic. It usually helped me to make friends when I
was younger.
I liked that I was imaginative. I remember being able to have fun just
playing pretend far longer than most of my peers.

12. Take a look at your habits. Many of them may interfere with you self-
nurturing. Some of the oddest things might be self-destructive….
Watching TV, playing computer games, hanging out with a really boring
friend, drinking too much, smoking, eating etc… ) List 3 obvious rotten
habits. What’s the payoff in continuing them?
 One of my obvious negative habits is playing video games. I usually play
when I feel like I need to relax and want to put off doing more work. It
doesn’t really ever require critical thinking.

Another negative habit I have seems like it wouldn’t be a “habit”, but it’s
sleeping. A lot of the time when I just don’t feel like working, I go to bed. It
makes it so I literally don’t have to do anything.

Finally, I waste a lot of time on my computer, especially on social media. I

check twitter all the time, and really its 90% pointless. It’s just another
thing to distract me from doing my work.

13. List 5 people you admire. Now list 5 people you secretly admire. What
traits do each of these people have that you can cultivate further in
yourself?

Darren Criss, Nina Grollman, Angela Lansbury, Ramin Karimloo, Grace

Helbig.
I don’t know if I really “secretly” admire anyone… if I admire them, I’m
usually pretty open about it.
As far as traits that these people have that I would like to emulate, one of
the big ones is working hard. I struggle with being driven a lot, and all of
these people are constantly busting their asses to make stuff happen, and
it shows. Another big one is being positive, both about myself and towards
other people. Having a sense of optimism is really important to me, just in
being able to have a full life. If you go into stuff with a shitty attitude, it
comes out shitty.

14. List 5 people you wish you had met who are dead. Now list 5 people who
are dead that you’d like to hang out with for a while in eternity. What traits
do you find in these people that you can look for in your friends.

This question seems morbid as fuck. I don’t really know of any dead
people… I was really disconnected from mainstream pop culture as a
child, sooo… My grandma and grandpa on my dad’s side, I guess. Amy
Winehouse would be cool to hear her live, but I don’t know if I would want
to hang out with her…

15. Questions/Comments/Discoveries about the Chapter.

I failed at answering some these questions. I don’t know why, I just

couldn’t come up with things that wouldn’t be me bullshitting for the sake
of bullshitting.
Chapter 4: Recovering a Sense of Integrity

16. Time Travel: Write a letter from you at eighty years old self to you at your
current age. What would you tell yourself? What interests would you urge
yourself to pursue? What dreams would you encourage? Any particular
advice you would give to your self right now?

Tyler,

I want to let you know; it was worth it. Everything didn’t work out, and
that’s okay, because the things that did work out far outweigh those that
didn’t. You can’t let your expectations get in the way of great things. Trust
me, it’s all much easier when you just let things happen.
There are times when it’s going to be so hard, but know that your art is
worth more than anything else in the world. If you can’t stay true to that,
you can’t stay true to anything. But I know that you can.
Be patient. Things will get there. You know that, I know that you do. You
just have to learn to wait. That doesn’t mean don’t work. It just means wait
for the work to show. Because it does, and when it does, nothing else
matters. The work compared to the payoff was nothing.
This is all very cryptic, I know, but just trust me when I tell you that it all
comes together. You’re on your way.

Tyler

17. Time Travel: Remember yourself at eight years old. What did you like to
do? What were your favorite things? Now, write a letter from you at eight
years old to you at your current age. What would you tell yourself?

Dear Me,

Hi! I hope you’re good. I know that you’re probably real busy with
swimming and school and stuff, so thanks for reading my letter!
We got a big writing project in school, and I wrote more than anyone else
in the class. I love writing stuff, it’s probably my favorite besides
swimming. I wonder what you’re writing right now. I had to write about my
dream house, which is a huge treehouse with a butler and unlimited
shrimp and a whole floor of this giant video game! It’s kinda like the kids
next door. You probably already know that, though, cause you’re me.
Today I beat everyone in my group in backstroke. I’m getting pretty good. I
gained time on my race last meet, but I’m getting better in practice so
hopefully it doesn’t happen again. I’m glad I have coach amandad,
because bryan seems mean. He yells a lot and makes them do a lot of
sprinting.

Okay, I have to go to practice. Bye!

 18. Look at one situation in your life that you feel you should change but
haven’t yet. What would your life look and feel like if this were gone?
Why haven’t you done anything about it? What is your payoff for you
staying stuck?

I should really learn to just get my shit done instead of putting it off,
primarily in school. Life would be so much easier, because it would lift so
much stress from me and allow me to enjoy all of my time, instead of
constantly finding myself in a situation where I have too much to do and
not enough time.
The reason I keep on procrastinating is because it makes things easier.
It’s easier to say ‘oh, I didn’t have enough time’ or ‘I just didn’t really try’. It
takes pressure off of me, allows myself to distance myself from the work
and not really worry about it. That’s really the only payoff of it as well. I
really need to work on it.

19. Questions/Comments about the Chapter.

I’m not sure how I feel about my letters. They feel a bit… forced, but I think
generally they are the things I would say to myself. Just maybe worded a
bit differently.

Chapter 5: Recovering a Sense of Possibility

20a. Quiz:
a. The biggest lack in my life is……
b. The greatest joy in my life is….
c. My Largest time commitment is….
d. As I play more, I……
e. I feel guilty that I am….
f. I worry that….
g. If my dreams come true, my family will…
h. I sabotage myself so people will…
i. If I let myself feel it, I’m angry that I…
j. One reason I get sad sometimes is…

20. If I had either faith or money I would try…. (list five desires) For the next
week, be alert for images of these desires. When you spot them, clip
them, buy them, photograph them, draw them… begin a file of dreams
that speak to you.

21. Ten ways I am mean to myself are…

22. Honestly, my favorite creative block is… TV, computer games, friends,
work, over exercise, friends, work, … you name it.
 23. My payoff for staying blocked is…

24. Questions/Comments/Discoveries about the Chapter.

Chapter 6: Recovering a Sense of Abundance

25. Send postcards to 5 friends who you think about, but who may not be a
large part of your life right now. Please send to people you would LOVE to
hear from.

26. Clearing: Any new changes in your home environment? Make some.

27. Money Madness…

a. People with money are…

b. Money makes people…
c. I’d have more money if…
d. My dad thought money was…
e. My mom always thought money would…
f. In my family, money caused…
g. Money equals…
h. If I had money, I’d…
i. If I could afford it I’d….
j. If I had some money, I’d…
k. I’m afraid that if I had money I would…
l. Money is…..
m. Money causes…
n. Having money is not…
o. In order to have more money, I’d need to…
p. When I have money I usually…
q. If I weren’t so cheap I’d…
r. People think money…
s. Being broke tells me…

27a. Questions/Comments/Discoveries about the Chapter

Chapter 7: Recovering a Sense of Connection

28. Quickly list 5 favorite films. Do you see any common denominators
among them? Are they romances, adventures, period pieces, political
dramas, family epics, thrillers? Discuss.

29. Finish the following sentences:

 a. As a kid, I missed the chance to…
b. As a kid, I lacked…
c. As a kid, I could have used…
d. As a kid, I dreamed of being…
e. As a kid, I wanted a…
f. In my house, we never had enough…
g. As a kid, I needed more…
h. I am sorry that I will never again see…
i. For years, I have missed and wondered about…
j. I beat myself up about the loss of…

29a. Questions/Comments/Discoveries about the Chapter.

Chapter 8: Recovering a Sense of Strength

30. In a perfect world, where would you like to be in 5 years in relation to your
dream and true north?

31. In the world we inhabit now, what action can you take, this year, to move
you closer? What action can you take this month? This week? This day?
Right now?

32. Questions/Comments/Discoveries about the Chapter.

Chapter 9: Recovering a Sense of Compassion

33. What resentments do you have locked away? It does not mater how
petty, picky or irrational these resentments may appear to your adult self.
To your artist child they are real big deals. List them.

34. Ask your artist self to make a list of any and all fears about your work
and/or anyone connected to it. Again, these fears can be as dumb as any
two-year-old. It doesn’t matter that they are groundless to your adult’s
eyes. What matters is that they are big scary monsters to your artist.

35. Questions/Comments/Discoveries about the Chapter

Chapter 10: Recovering a Sense of Self-Protection

36. The Awful Truth: Answer the following questions:

a. Tell the truth,. What habit do you have that gets in the way of
your creativity?
b. Tell the truth. What do you think might be a problem? It is.
c. What do you plan to do about the habit or problem?
 d. What is your payoff in holding on to this block?
e. Tell the truth. Which friends make you doubt yourself?
f. Tell the truth. Which friends believe in you and your talent?
g. What is the payoff in keeping your destructive friends?
h. What destructive habits do your destructive friends share with
your destructive self?
i. What constructive habits do your constructive friends share with
your destructive self?

36a. Questions/Comments/Discoveries about the Chapter.

Chapter 11: Recovering a Sense of Autonomy

37. Get 7 blank sheets of paper. Give one page each to the following
categories: Health, possessions, leisure, relationships, creativity, career,
and spirituality. With no thought as to practicality, list ten wishes in each
area. Let yourself dream a little.

38. Write and mail an encouraging letter to your inner artist. Remember that
your artist is a child and loves, praise and encouragement and festive
plans.

39. Questions/Comments/Discoveries about the Chapter .

Chapter 12: Recovering a Sense of Faith

40. Write down any resistance, angers, and fears you have about going on
from here. We all have them.

41. Take a look at your current areas of procrastination. What might be your
hidden fears that are holding you back? What would help you to stop
procrastinating?

42. Questions/Comments/Discoveries about the Chapter.