The Blog / Archive

A few years ago, the theater that my husband Charlie and I founded, NC Stage Company, needed a facelift. Our lobby wasn’t really working for us, audiences entered the theatre down a long narrow hallway, and things were just looking a little dingy. The staff made a plan. Paint chips! New furniture! We can have a new layout, with better accessibility and big new doors! That all sounded great. Now all we had to do was…do it. We knew that as soon as we started the process there would be dust everywhere, and the disruption of renovation, and sometimes these … Read more

I don’t know about you, but everybody I talk to lately is a little burned out, a little stressed, a little out of sorts.  Maybe it’s the lingering effects of Covid and the uncertainty and stress that brings with it. Maybe it’s a tough time of year. Maybe we’re all going through some subterranean slow shift. Whatever it is, it’s making tempers flare, fuses shorten, and energy wane. If you’re wondering if I have a fix for this, I’m sorry to tell you I don’t. But in my own little world, here’s what I’m trying: Drink more water Get outside … Read more

We all know the ritual: two people see each other for the first time that day, or that week, or that month, and one says to the other: “How are you?” The other responds: “Fine, how are you?” The first person says, “I’m fine,” and everyone moves on. Recently I had this expectation upended. I greeted a new colleague, saying, “How are you?” He answered: “Not great.” He went on to tell me that he was always going to be honest when I (or someone else) asked him how he was. The impact of his candor and his explanation was … Read more

At any given moment, we can read about/sign up for a course/commit to working at whatever we think is going to make us “better.” Want to get fitter? Read more? Write that novel? Start your own side hustle? Meditate daily? The world is ready to point out how you can improve. I’m curious about what you’re already doing really well.  In your environment, how do you learn about what’re great at? Are there people who talk to you about your strengths? Do you get positive reflections from your friends and family about what you bring to their lives? Do you … Read more

Real dialogue is where two or more people become willing to suspend their certainty in each other’s presence. (David Bohm) What does this quote make you think or feel?  When I think about “suspending certainty,” I feel a little uneasy. Certainty feels great! I can look around and find other people who share my certainty—that’s even better! Now I’m not just certain, I’m “right.” And by extension, those who disagree, or even question, must be wrong. But what lies in between right and wrong? What is possible in the shared space of uncertainty? What happens when we trade our “I … Read more

Today’s post was originally sent out in May of 2019. In recognition of the 20th anniversary of 9/11, I wanted to re-post it today.   If you’d like to see Come From Away yourself, it starts airing today on Apple TV.     Last week I got to see the musical “Come From Away” while I was with my kids in New York.   The play tells the true story of Gander, Newfoundland, a town of 9,000 people in Canada that took in more than 7,000 people from planes that could not land in the US on 9/11. The planes … Read more

Recently I was part of a discussion that centered around a quote that read, in part: “Did I reach out as far as I could? Did I serve as many people as I could?”  One point of view that came up was that these questions can put a lot of pressure on the listener. The world is vast, and needs are great. It’s easy to become overwhelmed at how much there is to do, and how many needs there are to serve. The listener has to grapple with the very real question: how much am I contributing to the community … Read more