Overthinking Much?
Posted by Allison Mack | Filed under Directing, Musings
Wrote this a few days ago:
That is definitely the name of the game tonight. I start my first day of directing on the set tomorrow; all the preparation I have done over the last year still cannot prepare me for what I am imagining the endeavor to be. I am so nervous. Excited, but nervous about the whole experience. But I am thinking that is a good thing. Alive, which is always good.
This prep process has been incredibly rewarding for me as far as my personal growth is concerned.
I have been able to see my failures in the type of person I want to be and really work to overcome them. It is an amazing thing to have such a strong and clear mode of calibration.So now I am sitting in my living room, staring at my script, going over and over and over my ideas and shots. I think it is time to give the kid her lunch box and send her off to school. You can only learn so much before you have to simply dive in! Test the treading water lessons! Just go!
xoxo
a
Tags: committement, Directing, inspiration, preparing
How to be creative.
Posted by Allison Mack | Filed under Directing, Musings
Just start creating.
I must say I don’t think I have ever been more inspired than I am right now. I am sitting in an art studio owned by an amazing artist, Jay Senetcho, lived and worked in by Chad Krowchuk, Gideon Flit, and Darcy Belscher, watching a music video directed, produced and designed by Chad starring Mark Hildreth!
I am blown away by the creativity and joy I am surrouned by.
Getting off a 14-hour day of directing and acting, only to be met with a wonderful glass of scotch and love filled artists celebrating art, life and humanity. Ah joy.
How do you be creative!
You just be!
Express yourself and love the experience. What you don’t know is a gift and to embrace your questions will break the skin that surrounds your skin! Pay attention and laugh.
xo
allison
“Compassion is the emotional glue that keeps you rooted in the universality of the human experience, as it connects you to your essence and to the essence of those around you. It is the act of opening your heart”
Tags: chad, compassion, creative, Directing, mark hildreth, movie
Working with someone.
Posted by Allison Mack | Filed under Directing, Musings
Ok, so making a movie is the most amazing example of emergent property I have experienced thus far. I spent the afternoon with my amazing Cinema photographer, Glenn Winters. He is an award winning Director of Photography, not to mention a budding director himself. All in all he is a fantastically talented and accomplished artist.
We sat for almost 3 hours going over idea after idea. His expertise in the field of visual storytelling was absolutely astonishing and his capacity to take the vision I was expressing and turn it into something tangible and practical was so inspiring. This medium is amazing!
My other mentor in this whole process is a man we all lovingly refer to as “Tucky”. Tucky is an epic story teller with amazing depth and authenticity. He has totally taken me under his wing and is whispering all the advice and encouragement I am longing for while I step out of my comfort zone and into the ring of the unfamiliar.
I throw an idea at Tucky or Glenn and like a sea monkey, it germinates! My idea is suddenly 100 times more that where it started! The idea of a team. The idea of compassionate encouragement and kind collaboration. If we could learn to relate to each other like this all the time, again, utopia.
xo
allison
Tags: compassion, Directing, ideas, utopia
So I had no idea!
Posted by Allison Mack | Filed under Directing, Musings
Last week I began my directing adventure and Holy Shit! I had no idea it would be this intense, fun, creative, and time consuming.
Half of the time, I am totally capable of understanding everything being said and the other half I am smiling and nodding, no idea what is happening, and a total screen-saver glazing my eyes.
But, wow, after 22 years of doing one thing, acting day in and day out, now to try on new side of the work, it feels so good doing something new. To put on a new hat, not only am I getting the opportunity to see how cool my old hat still is, but I am feeling all these different sides of my face, things I never knew existed.
I think this is one of the first experiences I have ever had sitting down working through a project for more than 1 hour at a time. It is incredible what comes when you peculate on an idea.
I am shocked by the effort creativity requires. I always liked to keep it very magical… thinking somehow you are simply struck with great ideas, like a lightening bolt. But, it’s because of this experience that I’m really seeing the need to stand in the rain with a key attached to a kite for at least a few days before you will feel the lightening bolt shoot through your hands.
I am so blessed and grateful for my life and this experience. I apologize again for the missing blogs, but damn, I am in my head making shit and it is awesome!
Go make something!
xo
allison
Tags: creativity, Directing, hats, making stuff
Thankful
Posted by Allison Mack | Filed under Musings
I went to my annual Thanks-o-ween-birthday party last night and we spent the early part of our meal speaking about the things we are thankful for. It was a truly amazing experience to be surrounded by the people I adore and experience their graciousness and honor.
My friend brought up privilege and how privileged we are to have such abundance in all things and that struck me as so true. I would simply like to request that we all take a moment out of our days tomorrow to sit and list the things we are thankful for!
xo
allison
Tags: nablopomo day 2, thankful
Light
Posted by Allison Mack | Filed under Blog, Musings, poetry
“A candle doesn’t lose any of its light by lighting another.”
-anonymous
good night all!
xo
allison
Tags: nablopomo day 1, quote
Community
Posted by Allison Mack | Filed under Blog
What does it mean to be a part of something? What is community.
I see how I seek to create it everywhere. I am naturally inclined to bring people together and share and express the things I love and the things that interest and excite me.
Every person in a community is valuable, I truly believe this in my core. And yet I know each of us have felt somewhat disposable at some point in our lives. So what’s with that? Why is it so much easier to look at someone else’s value and asses and recognize it and it is so easy to forget our own.
I believe in the power of media and I believe in the power of the Internet. I believe it is a place we can connect with each other.
The little experiment I was conducting with posting everyday and looking to get more peeps involved was really an exploration of this community building process for me.
And I loved it. But now the big ticket question, the question that is the next step for the evolution of my journey… wow… that sounds so epic… WHY?
Build a community… beautiful, fun, cool… Let’s do it. But what if there is more to it than that? What if a community with a potent purpose or goal is possible? A community with an intention. Not a church or religion, not a political party, but an intention to elevate all of humanity… equally, compassionately and wholly?
Cool!
Let’s do it…………………………………………………………………………….
Got any ideas?
xo
allison
PS: The video is something rad one of my many partners in crime sent me! Thought it was fitting given my post… Connect why?
Slowing down and learning to sit.
Posted by Allison Mack | Filed under Musings
I have been spending time with some specific friends who never cease to amazed me with their depth of thought and strength of character. I have been trying to break down what it is exactly about these people that feels so inspiring; what is it that these people do that I simply want to emulate all the time?
In essence, the thing I have discovered is their capacity to think. Now, how does one deepen or build their capacity to think?
Well, you practice. You practice sitting and thinking. Jesus, what a novel concept. Funny thing is when I sit and think for more than 30 min at a time I seem to fall asleep. So building up the stamina of depth. Is this possible?
When I saw the Dalai Lama speak last spring he was talking about the need for emotional or compassion based education. An education that trains your heart the way we train our muscles.
Possible?
I think yes.
It feels like we are in need of an emotional evolution. We have come so far intellectually and physically, I think the emotions and the caring, the humanity of it all is truly the next step. That is my thought anyway.
And so I will get back to my daily blogging. I find I really missed the daily check ins with you, but mainly the daily check ins with myself.
This is such a good process for me to sit and think and write what is in this wild an wacky brain of mine.
Thanks for your patience with my rollar coaster antics and off the wall thoughts. 
IM BACK!
xo
Tags: compassion, Education, practice
“Are You the Favorite Person of Anybody?”
Posted by Allison Mack | Filed under Blog, Fun, Musings
Hello fabulous internet community! After a very very very long dry spell due to a hard drive crash and a dash of laziness, I am back blogging and better than ever.
So to start out, something simple considering the 5:30 am wake up tomorrow morning and the impending lack of sleep I am pre-suffering about.
A lovely treat of a short film, from Miranda July to me to you!
Enjoy!
xo
allison
Tags: blogging, miranda july
Hi
Posted by Allison Mack | Filed under Musings
Hello all!
I apologize for the brief hiatus, I hope you all can forgive me! I have been completely bogged down with learning the new skill of directing and I’m spending pretty much all my spare time watching movies for research and learning as much as I can about this amazing craft.
It is so cool because I’m seeing the process of directing from a whole new light and it is beautiful!
Here is one of the videos I am feeling most inspired by right now! Enjoy and I will check in with some questions and thoughts very soon!
xoxo
allison
Tags: Directing, inspiration
