One Year of Pandemic, So Many Lessons Learned

Hello Darlings,

Today, March 12th, marks the one year anniversary of the day we shut down our theater. The first months of 2020 had been incredibly exciting for us. We had been open just over 2 years! Our calendar was more packed than ever! We had just designed and finished our podcast studio and installed a professional movie screen! Our operations were really starting to gel! Everything had a positive forward momentum! We felt unflarpinstoppable! And then—

Errrrrp!

We, like so many others, just... stopped.

And now here we are 12 months later, celebrating an anniversary that brings with it the weight and reflection of an incredibly difficult and wild year. While we are eager to jump into a million things we can't wait to do once we get on the other side of all this, we'd be remiss not to first acknowledge and take stock of what we actually gained and learned. And it was a lot! The confines of social restrictions actually propelled certain types of personal growth, and we're hoping to hang onto as many lessons as possible as we reintegrate into new-new "normal" life.

So, to you, our sweet sweet darlings, who at the very least haven't unsubscribed from these missives and at the very most actually READ them (bless you!) we present to you a few Dynasty takeaways from this most tumultuous season. Maybe you can use them in business, life, or as heady, verbose notes to leave in an unsuspecting child's lunchbox when you just don't have yer own in ya. Or maybe you'll just shout "AMEN!" and feel a little less alone because you're on a parallel journey.
 

Four Mixed-Metaphor Lessons From One Year of Pandemic
by VanJam

LESSON 1: 🐕 Even in unexpected depths, it is possible to survive with slower, deliberate decisions.🐺

AKA: A panicked doggypaddle can mature into a controlled Wolfpaddle™!

Like so many, we started the closure with pure REACTIVITY. We immediately threw (and executed!) ideas at ideas at ideas until we were Lords of a strange idea junkyard filled with batshit t-shirts and livestreams and a model size Dynasty theater made of ripped cloth and paper clips. We have no regrets- a lot of great things came from the early frantic energy- but without taking a deep breath first we ended up pivoting so much we could have put on a maybe passable production of La Sylphide. (That's a ballet joke that Google DIDN'T help with.) But after a couple months, we were able to take a beat, assess where we were, and mellow into a steady, deep-water doggy paddle. By making the proactive decision to slow down the pace, we were able to take stock of what we were actually good at (livestreams yes! model size Dynasty no!), what our audience responded to the most, and what we actually LIKED doing (really important!)
 

LESSON 2: ⏰ YOU get to decide what is urgent. 🙏

AKA: Why borrow stress and anger from other people? You've got your own to wear, honey!

During the pandemic we were able to see how easily we can be influenced, and often overtaken, by the rhythm and energy of those around us. So when someone is screaming "URGENT!" at us, our first reaction has generally been "Yes, URGENT!" But someone else's "URGENT!" doesn't necessarily make it our "URGENT!" In fact, more often than not, it's far from it! That doesn't mean that we don't aim to deliver our signature, top-notch, "award winning" hospitality, but now we know more than ever that it's critical to first check in with ourselves and our actual priorities before getting sucked into someone else's.

LESSON 3: ✨ Keep your mission singular and the ways to express it limitless. ✨

AKA: Focused heart, flexible mind.

We’ve always said that Dynasty was more than a theater. We never thought proving that would be so.... drastic. But the last year has shown us that our mission (enchant the world!) can take on many shapes, and as long as the heart and energy behind those was genuine, Dynasty was exactly where it needed to be. And right now that's a progressive calendar company with a live-streaming arm, an e-teaching torso, and a foot soaking in a warn basin of quaran-corn-culture.
 

 LESSON 4: 🎁 Some of the best gifts are turd shaped. 🎁

AKA: Note to self: Don't eat THAT again.

No doubt about it, this year has dealt us a hefty amount of unpleasant things. But (speaking micro here) some of our toughest interactions and relationships were truly our best teachers. Remember in the midst of difficult times that these are lessons. Learn them as they are taught to you and you’ll be more prepared for life’s pop quizzes. When we catch ourselves in moments of resentment, we try to force ourselves to say thank you instead of flarp you (fuck you). Thank you for teaching us that lesson, shithead(s). Then we say it again and remove the “shithead” because, growth.

If you liked these, we've got another pile of lessons we'll share soon. If you hated them, we're sorry, I guess, but that doesn't affect the pile. And we're truly intrigued by how you could hate them and want to know more about what makes you tick! Send us your tick list?! 

Anyhoo! Happy Quaranversary to you and yours!

Be safe in there!

👯‍♀️, 
VanJam 

PS - We are honored to be one of only seven venues chosen to be included in this years online SXSW festival! We shot a special a couple of weeks ago with some of our favorite performers and an audience filled with Bob Baker Marionettes (thanks to Winona, Alex, and Missy!) and one of the author's of this newsies parents! The special was shot by darling Troy Conrad and above photo was taken by darling Matt Misisco. We'll post more photos and clips on our Instagram account soon!