Maybe Your Limitations Are What Make You Limitless

A short reminder that obstacles are never entirely what they seem.

Blast from the Past: A Message from the Pre-YouTube Era (On YouTube)

If you were charged with leaving a short message for future generations on how to live life, what would you say?

Would you be able to capture the essence of all that could be said in under two minutes? When asked to do just this, Mr. Bertrand Russell offered just two calm and sage prescriptions for how to survive in an increasingly globalized world. Thank goodness this little moment was time-capsuled.

You Are Theatre

Posted by thoughtsontheatre

Recently came across this wonderfully inspiring YouTube project: I Am Theatre. Their mission is to capture pivotal moments in the lives of theatre-makers over the course of 50 weeks.

This video I found particularly inspiring since Mallory is a woman who had to reconsider her dream. Watch to see how she was able to turn the craft that she loved into a fulfilling career.

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Ode to Our Attention Deficit Generation

Posted by thoughtsontheatre

Remember the last time a joke over 5 minutes long put you in stitches? No? Welcome to comedy 2.0. Nowadays, we have a window of 10 seconds to make us chuckle before we’re off on the search for the next laugh.

Take a look at the original Charlie Chaplin or the Three Stooges sketches. The jokes were silly, the subjects sometimes crass, but the result was always heartwarming. As our attention spans’ shortened and tastes changed, even SNL feels as though its day has come and gone. The long-form sketch has given way to the 1-minute-YouTube-video star and internet memes. Don’t get me wrong – love a good philosoraptor. Just pointing out that even the classic “Who’s On First” sketch from Abbott and Castello feels a little long nowadays. And that clip lasts only six minutes.

Hop on board the virtual time machine below to have a look back on some of the most iconic moments in comedy from the past few decades. Do they still stand the test of time?

1940s