Monsters and Mindsets
Storytelling stuff worth sharing
I am all about pointing the spotlight at other awesome storytellers this week! We’ve got book launches, we’ve got storytelling seminars, we’ve even got a new musical about… catching monsters??
Strap in. It’s gonna be a wild Friday.
Storytelling Tip o’ the Week
I was super honored to be the guest speaker earlier this week at the Visiting Writers Forum at Ringling College.
Not sure whose bright idea it was to set me loose among sixty or so young, impressionable minds, but hopefully it was time well spent. :)
One aspiring filmmaker—a junior, I believe—asked a question about the best way to knock on someone’s door and ask them to use their house as a location for his film shoot. “What’s the best logline to use to convince them?”
(A logline is the plot summarized in one sentence. Not the same as a tagline, which is a marketing hook, like what you see on the movie poster.)
I encouraged him to reframe his approach. The entire point of storytelling—of any creative enterprise, really—isn’t to ask for something. It’s to OFFER something. Your ask is implicit—give me your money and time to read/watch/look at my art! So you have to frame it as an offering.
Rather than: “Hey, here’s my cool logline. Can we use your house?”
Try: “Hey, my name is Jason. I’m an aspiring filmmaker, and do I have the coolest opportunity for you!”
Don’t ask people for stuff. Offer to make them part of the story.
Because the story you tell is never, ever, EVER about you (even when it’s literally about you). It’s for them.
The Podcast (and a book launch!!)
Hey everybody! Meet Penny Zenker! Her Page&Stage Podcast episode will hit your inboxes on Monday, and her newest awesome book, The Reset Mindset, drops on Tuesday!
You can learn more about Penny and her book by smashing the purple button below. And as the sneaky ghostwriter who tinkered in the background, helping Penny curate her stories, I can say with absolute certainty that her offerings in The Reset Mindset are powerful, transformative, and refreshingly simple.
It may live in the “business book” lane, but it’s far more than that. It’s about productivity, focus, and reclaiming your agency.
You can pre-order now, or nab it on Tuesday after listening to our podcast convo on Monday.
Quotable
Speaking of loglines…
Several years ago when I was directing The Wizard of Oz (for the second time), in my research I stumbled upon this amazing TV Guide summary of the Judy Garland film version…
Transported to a surreal landscape, a young girl kills the first person she meets and then teams up with three strangers to kill again.
Considering the movie version of Wicked is about to come out, this shift in perspective is as timely (and hilarious) as ever.
And this is why narrative point of view in storytelling is vital. :)
Own Every Room
I have been so incredibly honored to join the coaching team at Rooftop Leadership.
Created and led by Lt. Col. Scott Mann—who also happens to be a NY Times Bestselling author, playwright of Last Out: Elegy of a Green Beret, and one of the coolest, most generous, and most inspiring humans I have ever met—we empower people to excavate, curate, and leverage their stories into powerful and personal assets that can impact their work, their relationships, and their very sense of self.
And coming up in mid-September is the next Own Every Room event. This immersive, two-day, transformational experience will have you ready to champion the toughest issues you’re facing today with the most powerful tool in your arsenal… your story.
Tuition is typically $1797, but I asked pretty-please and they gave me a discount code to share with you! If you register, simply type “Cannon” into the discount code box, and boom. Knocked down to $1200. That includes all meals, by the way. You’ll have to handle travel/lodging, but we can help you navigate those logistics.
If you’ve got a story burning inside you, this is some of the highest-level training you’ll ever find to help you get… it… out.
And once it’s out? Oh yeah. Sky’s the limit.
BALLS: The Monster-Catchin’ Musical Comédy
So a couple months back I wrote about the best pizza I ever had. In Brooklyn. Revealed to me by my buddy Harrison.
I also wrote about his super cool bookshelf.
I also interviewed him for the Page&Stage Podcast. See?
And in the podcast, he talked about a project he was working on called BALLS. And now? It is officially in development! There’s a Kickstarter and everything. It’s an interactive theatrical extravaganza full of music and improvisation and hilarity and monsters.
If the promo video is any indication, it’s also a direct expression of Harrison’s id, and having directed him in Hand to God, I can tell you… his id is borderline genius. Or terrifying, if you’re sharing the improv stage with him. Not sure how I survived. :)
So click on the title and check out BALLS: The Monster-Catchin’ Musical Comédy.
Thanks as always for reading, and have a great weekend!
Jason “Dorothy is a Murderer” Cannon
Great newsletter, Jason. Every one is original and provides a new and refreshing way to look at the people in your complex professional life. Love it.