Jessyca Holland

I have been reading, and pontificating on, systems thinking. Not looking at just one piece of a system, but looking at the whole. The book that has been my nightly devotional about systems thinking: The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization by Peter M. Senge.

Example after example, Peter demonstrates the importance of looking at the forest instead of a single tree. In one example, Peter tells the story of a technology company that, despite increasing sales staff and pouring money into marketing efforts, went from top dog to bankrupt. It was the inattention to customer service that was the company’s demise. The technology company, to paraphrase Peter M. Senge, became their own worst competitor. Seems simple, but if we are only looking at one piece at a time, the simple can be missed. Sometimes the entire system is flawed.

My co-worker pointed me to this link. It is a piece I see missing in Atlanta’s arts and culture: understanding the system, or the macro picture. We cannot move forward until we know, as a community, as a system, where we stand now, and how we all fit together.

Take a very brief moment to view this video.

Hey all,

Spencer and I are performing again with our wonderful friends and team, Your Mom’s Mom. 8pm @ Relapse Theatre in Midtown.

I love humor. I mean, who doesn’t? And we all have a different sense of what is funny. But humor has gotten me through some really difficult times in my life. After my mom passed away, my sister and I stayed up ALL night drinking and talking about my mom’s life, her legacy. There were sad moments of course…but what got us through that night was the ability to laugh about the times that were not sad.

My husband and I are very close. One thing that makes us really close us is that we share the same brain. Seriously. I know what is going to make him laugh. And he, well, he cracks me up every day and evening. My kids have even adopted a love for inside jokes, a love for hearty laughter, and a slightly skewed perspective on life. It is what binds us.

I love playing with Your Mom’s Mom, not because we are the best damn improvisers (although we aren’t too shabby most of the time), but because we laugh.

GAMES

If you watch a YMM show you will notice we play games between scenes. We aren’t really doing this just for the audience, we do it for us too. Even in our rehearsal workshops we play games…we play games when we are just hanging out. We can’t help ourselves. We make each other laugh AND that is what we want to share with our audiences. There is something wonderfully communal about live theatre…there is something totally kick-ass about sharing a laugh with a bunch of people you may or may not know.

I invite my friends and you to see a show. Say hello after the show and tell us your thoughts. The best way to enjoy one of our shows is to bring a friend or two. I mean, we like more audience members, but really you will have a better time with a date, a friend, a mom or a dad, siblings or someone you met that day who doesn’t seem too creepy. Leave creepy people at home. Oh, and not that they are creepy, but we suggest leaving the kiddos at home too.

I look forward to seeing you there.

Why shouldn’t people enjoy being an artist & an athlete?

I remember right before the election that ended the democrat’s reign in the Governor’s seat of Georgia, I attended a local forum called “Political Party.” I believe this was once a monthly event hosted by Dad’s Garage in Inman Park. The Anyway, the question arose: “why wouldn’t Roy Barnes be reelected?” I raised my hand to answer the panelist’s question: “uh, because of teachers…” We did a brief back and forth about teacher’s not getting paid enough. I was told, essentially, that issue would not affect the race.

SIDE NOTE: My husband was a teacher at the time and the major lunch grumble at his place of employment concerned salary step increases (or lack thereof). Mr. Roy Barnes was on the other side of pointed fingers from teachers who felt betrayed.

So? The moral to this story? Ha! I was right! In your face!

I needed to get that off my chest. This post really has nothing to do with the current Governor’s race. It just has to do with the fact that large groups of people coming together can make a HUGE difference. Don’t underestimate power in numbers.