"Are you nervous?"

For those of you following my tweets on twitter you know that I was in Mexico earlier this week seeing the 100th performance of the Mexican production of My First Time (BTW, seeing a show that was first read aloud in your living room now performed in another language in another country is a one helluva trip, literally and figuratively).

I got a lot of questions below the border, most of which I embarrassingly couldn’t understand (I’ve got a couple of months before My First Time debuts in Spain, so Mom, if you’re reading, this is what I want for my belated b-day).

The most common question that I understood was about what I was doing next.  And the follow up after I told them that I had a couple of shows opening up on Bway this fall was always the same: 

¿Está usted nervioso?

The answer?  Sure, I'm nervous.

There is always a bit of the willies whenever you put something out in the world.  If I wasn't nervous, I'd really be nervous.

So don’t beat yourself up if your stomach ties itself up as you get closer to a start date on your project.

My advice?  Think about opening a new show like a first date.

Be nervous, fine, but be excited.  Because just imagine what can happen after that first date.

And no, all you dirty-birdies, I’m not talking about some one-night stand where you get lucky, and someone is  screaming your name (like in a review).

While that kind of reaction is fun to brag about to your friends, it's only temporary.

What you want is a first date that leads to something that lasts. 

You want your audience to commit for the long term.