067: Jerry Zaks | Ferocity for Life
Growing up as the child of holocaust survivors, broadway director Jerry Zaks, often found himself overprotected with his family wanting him to enter a “real” profession. At the moment he found his true passion and was happiest his family felt sorriest for him and that he had thrown his life away. But he had inherited from them a ferocious will to live that enabled him to take nothing for granted and propelled him in a vocation in which the odds are stacked up against you. Though not apparent on the surface, performers and directors are Spartans and in this episode Zaks will describe why.
Lessons
- Seek out the roles in which you best fit and then make fulfilling them a matter of life or death.
- Getting the part, whether it be the leading actor or position in a dream job, involves translating your talent into behavior that’s unforgettable.
- Protect the possibility of a happy ending for as long as possible.
Credits
- Video and Audio Production – Marion Abrams, Madmotion, llc.
- Audio Post Engineer – Team Podcast
- Synopsis – Matt Baatz