Hello. Rodney Robbins, the Singing Playwright here. I was just reading a biography of Oscar Wilde. According to Smith, the biographer, Wilde believed “the artist’s mission was to create beauty and confront injustice and do so with a flourish.” Nice.

My hero G. B. Shaw said, “My method is to take the utmost trouble to find the right thing to say, and then to say it with the utmost levity.” I like that one even better.

I’ve thought of several variations on what I do. “First you dream it up, then you write it down.” That’s a pretty good description of how I write. So is this: “I look into other worlds and write down what I see.” I also like this description of what I do, “I write fantastic stories, with realistic characters and a twist!” For more information about me, read the Rodney Robbins Fun Autobiography here.

So tell us:

• What is your philosophy of art?
• Your mission?
• Your purpose?
• What is your reason for being?
• What tickles YOUR belly button?

Click on the “Comment” link below and share your ideas.

A Legend Hits the Third Rail (6 words)

I recently watched a painful interview on a British chat show. The host was a charming and quick witted court jester. The subject was one of the most famous musical play writers of all time–a man who rarely does interviews. This was a “BIG DEAL” with lots of hype and an entire show dedicated to this man and his new show. So, what did our famous guest spend most of his time rambling on about? His cats. It was a terrible interview and really pointed out to me the difference between the ability to write well, and the ability to chat, make conversation, be entertaining and make a good TV guest who gets invited back. This theater legend, while an incredible theater writer, did not know how to think in terms of Sound Bites.

Sound Bites, Six Words or Less (6 words)

I’m a fan of Jaquie Jordan, the TV producer behind TVGuestpert.com, and one of the things she challenges her students to do is make their point in six words or less. Why? The average TV interview is 45-seconds. That’s not a lot of time to talk about your new play (or mine). So, for us mortals who don’t get whole shows dedicated to us, we can either ramble on about our cats, or learn to make our key points in six words or less. It’s okay to say more, but you need to have those catchy headlines, bullet points, quotes and snappy comebacks that carry the interviewer, and the audience, along while you take them on a ride. Verbal communication without sound bites is just too hard to follow. It’s boring. There is no rhythm. An interview needs to click along and be informative and entertaining. Sounds bites make that possible.

Practice Your Sound Bite Skills (5 words)

To practice your sound bites skills, open a free account at Yahoo! Answers, pick a topic and start practicing. Answer a question a day in six words or less. You can say more, in another paragraph, but start thinking in sounds bites or six words or less.

Headings Make Great Sound Bites (5 words)

Another way to practice sound bites is to divide your writing into headings. The headings are your sound bites. A secondary benefit of using headings in written communication is that “skimmers” will read the headings and detail oriented “readers” will read the text. You’ll get your point across and double your audience.

The more sound bites you can spit out, the LONGER you’ll stay on the air. Really.