News From David Grindle, USITT Executive Director
Potato Chip Principles for the New Year
In survey after survey by snack manufacturers, Americans ask for potato chips that are lower in fat and have fewer calories. We want this! We need this!
In taste test after taste test, that product is hated in favor of the chips we know are bad for us.
Humans are fickle. We ask for things and then sometimes do not want what we asked for. Look at the December theatre offerings we just went through; Nutcracker and A Christmas Carol dominated the boards. Audiences tell us they want new shows, but don't cancel those – they’re tradition!
Newton’s laws tell us that objects in motion stay in motion and those at rest tend to stay at rest. The challenge is the conversion. Once you get from one to the other, the tendency to stay that way comes naturally.
It's the new year, a time for resolutions. What in your life have you wanted to change but can't let go of? We are a creative people; we should embrace change and seek to have it help us make new discoveries and innovations.
Yes, the new potato chip we say we want tastes awful, but humans can't admit that. It would mean we want something that is bad for us, but tastes good.
To change eating habits is tough, but often it is better for us. There are many habits we have that share the same characteristics. Meeting styles can change. Design processes can change. Construction materials and styles can change. It may all be awkward and take some getting used to, but it isn't wrong, just different.
It's 2015. I challenge us all to find the potato chips in our lives and do something about them. Who knows what it could lead to?
