Episode 56: Asking the Questions with Broadway Stereophonic Cast Member Chris Stack

Chris Stack plays the role of Simon in the current Broadway sensation Stereophonic, winner of a Tony award for best play, and the most Tony-nominated show of all time. Stereophonic follows a 70’s rock band in the process of recording their groundbreaking album, featuring original music by Will Butler of Arcade Fire. Chris and Melinda also happen to be high school classmates, so in this episode we catch up on Chris’ journey from his formative years in music and theater at Park Tudor School in Indianapolis all the way to Broadway. We also focus on his experiences with The Actor’s Studio in New York, the importance of perseverance in a creative career, and the spiritual side of his creative process. 

For our Creativity Pro-Tip, we encourage you to ask, and keep asking the deeper questions, even if there are no immediate answers, as questions open up possibilities for creativity and a greater sense of one’s life and work. 

Credits: The Syncreate podcast is created and hosted by Melinda Rothouse, and produced at Record ATX studios with in collaboration Michael Osborne and 14th Street Studios in Austin, Texas. Syncreate logo design by Dreux Carpenter.

If you enjoy this episode, you might also like our conversations in Episode 8: Grief, Healing, and the Artist’s Life with Anne Myers Cleary,  Episode 21: The Walk of Faith and Courage with Shakespearean Actor Warren "Ren" Jackson, and Episode 54: Creativity as a Spiritual Endeavor with Musician and Author Peter Himmelman.

At Syncreate, we're here to support your creative endeavors. If you have an idea for a project or a new venture, and you’re not sure how to get it off the ground, find us at syncreate.org. Our book, also called Syncreate, walks you through the stages of the creative process so you can take action on your creative goals. We also offer resources, creative process tools, and coaching to help you bring your work to the world. You can find more information on our website, where you can also find all of our podcast episodes. Find and connect with us on social media and YouTube under Syncreate, and we’re now on Patreon as well. If you enjoy the show, please subscribe and leave us a review!

Episode-specific hyperlinks:
Chris Stack on IMDB
Stereophonic on Broadway
Film: School of Rock
Band: Fleetwood Mac
The Actor’s Studio

Show / permanent hyperlinks:
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Syncreate Website
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Melinda Rothouse Website

Transcript

Melinda: Welcome to Syncreate, a show where we explore the intersections between creativity, psychology and spirituality. We believe everyone has the capacity to create. Our goal is to demystify the process and expand the boundaries of what it means to be creative. We talk with visionaries and changemakers and everyday creatives working in a wide range of fields and mediums, from the arts to science, technology and business.

We aim to illuminate the creative process, from imagination to innovation and everything in between. I'm Melinda Rothouse and I help individuals and organizations bring their dreams and visions to life. At Syncreate, we're here to support your creative endeavors. So if you have an idea for a project or a new venture, and you're not quite sure how to get it off the ground, reach out to us at syncreate.org.

Our book, also called Syncreate, walks you through the stages of the creative process so you can take action on your creative goals. We also offer resources, creative process tools and coaching to help you bring your work to the world. And we have a monthly creativity coaching group starting up in 2025. You can find more details on the website.

So I am very delighted today to have on the show Chris Stack, who is actually my high school classmate, and he's also starring in Stereophonic, the play that's blowing up Broadway at the moment. He plays the role of Simon, the drummer. Over the years, he's also done a number of film and TV shows, including notably School of Rock back in the day, and he's a longtime member of the Actors Studio.

Hey everyone! I am so excited and kind of joyful to have Chris Stack on the show today, who in addition to being a now big Broadway star, is my high school classmate from Park Tudor in Indianapolis. 

Chris: Go Panthers!

Melinda: Yes, go, Panthers! So I really appreciate you taking the time. I know you have a crazy busy schedule at this point, and, you know, we did theater and music together in high school for years. And now here you are in Stereophonic on Broadway. But I know that didn't happen overnight. Right? 

Chris: No.

Melinda: So you went to college at Lewis & Clark in Portland, and then, you know, you've done some films, notably School of Rock, you've done TV. But, you know, I would say arguably this is probably the biggest project you've done. Would you agree with that?

Chirs: I think it's, I mean, on multiple scales, it's the biggest project. I mean, I think, you know, like you mentioned School of Rock, I feel like that may, in terms of a certain kind of lexicon, that might be the most accessible for people. But like for me personally and in terms of, I don't, just Broadway being a thing and the number of people that we get coming to see this show on a nightly basis eight times a week, like, yeah, it's definitely up there. In terms, in terms of, creative fulfillment, it's probably the biggest, it's probably my grandest achievement. And I don't, I don't mean on, I guess, I mean, sure, like a statistical level like we were talking about, but just in terms of my creative life from, you know, kind of heretofore being realized in a really satisfying way. 

Melinda: Yeah. So what is it like for you to kind of have this big break at this point in your career? Like you've been doing theater in New York for quite a while now and, you know, working as an actor. And so what does that feel like to have this happen now? 

Chris: Yeah, I guess I'm always reluctant to call anything, especially at this point in my life and my career, I'm reluctant to call it, anything, a break. Because I, until now, have, have really kind of struggled to see anything as having, kind of, moved the needle at all. Like, you know, there are several projects that I've worked on, including School of Rock 20 plus years ago, where my agent or other people are like, whoa, you know, great movie, Richard Linklater. Jack Black, his first, like, that's like, that's a break. 

And it sure felt like a break because I was and, and in many ways it was. But in terms of it like really moving the needle substantially for me as an artist who had some kind of creative freedom or some kind of difference in his career before and after that event, I just don't find that that happens. I mean, and I'm not saying that it happened, it doesn't happen at all, because it certainly does. And people certainly talk about it all the time. But, you know, I've worked on a number of things over the years, where people are like, whoa, this is really going to change things for you.

And it, you know, I guess it does in terms of kind-of creative fulfillment, but it doesn't in terms of any kind of professional, you know, leaps and bounds or in terms of what I'm, who's calling me or who's calling my agents more frequently since a certain project. And, I really like, so to be more specific about the question, I mean, to have this project that is so incredibly fulfilling, I mean, on a scale that it represents, but also then just in terms of the details of its very being, like the kind of writing it is, the kind of role it is, the specific ways that I relate to this person who I'm playing on this kind of stage every night.

Being 51 and having been in New York for 26 years and having a good sense of what that then means, to be kind of pursuing a thing for so long, I definitely feel like I have achieved a goal, but I don't, I definitely, I don't really feel like, you know, I've quote unquote “made it” or I've had some kind of huge break because I don't, I mean it's definitely a gift, but I don't really have any kind of frame of reference for like, things being any different, or things being any easier, or things being wide open for me, like I don't have to work anymore or I can kind of pick and choose what it is that I want to do from now forward. A, because like, I'm right in the middle of it and I haven't even spoken with anybody about doing anything else. And I don't really desire to because I love what it is, in and of itself, so much. 

Melinda: Yeah. So what it is. So you play the role of Simon, the drummer in the show, which if, if anyone hasn't heard of it by now, you know, it is about a band in the '70s… [laugher] come on, man!

It's about a band in the recording studio in the '70s modeled after Fleetwood Mac. Right? And, so where do I want to go with this? You play a drummer in the show, and you've always been a drummer, ever since I've known you. You were playing drums in high school and beyond. And so there's the, there's the acting part, and then you play the live music on stage every single night, night after night. How do you keep it fresh?  

Chris: I mean, I think it's, part of the challenge of doing any play, never mind, I mean, never mind a play that has any kind of lengthy run is, as you say, keeping it fresh. And I think it's a part of the, it's just a part of, I mean it's part of the technique is just being open to new experiences in the every day. So it's an applicable life strategy as well. 

You know, like you go from home to the studio as you've done many times before. But I would venture to say that this trip involved many details from whether it was, you know, whatever you were listening to on the radio, to what the weather was like, to who you saw or who you didn't see, to the red light that you stopped at versus the green light you stopped at.

And being open to these kinds of experiences, I mean, you do the quote unquote same thing. And a beautiful thing about this play is that it is so, it's such a wide net and it's such a deep well that there are never ending possibilities to kind of pick your own adventure, every time you go through it.

And with six other people who are kind of operating on the same wavelength, it just kind of continues to bear that kind of fruit. And it's some parts, and I don't want to say some parts become stale, but you do, after having done the same thing, like the first time you drove to the studio, you were very attentive to the detail, the directions, like I need to take, right here. 

I don't need to pay attention to those kinds of details anymore. Like, your mind prepares now. Like you start thinking about like, what the heck am I going to talk to Chris about for 45 minutes? This dude, you know, and like, so you start, I know, just like pulling teeth, I can't wait. It can't for it be over [laughter].

So your mind starts to wander and then you're like, oh, I need to, you know, yes, I need to take a left here or whoa, the light has changed or whatever. And so those things, can be true, you know, the 240th time you're doing this play, your mind starts to wander, and then you're snap back into reality, in your immediate reality, in different ways, in different places, every single time you do it. 

Melinda: Yeah. I think that's a great point, though, about that, you know, that openness, because we know from the study of creativity that the personality trait of openness to experience is the most highly correlated to creativity. So, you know, that makes perfect sense to me that, you know, yes, you're doing the same thing pretty much night after night.

But there, every moment is new, right? Every day is a new day. So therefore. Yeah. So I'm curious, like in the casting of the show, I assume, you know, cast members were chosen both based on their acting abilities and their musical abilities. What was that like? What was the initial, like, audition process like for you?  

Chris: Well, so first there was a, I auditioned for a workshop in 2019, and I've played drums for a long time, but I just kind of did so recreationally, so I never really, you know, I have an electric kit that I play for fun and I certainly have a, I have a kind of a base, I had a kind of base level skill. And I played in a band in high school, and I played in a band in college. And when I was playing more, I was better. When I play less, surprise, surprise, I am less better. And so when this workshop rolled around in 2019, I read the play and was just like, it just rung all of my bells from the, you know, all the different facets of the character in the play.

But then I felt a little rusty, playing the drums. And so I practiced a ton, booked studio time and, played on the electric kit that I have. But electric and acoustic drums just feel differently. And then I, I booked it, but I couldn't do it because I had a conflict with another job. There was one day and I was heartbroken, but then I resolved to just not be caught flat footed like that again.

So I'm not saying that I got a lot better, but I got a lot less rusty over the course of the next, I guess, what would amount to almost four years? Until they came back around and they were going to do an Off-Broadway run. And the audition was, you know, they, they sent, a track, an original track that was going to be in the show for me to learn. 

And then in the audition play with Will Butler, who's the composer, and Justin Crate, the musical director. So we did that. And then there were, I don't know, probably ten pages or so of sides, which is the, you know, the scenes, the script that you're auditioning with. And I worked with a buddy, from the Actor's Studio here in New York on those auditions. 

And so kind of just came in and, you know, you have a take on the character and then you present that take and then in the best case scenarios, you work with the director and you kind of see how you dialog and you see if you can communicate, and he usually, Daniel Aukin, who's just one of the best ever, will just kind of have, he just wants to see how you work together to see, like, is this relationship really possible?

And it's, that's really fun. Sometimes you go in and you do your thing, and the directors are, if they say anything, they say thanks. And that doesn't necessarily mean that you did a bad job. It just means they don't have anything to offer. They don't, they're not interested in working with you. But it's way more interesting to work with somebody and to see just how you connect, and how you would work together if you were to work together.

So the second time around, the drumming went way better.

Melinda: Good. I guess so! [laughter]

Chris: Yeah. And it didn't go badly the first time, like I've had conversations with them since and they were like, no, you were great the first time around. But I was way more nervous the first time around and way more confident, the second time around.

And that just kind of, we got that. We did the song, and then moved into the acting part and, you know, Daniel has, he has you in the room for 30 minutes, which is also kind of unheard of. Usually you get maybe like ten minutes to kind of do your little song and dance and then, you know, don't let the door hit you on the way out.

Melinda: [laughter] Right. Exactly. Well, I have to say, I was listening to the, the cast recording of the, you know, the show, and it sounds great. 

Chris: It's cool. Right? Yeah, that was another, you know, this show just, I mean, it just kind of keeps giving. You know, there were, we learned the songs. We learned the songs fully and then the play, I don't want to give too much about it, for, I, give away too much about it, because you're coming. 

Melinda: Yes. In October. Can't wait. 

Chris: Anybody else who might come to see, you know, there's, there are, a whole songs and incomplete songs and versions of songs that are played that then this cast album is, is a realization of. So it's kind of, if you listen to the album, then you can kind of go back and see when you see the play.

Like, this is a little bit of like the making of. If you haven't listened to the album, then you kind of go in and think you're just wide open, like, what is this experience? And hear these people playing these songs. And then you've listened to the album and think, oh wow, this is the this is the album, but it's also the cast album. It's the show album. 

Melinda: Yeah. And it's works in progress, in the process of recording in the studio. Right?

Chris: Yeah. And also in the, in the process of rehearsing a play, like there are, are very subtle references to, taking something back and rehearsing a light cue or a sound cue, you can hear a manager's voice or some of, some of the dialog is from when we as a band were recording in the studio, but not as the characters on the stage, just as people in the studio.

So we don't have, you know, those of us who are American, but playing Brits, we're actually speaking with our American accents. And the thing about the creative process in this like other, other way, like this kind of Mobius strip, this multilayered way which I think is super cool. The way that Will conceived of and then put together, this album, just adds, you know, just another layer to the whole, to this whole piece. So it’s a rock and roll album, but it's also a cast album. You know, the, the characters but also the actors. 

Melinda: Yeah. And I know you're a big Van Halen fan. I heard another, another show you did talking all about Van Halen. But, were you a Fleetwood Mac fan or?

 Chris: I mean, well, at the end of the day, who's not a Fleetwood Mac?

Melinda: Well, yes, of course.

Chris: I feel like people or anybody who's like, “well, whatever, they're too corporate.” Like, okay, maybe, but they got some really good songs and everybody knows them. I really love the original, like the old Fleetwood Mac with Peter Green and Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, even before Christine McVie came in, when they were a blues band.

But then, like, you know, the iteration that everybody knows that started with the eponymous Fleetwood Mac album. And then Rumors, like this just amazing songwriting. And is it something that I pop on every day? No. But when it comes on, I don't turn it off. And I really, I really enjoy it and I really enjoy them. I think one of the, in terms of the play, one of, I think the most effective ways that Fleetwood Mac is invoked, because it is decidedly not a biography of Fleetwood Mac. 

Melinda: Right. And the music is all original, I should add. Right?

Chris: It’s all 100% original, composed by Will Butler, who, wrote a lot of the music for Arcade Fire for 20 years.

But because of the band dynamics, you know, there are three Brits who had been together for a long time and these two younger Americans, and it's 1996 and it's, the Record Plant in Sausalito, which is where, like all of these things and there are other various details from the characters that correspond with Fleetwood Mac story. But it's not Fleetwood Mac; we’re an unnamed band, all of whom just have different names. But the brilliant conceit in that is that people recognize energetically that this is a band on that level.

And we don't talk about how good we are. We don't talk about this, that and the other thing that then people have to kind of take a leap of faith to just believe, they automatically are like, oh, this is one of the greatest bands of, you know, the '70s, at least on a certain level. You know, like, you know, I think that Van Halen was one of the greatest bands of the '70s, or the Grateful Dead, or like The Clash, you know, all these people who did all sorts of things in the punk movement, like whatever, but it invokes a certain kind of recognition.

When you see this play and see these people that immediately makes you understand that you're dealing with things on a certain level, like, there's no kind of, I mean, there's suspension of disbelief always when you're watching a play. But the thing that you kind of even unconsciously understand is that the stakes are high and these are, this is a big time rock & roll band.

And then the big challenge becomes writing music and performing it in such a way that when you do hear it, you’re not like, “Oh, I thought you were this, but actually, like, pretty bad.” 

Melinda: [laughter] Right?  

Chris: That was a legit fear!

Melinda: Well, have you improved as a musician just from being in the show?

Chris: Definitely.

Melinda: Yeah, I would imagine. 

Chris: I'll tell you, and I'll explain for people who won’t know who these people are, but Steve Kane and Lowell Goss, who were classmates of ours, and who were the guitar player and the bass player and the band that I was in in high school, they both came to see the play individually, and it was really fun and somewhat nerve-wracking to play while they were watching.

You know, we played together over 35 years ago. And they were both like, wow. They both make music kind-of independently, but, and they were in a band together for a long time. But like to play in front of people who have known you just for so, so, so, so long. And to have, like, moved on from where you were, but sometimes somehow kind of feel like you're in many ways stuck in that time because the things that happened in the you know, the mid-80s, I mean, it was really like, it was really moving to me, you know 

And then like, and Steve comes with his family and Lowell comes with his family. And like all of a sudden I'm in the 80’s and I'm in 2024. I'm a better drummer, but I'm also not as good as Toby Brodie. And I'm, you know, all of these things, they all happen all, all at once. But yeah, I, as a drummer, I always lacked the discipline to go and practice the rudiments and the basics on my own.

So I feel like I got to a certain level of proficiency. Where then this play, since last August 2023, I've played six days a week, you know, and in the beginning, especially four hours a day. And now I go in early and I warm up and I play and I play with other people, and we have jam sessions and like, yeah, I, I'm as good as I've been in a long time.

And not just my chops, which are, you know, maybe, maybe I'm not the next Buddy Rich, but like, in terms of my ear and the way I listen to other musicians and the way I can hear things and respond to them, like that's definitely keener, sharper, more keen than it was a year ago, and that's really fun.

It's really gratifying. And to be able to do that as a musician was simultaneously, as an actor, and have them kind of be one and the same is just, it's such a joy. 

Melinda: It seems pretty awesome, I will say. And do you have any, I don't know, not that you have any time for it right now, but do you have any other like, musical projects on the side?

Chris: Nope. We have, you know, we'll go, there's, the understudies are musicians and, the, Will is clearly a musician. And Justin, our musical director, is a wonderful musician. And when we can, we kind of set up days to go in early and whoever's there, we just kind of show up and jam. And in my fantasy worlds, there are a couple of, you know, scenarios in which, like, people stick together and we come up with some original stuff and we just play it and we, I don't necessarily need to record it, but it would be fun to, you know, do more than jam at some point.

Like whether, it’s play, play out or record it, or, you know, so I don't have anything else currently, but I have and fantasies of other things. 

Melinda: Yeah. Who knows, right? I mean, my mantra is I can do everything, just not all at once. So you never know, right? 

Chris: Right. Wise woman. Yeah. 

Melinda: So, I, you mentioned the cast, and, I know there's, we mentioned, you know, when we were chatting before this, like, there's a bit of an age difference in the cast. You know, which is relevant to the show itself. And also that the cast is going to be changing. Yeah. So tell us, what's that like to be now starting to work with some new cast members after you've been doing this as a group for over a year now? 

Chris: Yeah. It's trippy. It's, it's bittersweet because the seven of us have become really close. But I was just, you know, speaking with my cousin and speaking with my castmates who are, some of whom are ready to move on to other things and you definitely want to, you know, if you're going to part, you want to part on a high, not, you know, kind of peak and then ruin the experience you've had by, getting sick of it.

So some people are just ready to do something else. What that else is, I don't know. And they don't necessarily know, but, Sarah Pidgeon, who's in the play, playing Diana. She's booked another job that begins in October, I think. So she's going to go off and do that, and then, Tom Pecinka and Juliana Canfield are just ready to be open to other possibilities.

And so they're being replaced by, Tom's understudy, Ben Anderson is going to play Peter. And then, this wonderful young woman named Amy Forsyth is going to be playing Diana, Sarah Pigeon's part. And then Rebecca Naomi Jones, who is a friend of a friend, just coincidentally, is going to be playing Juliana Canfield’s part, or is going to be playing Holly, who has been, Juliana Canfield’s part.

And they're very different. They're very different people, they’re very different artists. Really cool to like, a year in, to be doing the play at night and then during the day, some days, go off and kind of rediscover this, this play that we've been working on together through new eyes and through new voices and, and see people who are where we were a year ago.

It's, it's actually, it's really moving. It’s really exciting and to know, like, I kind of feel a certain, it's not preciousness, but a certain, you know, something is coming to a close that has been going on for, over a year now. And something else is beginning. And it's very, it's like, it's sad and exciting at the same time.

And also, you know, it's fall, which to me and I think to many people is also is a time of change and a time of beginning and renewal because of, you know, we all went to school or things just start happening fall. My son began to, just began kindergarten, and my dad happened to be in town.

So, like these three generations, like somebody who's 80, is in his 80s, and I'm in my 50s, and he's five, and he's going to school, and these people are leaving this thing, and these people are coming into this thing. It's, it's a lot. It's a lot. The weather's, and stuff. And it's really like. So this is a kind of mournful but exciting time of change as a lot of change is, you know?

Melinda: Yeah. The autumn to me is always like, kind of this wistful, nostalgic time of year too. But, So. So you mentioned your son, right? So you're performing six days a week and you have two young children. 

Chris: Yeah. 

Melinda: What's that like?

Chris: And an amazing partner.

Melinda: Yes. 

Chris: Who bears a lot of the, the load of my absence. So, she’s, I don't, I wouldn't be able to do this without, without her. You know. And I also, you know, I wouldn't be able to do this if I didn't have an amazing partner and kids, because if I was just a single dude, I wouldn't have the kind of depth of understanding of this character that I do, who is, who is a father a long way away from his family. 

Melinda: Yeah, yeah. And, and I would imagine, you know, in your mind you think about, oh, you know, someone's doing the show on Broadway and it's a rock and roll show and like what happens after the show and partying and all this kind of stuff. But like you're coming home to your family. 

Chris: Yeah, I'm coming home as quickly as I can, and I'm getting in bed as quickly as I can, and I'm sleeping as hard as I can for as long as, like. Then waking up and, letting Erin hopefully rest a little bit longer because she does the night shift. And then, you know, getting as a, for the last three days and, like, getting Indy to school, he just started around the corner, which is amazing. 

And then we have, a sitter comes at, you know, like mid-morning, like 9:30, 10. And the idea that that, I, you know, you're older and you have kids when you consider 9:30 mid-morning. Was a time when noon was mid-morning. 

Melinda: [laughter] Right. Exactly. But, I mean, you also have to take really good care of yourself, right? 

Chris: Yes. And some of that is, that's a skill that I've like, learned within the last 5 to 7 years. Yeah. And the timing is, the timing is really good. 

Melinda: Yeah. And just to be able to continue that, you know, you've got to have stamina to continue at that rate, you know. You know, it's kind of open ended, right? Like you were, you did the show Off-Broadway, then you came to Broadway, then it's been extended a couple times. You don't know how long it may continue. Hopefully for a long time. Right? 

Chris: Yeah. I mean, this iteration is going to, is, I think it was going to close February 2nd because, for sure, because there is another play that's coming in to our theater after that. But then we're in negotiations to take it to London next spring and summer. 

Melinda: Amazing!

Chris: So, you know, start up again. You know, and we’ll either rehearse here and then go over there, or we'll go over and rehearse and run the thing there for five months at least. So, like.

Melinda: Awesome. 

Chris: The gift that keeps on giving, you know, just different angles and in different ways.

Melinda: Yeah. Yeah. So kind of circling back to, you know, what we were talking about initially, you know, just all the work you've done over the years and then kind of getting to this point, I would imagine that required a lot of perseverance. Right? Like not giving up. I'm sure there's moments of self-doubt, moments of rejection when you don't get a role. Like, how did you navigate all of that?

Chris: I think the most important element needed to navigate all of that is the conviction that this is what you need and have to do. That there's not, there's not another option. If I thought, “Oh, I've always, kind of always wanted to join the Coast Guard,” I probably would have done it a while ago.

And I just knew that doing something else wasn’t, wasn't an option. And that, unfortunately, also kind of, I mean, it ups the stakes because if there's nothing else that you can do and you're not doing it, then you just really feel, in some kind of purgatory at best. Some kind of hell. Sometimes where, like, there's nothing else I can do, and you're, and I'm not doing it. 

Lots of, lots of moments of self-doubt. Lots of moments when you just need, lots of moments when you think, well, is there something else that I can do? And not only not if, not, is there something else that I want to do, but is there something else that I can do that makes me feel like either A, I’m a contributing member of society, or that I am a working artist, or that I'm a just kind of functional human being.

And you either find those things or you don't, and you get through those moments somehow, you know? You definitely, you know, the community, especially in New York, I don't have much, experience with it in, well, I don't really have any experience with it in California, in Los Angeles, but like, it's a really supportive community in New York, the theater community, the acting community.

And I just mostly mean actors. Like, sure, there's a competition because we all want to succeed. We all want to work, but everybody gets it, you know? And I also, I've never been to an audition that was like nasty in the waiting room. Like, people are always very courteous. People are always very supportive. Like, if you're in a rush, like people will let you go first or you know, and like, share sides, or, you know, just offer an ear or, you know, a shoulder or whatever. And that certainly helps to know that you're not the only one going through it. 

Melinda: Yeah, for sure. 

Chris: You know, and then just, yeah. And then just like getting, getting back at it because that's what you need to do. I couldn't do, I've been a member of the Actors Studio for 20 years, and I, you know, I auditioned in, yeah, 2005, 2004, and then became a member.

And it's been an invaluable resource in terms of a very specific community of people who are working. It's art for art's sake. You bring in things that you want to work on, you work on them with people, and you get feedback from peers and mentors, and then you kind of go back to work and then you come back in and if you get a job, then you go and do that job, and then you come back when that job is over and you just keep working on your craft and keep kind of, you know, keep your, your toolbox sharp and keep your toolbox full and keep your toolbox growing. And, you know, keep your analogies numerous. [laughter].

Then, you know, you're working like, I just, I'm a strong proponent of work begets work, you know, and there's a lot of, just energetic movement that if you're out there and you are working and you are, I don't, I don't want to say staying positive because that's way too hallmark-y. But like, I do feel like, on, when you are kind of bopping down the street with a certain pep in your step, like the trains all run on time and you catch all the lights. You run into people. You have these fortuitous moments. You're having a shitty day, the trains are all shut down, like the, it starts raining and you've got like, paper flip flops on, and you're in Times Square and just like. and the people you run into are just the worst. 

And I think the same holds true with, with working in the arts. Like, if you're a painter, if you're a musician, if you're creating, you're working on something and that attracts that kind of energy in a cyclical way. And, I think the Actor’s Studio has afforded me the opportunity to just keep at it, even if nobody wants to hire me to do it and pay me to do something that, you know, is, like, it's, it's the US, it's commerce based.

A lot of it is commerce based, even Off-Broadway theater, not-for-profit theater like, you still going to raise money, and you still got to spend money, and you still going to pay money, and you still got to have the spaces, and you got to advertise, and you go to market, like it's all, it's commerce based. 

And the Actor’s Studio has been a place, it's just art for art's sake. And then, you know, you get a job. I was on a soap for a couple of years. It was an incredible experience. Like, was it the most artistically fulfilling? No, but it was incredibly fulfilling. And professionally it was great. And financially it was great. And also like, I learned some tricks and some skills working on a soap that I still use, you know, to this day. And it does, there's a, there are muscles that, that I'm grateful for. 

So I think, you know, it all, it all, just, work begets work. Even if it's not a job begetting a job, it's an effort begetting an effort. And your energy, the energy that you put out comes back to you.

Melinda: Yeah, yeah. And I hear you also emphasizing community and, and attitude. Right? Which leads me to, you know, on this show we're exploring kind of creativity, psychology and spirituality. We haven't really touched on that, but is there a spiritual element to the work or to the process for you? 

Chris: Yeah, 100%. I don't know if I could define it. I certainly can't pin it down as being a certain school of thought. Whether it's kind of classical religion or New Age beliefs. I, and there's not a, there's not a…

Melinda: Not a dogma attached to it? Yeah. 

Chris: There’s not a dogma, 100%. But there is a, you know, I feel like kind of what we were speaking about, about it being just like a general belief in, I guess it, I mean, in a certain way, it is really, I mean, there's the golden rule and there is written reaping what you sow and, and, love thy neighbor, like all of these tenets, these general, these broad general tenets of many of the world's religions are, are general tenets of many of the world's just kind of spiritual practices and openness and flow and, you know, touchstones, I have a lot of little things that I keep around that I like to keep me around, that I like to keep around, that remind me of people. I have a photograph that I can see behind my computer, for example, of me and Boomer Wallace and Warren Jackson and Bruce Morton and Brett Clark and Scott Fisher and Tom Page, Jeff, I, like all of these people like this, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and my son and Eddie Van Halen air guitaring on a broom. 

These things are touchstones. Like these things mean something. Like, they, they keep me rooted in a place that then also allows me to and encourages me to kind of reach deeper into the unknown and keep looking for, keep looking for questions, never mind answers. I'm never, answers have a certain amount of interest for me, but I think questions are really, as long as you're asking questions and you're always looking, you're always thinking, you're always searching, you're always staying active. So I think that these, a lot of these things, encourage me to keep, keep moving, keep searching.

Melinda: Yeah. 

Chris: And I think that creative impulse is one that is always questioning, like writing, writing songs and painting, like, just creating is a process of asking yourself questions and, and looking for a greater answer or not even greater answers, greater questions. 

Melinda: Yeah, I love that. And that's kind of a beautiful segue because we're just sort of getting toward the end of our time. And I like to end each episode with what I call a Creativity Pro Tip, which is something that people can kind of take with them and, and try out on their own. And, I don't know, I think this, as a creative, always asking the questions is a great one. 

Chris: Yeah. And I, I think that like seeking. I, yeah, I mean and I would get more, I really, I like the idea that you know questions lead to more specific questions and other questions like yeah, yeah answers, sure. Answers are helpful. 

Melinda: But there's a finality to them too. Right? Like oh okay. Done. Right? And questions just keep opening up new possibilities. 

Chris: Yeah. And a lot of people say, you know, like great works of art are never finished. They're just abandoned, you know, and I kind of feel like you just stop asking questions and maybe because at a certain point, maybe you're gonna have to, like, I’m out of questions or I’m out of time. But you ever think that, like, no. fixed it. Solved it.

Melinda: Yeah, all done. We're good. Right? That's kind of the end, right? Yeah.

Chris: Yeah, that's the end. And I think that that happens whether you're doing a play or writing a song or working on a car, you know, like you fix your car, like, well, it's, it's working now, but there's something else, something else is gonna, other questions like, how long is this going to work?

How long until I have to replace that fuel filter again? Like, I just. And I think it just leads you deeper into the work. I think it leads you deeper into relationships. I think it leads you deeper into friendships. And, I think it will lead you deeper into yourself and a greater sense of self.

And the greater your sense of self, the more you're able to offer them your, your craft. And then the more you're, you're just ready. Like when these moments happen, you know, when you meet an old friend or you're offered a project, you're just like, I'm ready to do this. 

Melinda: Yeah, yeah. Beautiful. So I have a sort-of unrelated question. This is from my sweet, sweet sister Lizzy. I told her I was going to be talking to you today. And she, this is kind of random, but she was like, “Will you ask Chris if he believes in healing frequencies, and if so, what's his favorite?” 

Chris: Well, healing. I don't think I know enough to be able to identify what my like, what my healing, what a healing frequency is.

Melinda: I had to look it up. But like, you can go to YouTube and there's these like, you know, things you can play that have just different sound frequencies. And supposedly, you know, they're good for different, benefits. Mental, physical. 

Chris: Yeah, yeah. It's like sound healing, that kind of thing. 

Melinda: Yeah, yeah.

Chris: Yeah, I, fully okay. So when I, I just never knew that that's what it's called. When I get acupuncture, my acupuncturist, she puts these headphones on with sound frequencies. I just, I, we always call them songs. 

Melinda: Yeah. All right. 

Chris: They're not, you know, it's not Fleetwood Mac, it’s not Van Halen, but it's like chimes and bells and tuning forks and things that, like, definitely, create different vibrations and sensations that are not, they're not, necessarily, definable. And they're surely not palpable, tangible. But they are like, again, if you stay open to them, like, they just, they kind of take you places. And I'm definitely in a place, a different place, a place at the end of a session that I was not in at the beginning of the session, that has to, has to do with the needles going into your body, etc. but like the sound, you know, and Mel always asks me, was like, “Do you want the songs?” I was like, yeah, absolutely, I want the songs. 

Melinda: I love acupuncture too. I go a lot and the music is a big part of it for sure. 

Chris: I mean, there's something, you know, in this old class, my son's old nursery school classroom, they had a little bell that you would ring that would signal a transition, or they would signal like, okay, everybody sit on your mat, or it’s rest time or it's time to move from this to that.

And it's like, it's definitely effective. Like way more effective than a clangy a bell out in the hall, like we had. 

Melinda: Yeah, exactly. 

Chris: Like, “It’s time start this other thing!”

Melinda: Or that thing in the airport when the luggage is coming in and goes, “EHHHHRR.” Oh, I hate that. I was in Iceland and they had one that just had this really nice tone. It was like, “Doooooo.” I was like, that’s great, right? It makes a difference. 

Chris: Like, [in singsong voice] “Hey, take your hand off this conveyor belt because you could get hurt if you don't”

Melinda: [laughter] exactly. 

Chris: [in singsong voice] “You might want to think about standing up now and looking for your bag.”

Melinda: [laughter]. Exactly. 

Chris: Yeah. The American ones are way more… 

Melinda: Oh, they’re, they’re so grating. 

Chris: They’re like, [in harsh tone] “If you lose a finger in this, you can't sue me! Get up off of it.” Not healing. Not soothing. Not nice. 

Melinda: So, I know we're kind of at time, and I know you got to go, but, another thing is you're, you're not really on social media. 

Chris: I'm not. Not only am I not really, I'm not. 

Melinda: You're not. Period. Is there a particular reason for I, I get it, but…

Chris: It's too much, too much.

Melinda: Too much, too much. So what's the best way for people to find you if they want to find, you?

Chris: I don’t know, how did you? You’ve, we found each other through friends. 

Melinda: Well, I've known you a long time, but I mean, you know, you're all over the internet. Pretty much. Stereophonicplay.com for the show. 

Chris: Yeah, but there's no way to communicate via that. I mean, that's a great way to find information about the show and each of the, like, the projects. I mean, I think, like me professionally, there is, I have an IMDb page. 

Melinda: Well, you're out there, in the world so people can find out more about what you're up to. 

Chris: Yeah. Totally.

Melinda: Find and connect with us on YouTube and social media under Syncreate. We're now on Patreon as well. If you enjoy the show, please leave us a review and subscribe. We’re recording today at Record ATX Studios in Austin with Chris Stack joining us from New York City. The podcast is produced in collaboration with Mike Osborne at 14th Street Studios here in Austin. Thanks so much for being with us, and see you next time.