STEAL LIKE AN ARTIST
Originality isn’t about starting from nothing. It’s about what you build from what you’ve taken in. The strongest artists aren’t empty vessels waiting for inspiration. They’re full of influences they’ve studied, tested, and transformed.
STEAL SMART, NOT BLINDLY
Actors hear “be original” and assume they have to invent something from scratch.
I’m a Broadway audition coach, and that’s not how artistry actually develops.
Every artist borrows. The difference is how.
Copying without understanding flattens your work. Studying, absorbing, and remixing expands it.
(In fact, I stole this idea from Austin Kleon’s fantastic book, Steal Like an Artist.)
YOU CAN’T USE WHAT YOU HAVEN’T TAKEN IN
Your creative output is limited by your input.
If you’re not consistently watching performances, listening to music, and engaging with different forms of art, you don’t have much to draw from.
The more you expose yourself to, the more material your instincts can pull from when you’re working.
IMITATE TO BUILD A VOCABULARY
Imitation is a training tool.
Study an artist closely. Try to match their phrasing, their timing, their physical life. Notice what choices they’re making and why.
Doing this builds awareness. It gives you a vocabulary of possibilities.
MIX UNTIL IT BECOMES YOURS
The goal isn’t to stay in imitation.
When you’ve studied a range of artists, those influences start to combine. Your instincts begin to pull from multiple sources at once.
What comes out isn’t a copy. It’s a synthesis.
That’s where individuality starts to show up.
DRAW FROM MULTIPLE INFLUENCES
One influence creates imitation. Many influences create perspective.
You can borrow specificity from one performer, vocal risk from another, stillness from someone else, texture from another source entirely.
The combination is what makes the work feel like you.
LET IT FILTER THROUGH YOU
Even when you’re inspired by others, the final step is personal.
Your voice, your body, your timing — all of that shapes how the influence manifests.
That filter is what turns reference into originality.
🥜 IN A NUTSHELL
Nothing starts from zero. Take in great work, study it deeply, and combine it until it becomes yours.
