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As I walked from the comic shop set down to the bowling alley set today, I passed the set for Leonard and Sheldon's apartment, which is in the center of the stage. I gawked at it the way you do when you're a fan of the show and can't believe you're actually close enough to actually walk through it, and my eyes fell on the coffee table. I saw a lot of things that could have been on my own coffee table, so I decided to grab a picture (those are my Chucks in the lower right corner.)

I took this picture because this is more than just a nifty glimpse behind the scenes. This is an example of the attention to detail that is everywhere on every set of The Big Bang Theory. It would be really easy to just toss a few random magazines and soda cans there, because it's very unlikely that they'll ever be seen in this much detail, but at every level of production, they make a concerted effort to ensure that everything is authentic. I mean, how many of you looked at this and thought, "Hey, that could be my coffee table!" I see a lot of hands going up, and that's why I took this snap.

Bill Prady revealed the title of this episode on Twitter earlier today, so I guess that means I can also reveal it, and perhaps explain why I nearly required medical attention when I opened up the script and saw it.

So it was another awesome day on the set of The Big Bang Theory. We rehearsed the show again this morning, and then we had our first run through for the producers after lunch. This first run through can be really stressful for some actors (including a rookie version of me) because we haven't had a lot of time with the script to get comfortable with the dialog, work out all the comedy beats, and settle on final blocking. I mean, we've only really run it once, and it can feel like putting on an incomplete performance or doing an underprepared audition for people you really want need to make happy.

I've done several run throughs (seven, total, over two episodes) while working on The Big Bang Theory, though, and it hasn't been stressful at all. In fact, it's been a whole lot of fun, and very informative to me as an actor. See, at some point in the last ten years or so, I realized that the writers and producers are working it out just as much as we are, and that they want it to be awesome just as much as we do; this is why we do the run throughs every day until we tape. Knowing this takes a lot of the pressure off for me.

Of course, it helps that the script is very good from the first draft we get. It helps that all the actors are incredibly professional, dedicated, friendly, and easy to get along with. It helps a lot to have a phenomenal director and a crew that seems to be one step ahead of us all day. When the writers and producers arrive, it helps that they know they're making a great show, so they're confident, relaxed, speak with a clear and unified voice, and give specific notes to make our performances better, instead of just giving notes for the sake of giving notes (which has happened to me in the past – not on this show – and was really frustrating, especially when I got five conflicting notes that were just given for the sake of giving them. Yes, I was expected to apply them all, yes, I tried, and yes, we ended up throwing them all out by the time we taped.) 

Anyway, the schedule for the first five days of production is pretty much the same: we work all morning with the director (Mark Cendrowski, in this case, who is awesome), show the writers and producers where we are in the afternoon, get notes, apply notes, and do it all over the following day.

So, like I said, for a lot of actors, the daily run through can be stressful. Indeed it was for me when I was young and less experienced. However, I've come to embrace it as an opportunity to not only make my performance better, but to learn a lot about writing and performing comedy by listening and paying close attention to the notes the writers and producers give all the actors, not just to me.

I wish I'd figured this out when I was a younger actor, because I would have been a better actor if I had: there is XP all over the place when we're on the set, just waiting for us to collect it and level. So, actors, listen to me now: When you're on the set, be on the set. Pay attention to everything that's going on around you, because you will constantly be presented with opportunities to learn about and perfect your craft. If you're lucky like me and get to work with some of the best in the business, you're learning from some of the best in the business!

I know that I – and a lot of other people – would pay a lot of money to listen to Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady and Lee Aronsohn give a seminar on how to write and perform comedy for television. While we were getting notes today, I realized how lucky I am to be on their set, working on their show, learning from them and getting paid to do it.

Seriously. Awesome.

Walking into the stage this morning felt very different than last time. I knew where to go, I knew who to look for, and my stomach butterflies were pure excitement, without the nerves I had during The Creepy Candy Coating Corollary.

From the moment I parked my car, I felt like I'd come back … well, not home, exactly, but back to camp, or back to school, I guess. There's a story about that on today's Radio Free Burrito 23, which I just released; it's only 12 minutes long, and I think you should listen to it because I made it JUST FOR YOU. 

All day long, the cast and crew made me feel like I was part of their family who they didn't get to see very often, even though I've only been there once before. It was really neat to feel like they were as excited to have me back on the show as I was to be there. I really am a lucky guy.

It was a relaxed day, which I bet is nice for the regulars because they taped a show last night. We started with a table read of the episode (which was hilarious) and then spent the rest of the day running the episode. Just like last time, this is the part of the process where we're making very rough pencil sketches on a sketchpad; we haven't even begun to think about picking out paint and brushes for the final canvas … but that will happen very quickly, probably by the middle of the day tomorrow, because we only have seven working days to take this from a bunch of creative people sitting around a table reading it to an actual show that goes out to millions of people on the magic talking box thingy. 

…Wow, I just freaked myself out. It's better not to think of it that way. Quick, get the Men in Black flashy gizmo!

Ahh, that's better. So, I was talking about Ping Pong, right? Well, I didn't get to play a full game of Ping Pong today, but I got to rally with Kunal for a little bit, and I didn't feel like I was playing with duck's feet for hands and a coke bottle for a paddle, so I'm looking forward to providing the sort of challenge a speedbump gives a monster truck when we play a real game tomorrow.

I want to be exactly the right kind of evil when we rehearse tomorrow, so I'm off to work on Evil Wil Wheaton's scenes. Seriously, go listen to the Burrito. You'll be glad you did.

I watched this while trying to drink my coffee this morning.

I say "trying" because I just sat here with my mouth hanging open until the whole thing was over. This is pure brilliance. 

Anyway, it seems appropriate to share this as I'm going out the door to start work on The Big Bang Theory:

 (Seen on Reddit)

You know about the Blue Car Syndrome, right? It says that when you buy a blue car, you suddenly start seeing blue cars everywhere. It doesn't mean that there are actually more blue cars than before, it just means that you're more aware of them.

About a month ago, I read something about The Lizard Brain. It suggested that humans have this part of our psyche that is so risk-averse, so focused on survival, it will actively work to prevent you from doing something you think is risky – even something you really want to do, like starting a business or writing a novel or doing something creative.

Since I read that, I've seen lots of authors and bloggers talking about The Lizard Brain, and I've become keenly aware of my own Lizard Brain as I work on the keynote for PAX East. It really needs to be done in about 21 days (at least 5 of which are going to be unavailable to me because I'm working on Big Bang Theory) and it isn't nearly as close to completion as I want. As you can imagine, panic and deadline pressure are rising like mental floodwaters, and that's not the most productive mental state for writing an interesting and entertaining speech. Well, played, Lizard Brain. I see what you did there.

The bad part of this is that I keep getting stalled and frustrated while I attempt to find the spine upon which I need to attach and connect the various parts of my keynote address. The good part of this is that my brain keeps blocking me from writing the keynote by coughing up some of the most interesting short story ideas I've had in months. In an effort to take the good with the bad and walk away with a net positive (awesome keynote and some cool short stories), I've been working on the keynote during the day, and then unwinding by working on the shorts. Working on the shorts has become my daily reward, in other words; it's really good motivation.

This is where I'd quote a little bit of the short I've been working on, but I've learned that doing that before it's finished, even if it's only a dozen words, completely aborts the writing process. I like this story too much to even risk not finishing it, so in place of a quote, I'll draw an ASCII dong: 8=====D

This is where I wrap this up with a concluding paragraph that hopefully elevates this post from mildly-interesting reading to something useful: When you're working on something that terrifies the Lizard Brain into action, don't panic! Acknowledge what it's trying to do, accept that it's part of the hardware, and write a software patch to work around it. It doesn't have to be a bug; it can be a feature.

Edited to add: I couldn't recall all the places I read about The Lizard Brain, but in the comments here, Nathaniel S. reminded me:

Seth Godin has just released a book entitled Linchpin that explores ways to both soothe and overcome the lizard brain. There's a fantastic interview/conversation between him and Merlin Mann on the subject over at 43 Folders. It's a tad long, but very worth it.

http://www.43folders.com/2010/01/26/godin-linchpin

It also includes a video of Godin talking about the lizard brain and "the resistance" and how innovative and creative people can break through it to get stuff done, or "ship" as he puts it. 

I'm not surprised at all that this came to me via Seth Godin, because I read his blog every day. His book Purple Cow
is the foundation of my marketing and business philosophy, and Merlin Mann's … well, everything, is inspiring to me. To be clear: I wasn't making an effort to not credit Seth; I just forgot where my recent Lizard Brain thoughts originated.