We had the good fortune of connecting with David Dickens and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi David, what principle do you value most?
Absurdism.

Before I went to the Cannes Film Festival in 2011, I had big ideas of how I should be prepared and what I was going to get out of the experience. I decided that I absolutely had to go with a script (even a rough draft) finished and ready to pitch, as I would be surrounded by all these amazing investors. Now, that was more of a fantasy but I did, in fact, write a script in ten days leading up to the trip.

I did this by, sort of, hacking my brain. I would watch an episode of something, read a chapter of a book and write a page of the script. I would do this over and over again until I had 90 pages. I had no idea what I was writing.

Now, the act of forcing myself to push out page after page, without stopping to consider what exactly was coming out of me, and without deleting anything (I figured I could delete anything I wanted later), allowed me to really go to very absurd places that I never considered before.

Over the years I have continued this process and refined it little by little (I allow myself more drafts) to wade into the waters of true other-worldly absurdism. What this process does, and why it is so important to me, is it keeps my brain engaged with the idea throughout the day, the weeks, the months, if only but a little. The idea will be on my mind, even with the built in rhythmic breaks in my life, as a constant drip.

So allowing myself to be totally free and incredibly stupid with this writing process actually has created a bit of a mirror, reflecting what is happening inside of my subconscious over the span of time I’m actually writing it. It’s only after I finish writing the stories that I can hold them up and recognize myself in them and what I was actually going through at that time.

My stories don’t really take place in this world so others might not see a clear image of me in my writing but it is very clear to me, and I’ve learned a lot about myself through this kind of freedom.

Now Absurdism, and the self-forgiveness that comes with it, is my tool to understand myself better.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
In all honesty, I got to where I am professionally through consistency. While some approach their writing in long arduous chunks of productivity, I do a little bit every day. 2-3 pages, but every day. When you think about it like that, it never becomes “work”. It’s just part of my daily routine. In a month, you have 60-90 pages. That’s a great start when you think about where you will be in such a short time. That consistency is what has allowed me to be prolific in my creative output.

The most exciting thing that I am pursuing at the moment is the biggest project I have ever written called “The Slippery Knot (or) The Legend of Speedy Gardner”. This is my biggest and most adventurous story yet. It contains and requires all of my love and dedication. It is the test that I am facing every day as I inch towards either its realization or its collapse.

We are also getting DEEP into the VR world. Not only have we created short-form content on our YouTube Channel, “VR Voyeur”, but we have also started to shoot our Immersive Theater shows in VR as well. We hope we are on the right track with this stuff. It’s mind-blowing and a whole new field of pursuit.

If there is anything I’d want people to take away from what my company does, it’s that we just want to spread love and entertainment. We take being silly very seriously and want to bring it to as many people as we possibly can. We are humble blue-collar creators that want to take you out of this world and into the common spirit where we can open the door to original ideas and truth through comedy.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
That’s easy for me.

The NOHO Arts District is my place. Now, it isn’t glitzy, but I come from Arizona and people from my hometown don’t exactly care about LA culture. They kind of resent it actually (I LOVE LA), so taking them to a more grounded area instead of Hollywood/West Hollywood or Downtown seems to be the trick. I tried to take my Dad to all the cool LA spots one would normally want to see and he was bored out of his mind.

The NOHO Arts district is where all of my theaters are located, where I live and where my favorite bar is, which is Idle Hour. It seems to be just the right fit for me. It’s got personality and energy but it’s not obnoxious. It’s the first time I ever felt part of a community in my entire life.

Also, the beach.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Brandon Slezak – My best friend and creative partner. I owe everything to Brandon for his massive creative abilities, understanding of fun and true originality. No one is like him and no one can do what he does as well. My hope is that my career and life can be a giant arrow pointing in his direction.

Zombie Joe of Zombie Joe’s Underground – Zombie is the reason I’ve had the opportunities to grow and express myself over the past 6 years. Not only did he allow me and Brandon to use his theater but he also really blessed us with the obligation to follow through on our ideas. The theater is his business and he needed shows to pay the bills, so we had to deliver something, anything. Nothing was more valuable than this obligation.

Zombie is entirely unique and one of a kind. Go see for yourself. His theater has hit it’s 30th Anniversary this year. Some of the best memories of my life are in there.

Paul Storiale – Paul gave me the job I currently have with the theaters and allowed me to step out on my own to develop my own voice and become a leader.

Instagram: @ballviewentertainment

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqb9NSRxFFHQpcY3YNUoTUw/featured

Other: TikTok: @ballviewentertainment Personal Instagram: @davidldickens

Image Credits
Max’s Nasty House Artwork by: Freda Jing Instagram: @freda_dearling All Other Images Created by: David Dickens (me)

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