And to see it on the screen, but then I thought as well, it would make a great stage play and here it is and you're in it.

yeah um yeah yeah it started off as the novel and and then of the film that everyone loves it's like up there and i think it's imdb's top rated film of all time apparently um everyone loves it now the stage show there's a lot of pressure on me to you know nail it because it is not just your favorite jonesy but so many people come and tell me that yeah it's their favorite film of all time

Does this mean over Christmas you can't pig out because you'd have been fitted already for costumes?

Yeah, exactly.

I can't indulge in the food because there is a – I'm not giving anything away here.

In the opening scene, I think I've got to get my kit off.

Really? Yeah.

So when you get inducted into prison, the first thing to happen is you have to strip off and then you get de-loused and then you get hosed down.

And to see it on the screen, but then I thought as well, it would make a great stage play, and here it is, and you're in it.

Yeah.

Um, yeah, yeah.

It started off as the novel and, and then the film that everyone loves, it's like up there and I think it's IMDB's top rated film of all time.

Apparently, um, everyone loves it.

Now the stage show, there's a lot of pressure on me to, you know, nail it because it is not just your favorite Jonesy, but so many people come and tell me that, yeah, it's their favorite film of all time.

Does this mean over Christmas you can't pig out because you'd have been fitted already for costumes?

Yeah, exactly.

course

it's not.

But as any actors want to do, they're going to frame anything around their point of view.

But character Andy Dufresne gets wrongly convicted for murder, is placed in a prison.

And then within prison, you know, he undergoes this transformative experience and human connection with the prisoners.

And there's adversity.

There's the warden.

working with amateurs.

starting off perfect

hey i'm in the spirit of the podcast we have to talk um i should have known that i'd have to talk about myself a little bit um that's probably why a lot more is that i got to ask questions of other people instead of me having to talk um Anyway, that already tells you a little bit about myself.

It's strange that I ended up in acting because I do kind of shy away from the spotlight or attention.

It's sort of not my natural comfortable place.

And yet through my entire life, I've had some kind of performance things going on, on reflection.

I didn't actually notice it at the time.

If you look in the narrative of my backstory, my origin story, now on reflection, I see that I was, it kind of makes sense how I got here as an actor.

I thought that was pretty good.

Mm-hmm.

Um, and it was a Ray Charles blues that you could play all on black notes.

He was a self, um, sort of self-taught guitarist, played the blues, kinda gospel, Southern tradition, but he knew this one, one song on piano.

Um, and I always mention this, is that, um, you know, years, years later, I'm studying, you know, at these places and, you know, advanced studies in piano pedagogy and all of these things, and, you know, they t- one of the things they teach you is about, um, the white keys and the black keys and, um, playing something only on the black keys and how students can learn and, you know, the rainbow and the arc and all of, all of these things.

And, um, that's an important connection for me because, um, n- now that I'm in the academy, you know, to not forget that that first piece I learned was pedagogical brilliance.

Um, and that part of my training is equally as important and valid as what I'm being taught here, um, and was first.

I wouldn't be here without, without that.

... called classical pieces too, so.

Visit SpinQuest.com for more details.

[piano music] I think for me, the through line, if I, if I were to say one thing, is just heart, of how do you put your heart and, and soul into this? That whatever, um, the task is, uh, that you're accomplishing, how do you shine through? How is it something that you feel proud of and something that you feel like you're giving your soul to?

In this conversation, we explore virtuosity, improvisation, composition, contemporary music, and what it means to bring your full musical self to the stage.

I think in this concert, it was just a matter of bringing my full musical self.

And then im- improvisation o- offers you the n- unique opportunity to be totally present with that experience and that audience, and what the spirit in this room right now, what r- what, what is it I need to do that speaks to the spirit right now? Finding and, um, sort of, uh, living into, uh, are two different, uh, different things maybe.

All of those elements of my musical life had always been in the picture and been there.

They can live together, and that's, that is my authentic musical self.

All of those things, they can find a way to, to live together in, um, my identity as an, as an artist.

Is it, is it something that, um, you know, for people that have done shows for a while, that have b- it's been a part of your life, you know, is it hard to kinda set it down whenever you're not shooting? That, y- you know, to kind of step into another project?

Yeah.

I, it's, it is tough.

Uh-I mean, it's great to have, as an actor, you know, that security of employment and to be on a show, to, um, have that continuity of character, and to get to explore a character in, in really great depth.

And, you know, like so often in this industry, you, you might play a role for, you know, be on set for only a day, um, and, you know, have a guest appearance or something.

But to have that privilege to really, you know, have that longevity is a, is a real gift.

At the same time, it can make transitions in and out of that very tough because this also is an industry that is kind of defined by its in, you know, uncertainty, and that one job doesn't necessarily lead to another, and, you know, you have peaks and troughs in your career.

I need to kinda break out it and tap into the US market or another market?" Uh, did you feel the same way about the, your ascent, uh, you know, into acting, or into your career rather?

Why is now a difficult time to invest in biotech?

So I think there's two different topics.

One is biotech and one is life sciences.

And on one hand, I think this is an amazing time to invest in life sciences.

But the world around biotech has completely changed.

But first, what do we think about when we talk about biotech? Biotech is really developing drugs, and whether that's small molecules or proteins or cell therapies or gene therapies, all of that tends to get bundled up together in what we think about as biotech.

And there's a set of things that have happened.

Talk to me about that and how does that drive your strategy?

recycling of friendship?

Well, yes, Lord John did leave a bit of a mess.

But most of the time he's cleaning up the messes of the phrases, to be honest.

So I think it's about time that he left a mess of his own.

Sorry, I'm getting on my high horse there.

But yeah, obviously these two have a complicated relationship to kind of sort through.

So you just thought you'd insert yourself

David, are you taking anything away from Lord Grey? Any?

Is it much more difficult to change the direction of a company when you actually have a little success? Is that really the most difficult part?

It's incredibly difficult to get companies to change when they're full, when they're fully going.

And that's why I always think about the early phases of a company as so incredibly important, right? When you, in the early days, there's not many people, so you have tremendous control over culture, tremendous influence on culture, uh, tremendous ability to make sure you're hiring the right people, people who live to those values, to the goals, to the virtues you're trying to instill in the company, uh, but also people who have a shared vision.

And, and the people, I think, who join companies in very early days are just driven by this passion to do something special.

And they're the sorts of people that they'll bring to you, that funny thing, when they see it, and they want to engage with you in that conversation, and they're looking for how we can do something that's great.

What happens when a company gets bigger is, well, your systems get diffuse, your hiring gets diffuse, and so sometimes the ability to hire people that are aligned with culture or aligned with standards or aligned with values tends to drift a little bit, because, you know, I have a goal, you know, I have my, my near-term goal that I'm trying to achieve, and I need X, Y, and Z number of people to be able to achieve it, so I know at corporate, we think about this, but in my little world, I think about my end-year goals.

It just creates this drift.

Why do those opportunities exist? Isn't the market pretty efficient when it comes to venture creation?