The Valley of Preparation Is Where You’re Made. - Video

“You’re not supposed to have all the answers. The real growth happens in the discomfort — in the valley, not the mountaintop.”

In this clip from Before the Curtain Rises: The Designer Series, David Zinn and Michael McElroy speak to one of the most overlooked truths about the artistic journey:

✨ You grow the most in the “I don’t know.”
✨ You are shaped in the valley, not the spotlight.
✨ Discomfort is not failure — it’s preparation.

As Angela Robinson beautifully says, it’s “the valley of preparation” where something is being built, stretched, strengthened, or stripped away… so that when the mountaintop comes, you can appreciate it without letting it define you.

This message is especially vital for young Black artists exploring design fields:
Your path won’t be perfect. It’s not meant to be.
The ups and downs are part of the work, part of the becoming, and part of discovering what you’re truly made of.

???? Presented by Black Theatre United, committed to creating pipelines, expanding access, and supporting the next generation of designers, artists, and storytellers.


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