When things become too "routine" no matter the vocation, it breaks you down. I've seen and experienced it far too many times; waking up and wondering "what's the use?"
Every once in a while however, I happen onto that student or idea that really gets me jazzed. Those are the moments I cherish but similarly, I dread. . . they are fleeting and rare, always bringing me back to the mundane -- the ritual we have in our lives called "routine."
The irony is that learning a routine in a way that makes it second nature and thus, "Natural" is requisite to our trade and what has allowed it to be more than tricks for a very, very long time. The particular lady's critique was a bit immature if you ask me, in that an award winning show usually is the same thing day in and day out. . . ask any Broadway producer. That's just what show biz is about and why so many legendary acts did the same schtick for decades.
Very few people know who Marvin Roy is but most know who "Mr. Electric" was. . . same person but in the latter instance we associated the man with the act. We see this time and again with nearly every major talent in the whole of show biz; Bette Midler will always be seen as the singing comedian with a 1940s style, Sofie Tucker sarcasm and of course, a big fish tail . . . When we hear the name "Blackstone" we will almost instantly visualize 3 primary effects; the bird cage, the light bulb & the buzz saw. . . the reason being that they were constant within the show. . . in Harry's case, we're talking about nearly a full century of family association with said effects.
There's a plethora of examples and from what I've seen, it's usually a good thing to have such "signatures" that folks will attach to you and no one other.
