'Saturday Night Live' was actually started with a show that

The composer Howard Shore, whose music would one day echo across kingdoms of cinema, once recalled with humility and wonder: “‘Saturday Night Live’ was actually started with a show that Lorne Michaels and I did at a summer camp called Timberlane in Ontario when we were 14 and 15. We would do an improvisational show with music, comedy and acting.” These words are not merely a memory of youth, but a revelation of how great fires are first lit by the smallest sparks. For Shore’s reflection teaches us that the beginnings of mighty works often hide in places of play, in times of innocence, in the laughter of children before the world has yet recognized their genius.

To speak of Saturday Night Live is to speak of a cultural pillar, a stage where comedy, music, and performance have shaped generations. Yet Shore reminds us that its root was not in great studios or grand halls, but in a camp called Timberlane, where two boys dared to imagine. They were not backed by wealth, nor guided by fame—they were driven only by curiosity, creativity, and the joy of invention. In this, we see a truth that echoes through the ages: that what begins as play can, through time and persistence, grow into legacy.

Consider the nature of improvisation, which Shore describes. To improvise is to leap without fear, to trust one’s wit, to weave music, comedy, and acting into a tapestry born in the moment. It is a courage that belongs to youth but must be carried into adulthood if one is to create something new. Shore and Michaels learned in that camp not merely to entertain, but to take risks, to trust their instincts, and to find joy in collaboration. Without knowing it, they were sowing the seeds of a creation that would one day reshape the cultural landscape.

History often tells the same tale: greatness born from humble beginnings. Think of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, tinkering in a garage with wires and boards, not knowing that they would give birth to Apple and transform the world of technology. Or think of the Beatles, practicing in the cramped clubs of Hamburg, forging the sound that would change music forever. So too did Shore and Michaels, in the laughter of their camp improvisations, give birth to a spirit that would later rise in SNL, a show that has endured for decades, shaping comedy, politics, and art.

The wisdom here is clear: do not despise small beginnings. That which feels like play may one day become destiny. The performance before a few friends may plant the vision for a stage before millions. The experiment done in obscurity may ripple into history. What matters is not the grandeur of the beginning, but the courage and creativity poured into it. Shore’s reflection is proof that even the legends of culture are born not fully formed, but nurtured step by step from youthful experiments.

The lesson for us is this: honor your beginnings, however small. Do not wait for perfect conditions, nor for the recognition of others, before you create. Start where you are, with what you have, even if it is only the company of a friend at a summer camp, even if your stage is nothing more than a makeshift platform under the trees. For it is not the stage that makes greatness, but the spirit you bring to it. From such humble origins, mighty works are born.

Practically, this means: if you dream of art, begin today. Write the words, sing the songs, act the scenes, improvise with laughter. Share your gifts with whomever is near, for you never know how far the echo may travel. Seek collaboration, for often the greatest creations come not from one, but from many working together. And above all, do not dismiss the small, for today’s campfire performance may become tomorrow’s enduring tradition.

So remember Shore’s wisdom: the great shows of history, the great works of mankind, often begin as children’s play. Treasure your beginnings, nurture your experiments, and trust that even the smallest sparks can grow into flames that light the world. For in the laughter of youth, in the courage of improvisation, in the faith to begin, lies the seed of all legacy.