MAKERS: JENNY CLIFT: TAPPING INTO OUR EMOTIONAL FREEDOM
This week, Susan and Laura delve into EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) with Jenny Clift, Coach for classical musicians and stage performers. Jenny paves the way to wealth, success, balance, and inner peace using the scientifically proven power of tapping.
CREATIVITY SPARKS: WHY + THE CREATIVE HABIT
This week, Susan and Laura dig into two worthy explorations -- Do you know your Why? Do you know why your Why matters? So many ways to consider how we can act intentionally, on and with purpose. Plus, they revisit Twyla Tharp's classic book: The Creative Habit. Do you have a habit of creativity? If not, you know The Spark File feelings on it - better get one quick!
MAKERS: DAX VALDES OF HOLLABACK ON THE 5 D’S OF BYSTANDER TRAINING
This week, Susan and Laura have the honor of spending time with artist extraordinaire Dax Valdes of Hollaback, discussing their free bystander intervention trainings aimed at making the world a better, and safer, place for us all. Tune in to hear how you can make a difference in ending harassment in all its forms.
CREATIVITY SPARKS: THE ATTENTION ECONOMY + EINSTEIN TIME
This week, Susan and Laura dive into two new sparks of creativity - the attention economy that will literally eat up all of your time (if you let it) and the Einstein Time concept that will allow you to make more time, if you need it!
MAKERS: TAYLOR MALI: POETRY, PERFORMANCE + WHAT A TEACHER MAKES
This week, Susan and Laura talk to poet, teacher, speaker Taylor Mali. Called "a ranting comic showman and a literary provocateur" by The New York Times, Taylor is one of the most well-known poets to have emerged from the poetry slam movement and one of the original poets to appear on the HBO series “Def Poetry Jam”. He is a four-time National Poetry Slam champion, in fact, we've read one of our favorites Taylor Mali poems, “What Teachers Make” on a previous episode of The Spark File and we're so thrilled to get this time with him to catch up and talk shop!
CREATIVITY SPARKS: CHAMPIONS OF BREAKFAST + THE FEEDBACK PROCESS
This week, Laura and Susan take a deep dive into the fascinating tale of betrayal, corporate espionage, and family feuds that resulted in the world's most famous breakfast cereals, and how the feedback process can work in service and support of the artist to the benefit of all.
MAKERS: SIR RICHARD EYRE: THE OPPOSITE OF SCHADENFREUDE, YEATS, AND A CAREER IN THE ARTS
This week, Susan and Laura have a bloody delightful time talking with Sir Richard Eyre, whose creative work has spanned all manner of Arts -- directing theatre, film, television and opera, as well as writing books and plays. He has guided Kate Winslet, Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, Colin Firth, Dame Judi Dench and many more to some of our favorite performances. His insight from decades of experience is both practical and inspirational, and at 75, he is far from finished!
CREATIVITY SPARKS: MAKING ART OUT OF ART + REFLECTIONS ON A MOMENT
This week, Susan and Laura offer up two new sparks of creativity - the many ways we can be sparked to make art out of art, plus, a myriad reflections on the tumultuous past few weeks, and how reflecting might just put us on the path to healing. Tune in, get inspired, and then take it and make it!
MAKERS: SUSAN STROMAN: FILL UP WITH THE ART OF IT ALL
This week, the incomparable Susan Stroman sits down to share it all with Susan and Laura, including lessons learned from the lockdown, insights from her 5x Tony Award Winning career, as well as what it's all for. Spoiler Alert: the answer is Love.
From her work on The Producers, Crazy For You, Bullets Over Broadway, Contact, The Scottsboro Boys and so much more, Susan recommends that we fill ourselves up with the art of it all!
CREATIVITY SPARKS: THE UPPER LIMIT PROBLEM + THE STORYTELLING SECRETS OF DAVID SEDARIS
This week on The Spark File, Susan and Laura explore how an Upper Limit Problem (as defined in The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks) might be keeping you from pursuing or completing your creative goals; AND file under "Insight from The Greats"-- storytelling secrets gleaned from the David Sedaris masterclass.
MAKERS: EMILY FLETCHER: FROM BROADWAY TO ZIVA MEDITATION + GETTING BETTER AT LIFE
This week, Broadway performer turned meditation and mindfulness expert, Emily Fletcher gives us all the details on how learning to meditate makes us better at life. The mastermind behind Ziva Meditation, Emily has our mental support covered -- now including Ziva Kids!
CREATIVITY SPARKS: IMAGINE IF…A CELEBRATION OF SIR KEN ROBINSON
This episode of The Spark File is dedicated to the memory of one of our creative heroes, Sir Ken Robinson. Laura shares the tale of how Sir Ken walked into her life and left an indelible mark on her creativity and on The Spark File company she and Susan are now building. Be sure to check out the Imagine If Festival going on now online at Imagine-if.com, celebrating the life and the legacy of Sir Ken Robinson.
MAKERS: RYAN J. HADDAD: NEW HOMES, SOLO SHOWS, + HI, ARE YOU SINGLE?
This week, Ryan Haddad, writer and star of Hi, Are You Single? (now playing virtually through February 28 at Woolly Mammoth Theater) shares secrets of storytelling via solo shows. His passion for centering "gay, disabled and arabic communities" is palpable and essential. Susan and Laura celebrate Ryan's message to us all - "You don't have to wait for anyone to approve. Your stories are compelling."
MAKERS: KENYATTA EMMANUEL: SLAVIC SOUL PARTY, CARNEGIE HALL, AND THE TIME WITHOUT TIME
This week, Susan and Laura have the honor of speaking with Kenyatta Emmanuel, musician, singer, songwriter, and storyteller. Kenyatta shares his personal story of how, on October 21, 2019, he exited a New York state prison after 24 1/2 years incarcerated, and at 6pm that same evening, he performed at Carnegie Hall. In this episode, Kenyatta shares his creative process, his commitment to uplift, and the constant desire to be in "the zone."
CREATIVITY SPARKS: EVERY MONTH IS BLACK HISTORY MONTH + HERE IS NEW YORK
The Spark File is kicking off February celebrating Black History Month while asserting that Every Month is Black History Month! Creative sparks fly with conversations about Jackie Shane, William + Ellen Craft and more! Plus, E.B. White's Here is New York is the little classic you need. The mighty NYC has been through much in it's storied history. It is resilient, ever changing and changless at the same time. We heart NYC.
MAKERS: BILLY EICHNER
This week, Susan and Laura have the pleasure of speaking with Billy Eichner about his many creative endeavors, including Man on the Street, Friends from College, and making his singing debut on The James Corden Show. We even get a glimpse into the new gay rom-com he's writing, plus some truly helpful advice -- stand up for yourself, say what you need to say to get the quality of work you envision.
CREATIVITY SPARKS: BURNOUT + MY OCTOPUS TEACHER
This week on The Spark File -- news you can really use! Two hot sparks of inspiration, starting with the book Burnout by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski, and the ways we can complete the stress cycle to avoid feeling fried. Physical activity, breathing, laughter -- all serve a higher purpose in our overall wellbeing. Next, the documentary My Octopus Teacher illustrates how a man's extraordinary relationship with a cephalopod brings him back from the brink of burnout, restores his energy, his human relationships, and his creative expression.
MAKERS: LAURA BENANTI + VENUS FISCHER
Recorded LIVE from The Spark File New Year 2021 Creativity KickOff, Susan and Laura have a lively conversation with the one and only TONY Award winner Laura Benanti! Laura took some big leaps during the quarantine, and shares how an idea from the heart spilled onto instagram and grew into an HBO Max special -- Homeschool Musical: Class of 2020. Plus... one of the stars of that very show, Venus Fischer, joins in on the fun, sharing her experiences on the show, and how her creativity has evolved over the course of this year.
CREATIVITY SPARKS: HAIKU + COLLECTIVE CREATIVITY
Riding high from the recent Spark File New Year 2021 Creativity KickOff, Susan and Laura discuss the highlights, and share two sparks inspired by the event - the enduring artform of Haiku, and the power we yield when we make things together, such as the work done at quilting bees, crafting bees, raising bees -- also known as collective creativity.
MAKERS: SUTTON FOSTER: SAY YES, TRUST YOUR GUT + GET A HOBBY
What a way to ring in the New Year! This week on The Spark File, Susan and Laura dig in deep with Uber Maker Sutton Foster. In addition to her TONY Award winning career on Broadway, and in film, television, and music, Sutton is a maker extraordinaire -- cross stitching, crocheting, drawing, teaching and writing. Her upcoming book (tentatively called HOOKED: How Crafting Saved My Life) is all about her life seen through the things she has made. Sutton shares with us just how powerful it is to always have something of your own.
