This week we welcome on a whole cavalcade of characters, including past guests Erin Hunt and Brittany Mumford, with newcomers Joe Recchia, Andrew Rethazi, Kate Sepi and Nick Sepi. Along with the regular host of characters (Ceris, Kerry, Matt and Luke) that brings the total number of people on mic to 10! Wowee! Anyways since the actual twelve days of christmas is almost up we thought we’d sneak in this very special holiday podcast just under the radar for your listening pleasure, enjoy! Be sure to follow us on twitter (@LoversDreamersU) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/TheLoversTheDreamersAndYou) for all the fun and check our website for the Lovers the Dreamers and You blog (www.theloversthedreamersandyou.com)!
Tag: creativity
Being a nerd used to be a bad thing. It isn’t anymore. The question now is, how do you share your nerd-iness?
The Nerdist Channel, (www.nerdist.com) has exploded in the last few years with celebrations of all things nerdy. Comics, theatre, music, gaming, Muppets, – you name it and they’ll celebrate it. And that’s wonderful.
I find the celebration of something you are passionate about always leads to something good. Maybe not right away, but if you are a dedicated nerd, then that dedication will pay off. Your audience, whomever they may be, will appreciate your passion, your attention to detail. It’s a great thing.
So, what are you a nerd about? Doesn’t really matter, does it? So long as you share it.
In the last little while I’ve had great opportunities to share passion for theatre and things theatrical and creative. We do that on our podcast regularly, but there’s been extensions of late.
A few days ago, my senior students and I traveled to Medway High School to share our plays with other students. The different classes, from almost opposite ends of our school board had finished a unit of playwriting and we created our First Annual Three Way Play Festival! It was great. We arrived, played a drama game and took turns showing off our short plays for each other. Then we had a wonderful lunch, hopped back on the bus and made the long journey back to our school. All the plays were wonderful and all the positive support for the work was great. I know my kids enjoyed visiting another school and making new friends because that was the last thing they were doing, getting in a circle and asking each other questions. They want to do it again next year and they want it to be a whole day. We’ll see what we can arrange.
This week, Shrew’d Business, (my husband and I) are working with the LYTE kids at The Palace. We are providing workshops in beginner techniques in Stage Combat and they are eating it up! At the time of this writing we have one workshop left and you can certainly tell that the kids are excited to learn something new.
And last weekend, I shared with friends how to make a “muppety” monster puppet. Seven new puppets came into the world and they all had so much fun. The energy was completely infectious and the delight they each had when they made a new piece of their puppet was heavenly. Such a wonderful thing to share. We shared some pics on the social media(s) and the response was equally positive. It looks like I’ll be doing more of the same in future months! Happy to do so!
The thing with spreading the love is, you get more of it back – just the thing we all need, right?
“I’ve got a dream too. But it’s about singing and dancing and making people happy. That’s the kind of dream that gets better the more people you share it with. And well, I’ve found a whole bunch of friends who have the same dream. And it kind of makes us like a family.”
Kermit the Frog
Well fans and friends, we’ve got some exciting news! This January the team from The Lovers, the Dreamers and You will be in attendance at The Beat DISH awards to “dish” with you!
Think of us as your Red Carpet Connection – we’ll be there to catch your thoughts during the party and as you walk off the stage clutching your award! We’ll be able to capture your well wishes to those who are nominated and to snap snippets of plugs for your upcoming productions!
We also want you to tell us what you loved about the past year of theatre, what you dream about for the future and how YOU hope to be connected to the whole creativity scene!
Our team will catch you in the action and piece together a night to remember for the 4th Annual DISH Awards, so make sure you clean up pretty, cause some of the questions may just be about your fashion sense!
Are you excited? We are!
Have you ever felt blue, you know, a little anxious for no particular reason? A little sad, a little self-conscious or perhaps even really sad during those long dark times that take us from the beautiful colourful days of fall into the bright sparkling days of rebirth in spring? How do you combat that? What keeps you going?
Let’s face it, it can be difficult to get up in what seems like the dead of night to face whatever challenges your day may bring, but we’ve got to do it, right? We’ve got bills to pay and houses to clean and all manner of other commitments that make us get out of that comfy cozy spot where we’d much rather stay until April. So what keeps you going?
For me, it’s the promise of creative projects. This fall, I have less on my plate than normal, but that’s quite alright as the new year will bring several exciting shows my way and stocking up energy now is vital for all that I’ll need to keep organized.
Of course the podcast and blog will continue, but then there’s also a production of Sullivan & Gilbert with LCP at The Palace Theatre, a staged reading of Under Milk Wood again with LCP, two Original Kids Productions – one which will see me working with one of my favourite things (PUPPETS!) – that’s of course Avenue Q, the alumni show in June of next year and finally just today we received word that our submission to the London Fringe – [THEY FIGHT!] was accepted for this year! It’s going to be a busy six months for sure.
So, while I may be feeling a little non-specific sadness in these months as the days get darker, I know there’s some real creative buzz coming in the new year and that will certainly speed the time towards the longer sunnier days. And that’s my advice, find something exciting that will keep you going and make you want to get up, regardless of the light. Then, share it with others. They may benefit from your creativity as well.
So last week, I gave my students a new, quick, research assignment to find out about voice actors. It was simple and I hoped, fun. It turned out really great – and the best part was, we all enjoyed it and everyone learned something new, including me.
They were to work in pairs to find some basic information about performers who are famous for their voices. The list of names included, (but was not limited to) Nancy Cartwright (The Simpsons), Billy West (Futurama), Mel Blanc (Looney Tunes), John DiMaggio (Futurama), Dan Castellena (The Simpsons) and of course several Muppeteers, such as Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Steve Whitmire, Eric Jacobson, Kevin Clash, Caroll Spinney and Jerry Nelson.
Their presentations were simple and to the point and consisted of Name, Birth/Death (if applicable), where they live, career highlights, and major characters. Then they were asked to find two contrasting YouTube clips to share with the class. In some cases, I helped. In others, they had a myriad of examples. In all cases, the students were impressed with the variety and skill of these performers and their vocal abilities. It was a great week.
This week, we moved on to creating simple props. The Grade 9s were to create something with a basic shape – rectangle, square, round, cylinder – but to represent something realistic. Essentially a brick, stone or stepping stone. They went to town. I’ve now got on display some headstones, a paving stone, several versions of bricks, an oversized hunk of chocolate with a bite removed and a swiss roll. All made from cardboard, florist foam or styrofoam. Incredible.
The Grade 10s get their pick of props to make. It just has to be something that a character could use on stage in some manner. I’ve now got several weapons, including a couple of animation inspired swords, an overly large hammer – it’s hard to describe, it’s SO huge, Thor’s hammer, (complete with leather wrapped handle), Pooh’s Hunny Jar – complete with BumbleBees on it, a diary, a Marauder’s Map, a sorcerer’s collection of goodies, pumpkins made from dryer tubing and an amazing Mad Hatter’s Hat – so incredible and large that it won’t fit in the display case. Most of these creations were made with less than $5 and some with $0! That’s what I call creative prop making! These kids had a blast and were coming to class early to get to work on their creations. It was amazing to watch them work and collaborate and encourage one another. So thrilling.
This week I took my cat to the vet and while I was standing there waiting to pay the bill I was admiring the artwork on the wall. It’s a beautiful illustration or watercolour, and it captures my attention every time I’m there. While I was admiring this piece, that critical voice in my head started to reprimand me for not practicing my drawing last weekend or for several days before that. I started to think that I was quite the failure for letting “other things” get in the way of my creative work. Then I remembered… I didn’t draw anything last weekend because I was in Chicago making Puppets and practicing performing with them. Cut yourself a little slack, eh?
But this happens all the time, doesn’t it? Even though I try to live a life that is perpetually creative, I become more and more jealous of my time to create my work – be it theatre, art, sewing, drawing, music, podcasting – whatever the work, there’s always something mundane that’s going to get in the way. Bills, laundry, dishes, yardwork, workouts, ordinary dayjobs, illness, … whatever.
It’s easy to understand the workaholic when you are trying to be creative. There’s never enough time to do all the shows you want, or catch all the photos, or write all the plays… so what to do when that Critical Voice starts to get you down about all you’ve not accomplished?
I don’t really know, actually. At least, today I don’t. Because that voice did manage to get me a little down yesterday. On sensible days I have a plan, I have a schedule and I just keep plugging and keep creating. It’s like living Sisyphus’ life – the Greek King condemned to pushing a boulder up a hill to see it roll down again before it reaches the top. I’m constantly rolling my stone up the hill. It’s a “punishment” of my own devising, really, and most days I don’t view it as such, but there certainly is a sense of the never-ending to living creatively. The task will never be done.
How long do you let yourself celebrate after a creative task is complete, before you begin the next? Or does that ever really happen?
Taking time away from the hustle and bustle can really help you to re-fire your creative juices. It can also lead to wiping away all concerns and in the process, your creativity.
We’ve spent the past few days up at the family cottage. It’s a wonderful site and we haven’t been here in three years, so we were really looking forward to a good cottage getaway. Mother nature has decided to take this time to end the drought summer we’d been experiencing, but that is not central to my story.
We come to the cottage to unwind. To forget any worries – they will still be there when we get home, and to refuel the body, mind and soul. This time around, the relaxation has really worked. It has worked so well that I am having a difficult time even remembering some of the creative projects I’ve got on the go, let alone thinking about new ones.
I’ve brought my drawing tools and I have used them. Gotta give myself some credit there. Not quite daily, but almost. But sun, (when we’ve seen it), wind and the lullaby of the lake has nearly drowned away all other thoughts.
One event that did spark some creative juices was the Puppets Up! Festival in Almonte. This is the first time I’ve ever attended this event and thank the heavens the weather agreed with our decision to drive the distance. It was a lovely day. Filled with puppets, music, nature and art. Wonderful vendors had their creations on display, many which tempted me to open my wallet, and the puppet shows were fun and informative. I went to gather tales to tell my students for the fall. I went to see what could be done with different puppets and spaces and audiences. I saw a lot of wonderful work. One artist in particular was most impressive. His new piece Adrift was beautiful, thought provoking and definitely inspirational. If this was a ‘work in progress’, (as we were told), I would love to see the final piece. His name is Zach Fraser and he’s studying to obtain a Masters in Contemporary Puppetry in Quebec. Based on the work I saw this weekend, he is one artist to watch.
So, relaxed and somewhat inspired… I’ll head back to reality and the very fast approach of fall with some new ideas, and at the very least, be a little more rested.
Life’s like a movie, write your own ending. Keep believing, keep pretending…..
I lead a pretty creative life. I regularly make things that have music, drama or dance involved in them. I teach the arts. I am surrounded by creative folks all the time. And I’m privileged to work with them. But I felt Ike something was somehow missing. I felt I needed a forum for my own creative impulses to take shape and a place where I could explore the creative impulses of my own work and my colleagues. I’ve been creating and staging work that others have written and I felt it was time to write something of my own.
I’ve been thinking about creativity, inspiration and leadership and wondering where that all comes from and how you can cultivate creativity and inspiration. This year I was reminded of one of my greatest sources of inspiration and I began to explore his philosophy of creativity and leadership. Mr. Jim Henson.
This is the source of my inspiration for this podcast and website. I want to explore creativity and the different ways that people are inspired to fulfill their dreams. I hope to to uncover some interesting stories and philosophies during the life of this blog, website and podcast. I hope that you will join me on this exploration and participate in the discussion.