Susan and Laura talk with dear friend Heidi Blickenstaff, who perfectly puts into words the benefits of continual learning, curiosity and creative growth. She shares the origin story of her Broadway debut in The Full Monty, as well as her latest passion -- producing. Her GenZStayHome project has been a labor of love and is just the tip of the iceburg... Tune in next week for Part 2! BRAVE Creatives! Your creative work is needed now more than ever. Join us for The Spark File 2025 New Year C...
Apr 30, 2020•35 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this week's episode, Laura and Susan explore the idea of Creative Limitation, and how constraints can lead to liberation, plus, tips on how to approach your work from home routine to have you feeling Like a Boss! BRAVE Creatives! Your creative work is needed now more than ever. Join us for The Spark File 2025 New Year Creativity Kickoff January 1, 2025 from 11am - 6:30pm ET This one day virtual retreat will help identify and clarify your creative vision, and chart a course for comp...
Apr 27, 2020•2 hr 47 min•Transcript available on Metacast In part 2 of Susan and Laura's conversation with actress/activist Erika Henningsen focuses on doing double duty of delivering on interpretive work and weaving the gentle thread of activism through every experience. BRAVE Creatives! Your creative work is needed now more than ever. Join us for The Spark File 2025 New Year Creativity Kickoff January 1, 2025 from 11am - 6:30pm ET This one day virtual retreat will help identify and clarify your creative vision, and chart a course for compl...
Apr 23, 2020•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week on The Spark File, if you're feeling the need to be the master of your fate / the captain of your soul, The Captain's Log just might inspire you to get behind the (ship's) wheel! Plus, Bill Withers, a man very much in charge of his own destiny, took a most fascinating journey through the music business and beyond, leaving us with the most wonderful gifts to listen to on this lovely day. lovely day. lovely day. BRAVE Creatives! Your creative work is needed now more than...
Apr 20, 2020•2 hr 32 min•Transcript available on Metacast Back before the quarentine, Susan and Laura had the opportunity to cozy up with Erika Henningsen, of Mean Girls the Musical on Broadway fame. Erika shares her passion to use her mega-megaphone for good -- from registering people to vote, and increasing literacy rates, to helping teen girls find their footing in the ever-shifting social landscape and beyond. BRAVE Creatives! Your creative work is needed now more than ever. Join us for The Spark File 2025 New Year Creativity Kickoff January ...
Apr 16, 2020•43 min•Ep 70•Transcript available on Metacast This week, in the first episode recorded during the quarantine, The Spark File offers two sparks of creativity -- whether you are inspired to produce any form of Pandemic Creativity, or if you are focused on taking care of yourself and your family, You Are Doing Enough. BRAVE Creatives! Your creative work is needed now more than ever. Join us for The Spark File 2025 New Year Creativity Kickoff January 1, 2025 from 11am - 6:30pm ET This one day virtual retreat will help identify and clarify...
Apr 13, 2020•1 hr 14 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week on The Spark File, Susan and Laura talk with Emmy Award winning comedy writer, Jill Twiss about her years on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver making people laugh (rather than cry) from current events, and how constantly pitching new things lead to writing her successful children's books, A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo, and The Someone New. BRAVE Creatives! Your creative work is needed now more than ever. Join us for The Spark File 2025 New Year Creativity Kickoff Januar...
Apr 09, 2020•1 hr 8 min•Ep 68•Transcript available on Metacast In this week's episode of The Spark File, the pioneer Colette, fighting for credit of her work and leading the way for women to follow their creative pursuits and earn that money; plus, the power of living in flo to optimize your creative output by aligning with your infradian rhythms. BRAVE Creatives! Your creative work is needed now more than ever. Join us for The Spark File 2025 New Year Creativity Kickoff January 1, 2025 from 11am - 6:30pm ET This one day virtual retreat will help...
Apr 06, 2020•2 hr 31 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week on The Spark File, part 2 of Susan and Laura's conversation with Artist Kate Quarfordt. If you find yourself "teetering on the knifes edge" these days, sit back, relax, and take a trip back to three weeks ago when things felt normal. We discuss our Grandmothers, the Resistance Revival Chorus and the power of music and art in any movement for change. BRAVE Creatives! Your creative work is needed now more than ever. Join us for The Spark File 2025 New Year Creativity...
Apr 02, 2020•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this weeks episode of The Spark File, Susan and Laura dive into an exploration of light and dark with Chiaroscuro plus the story of the understory and the Hidden Life of Trees. BRAVE Creatives! Your creative work is needed now more than ever. Join us for The Spark File 2025 New Year Creativity Kickoff January 1, 2025 from 11am - 6:30pm ET This one day virtual retreat will help identify and clarify your creative vision, and chart a course for completion. LEARN MORE ...
Mar 30, 2020•1 hr 24 min•Ep 65•Transcript available on Metacast This week on The Spark File, Laura and Susan are treated to the wisdom, the joy, the laughter and the luminosity that is Kate Quarfordt, Artist. From learning how "your weirdness is your genius" to the discipline required to transcend into kairos time, this episode is dream for artists or Artists at every juncture. BRAVE Creatives! Your creative work is needed now more than ever. Join us for The Spark File 2025 New Year Creativity Kickoff January 1, 2025 from 11am - 6:30pm ET Thi...
Mar 26, 2020•51 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week on The Spark File with Susan Blackwell and Laura Camien, two fresh new sparks of creativity -- first, the doctor who risked his career and went to his grave trying to convince the medical profession that hand washing matters, plus the incredible true story of the uplifting oratorical festival presented by California students for the benefit of us all. BRAVE Creatives! Your creative work is needed now more than ever. Join us for The Spark File 2025 New Year Creativity Kickoff Janu...
Mar 23, 2020•1 hr 11 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week on The Spark File, Susan and Laura catch up with Kris Andersson, accidental hyphenate, who gives us an exclusive scoop, his biggest creative risk so far — shuttering his uber successful show, Dixie’s Tupperware party. With his eye on new creative ideas and endeavors, Kris shares his gratitude for Dixie’s adventures and his vision for brand new shenanigans. BRAVE Creatives! Your creative work is needed now more than ever. Join us for The Spark File 2025 New Year Creativity Kickoff...
Mar 19, 2020•57 min•Ep 62•Transcript available on Metacast This week on The Spark File, Susan and Laura dig into the value and comfort that comes with completing Unfinished Business - creative or otherwise, plus, the anti-lonliness campaign being waged by The Posh Club (something we could all use right about now, regardless of age!) BRAVE Creatives! Your creative work is needed now more than ever. Join us for The Spark File 2025 New Year Creativity Kickoff January 1, 2025 from 11am - 6:30pm ET This one day virtual retreat will help identify and cl...
Mar 16, 2020•1 hr 12 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week on The Spark File, Susan and Laura get to chat with the fabulous, fun, authentically awesome Caitlin Kinnunen. Caitlin shares openly and easily about everything from Tony nominations and failure, soapbox opportunities, and how the struggle is shared. BRAVE Creatives! Your creative work is needed now more than ever. Join us for The Spark File 2025 New Year Creativity Kickoff January 1, 2025 from 11am - 6:30pm ET This one day virtual retreat will help identify and clarify your crea...
Mar 12, 2020•1 hr 2 min•Ep 60•Transcript available on Metacast This week on The Spark File, Susan and Laura share two sparks of creativity -- the treasure trove of phenomenal women throughout history featured in Rejected Princesses books and website, plus the history under our feet: The Astor Place Riots fought over who was the most talented actor, of all things. As always, if any ideas strike your fancy, we invite you to take it and make it! BRAVE Creatives! Your creative work is needed now more than ever. Join us for The Spark File 2025 New Year Cre...
Mar 09, 2020•1 hr 25 min•Ep 59•Transcript available on Metacast On this episode of The Spark File, Susan and Laura connect with the extraordinarily talented and kind human being, Kelli O'Hara. Kelli shares a valuable artist life hack -- her backstage self-talk. You won't want to miss her secret for beating performance anxiety! BRAVE Creatives! Your creative work is needed now more than ever. Join us for The Spark File 2025 New Year Creativity Kickoff January 1, 2025 from 11am - 6:30pm ET This one day virtual retreat will help identify and cla...
Mar 05, 2020•54 min•Transcript available on Metacast When Susan and Laura were invited to intro a NYC showing of The Philadelphia Story recently, they challenged themselves to find sparks related to the movie -- and they didn't have to look very far! The incredible self-orchestrated career turnaround of Katherine Hepburn, plus Scotty Bowers and the Secret History of Hollywood. Buckle up, it's gonna be a bumpy ride! BRAVE Creatives! Your creative work is needed now more than ever. Join us for The Spark File 2025 New Year Creativity ...
Mar 02, 2020•2 hr 31 min•Transcript available on Metacast Susan and Laura had so much fun talking to TONY-nominated Phillipa Soo, they went for a Part 2! Pippa shares fears, "failure" and her process of letting it all hang loose. BRAVE Creatives! Your creative work is needed now more than ever. Join us for The Spark File 2025 New Year Creativity Kickoff January 1, 2025 from 11am - 6:30pm ET This one day virtual retreat will help identify and clarify your creative vision, and chart a course for completion. LEARN MORE ...
Feb 27, 2020•43 min•Transcript available on Metacast Two random sparks of creativity today, pulled from Susan and Laura's spark files give us the yin and the yang, two ends of the spectrum... how extra Preparation may be behind the sensation of effortlessness, and how allowing ourselves bouts of Boredom makes room for new creative connections in our brain. BRAVE Creatives! Your creative work is needed now more than ever. Join us for The Spark File 2025 New Year Creativity Kickoff January 1, 2025 from 11am - 6:30pm ET This one day virtua...
Feb 24, 2020•1 hr 27 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this week's bonus episode of The Spark File, Susan and Laura connect with Tony nominee, Phillipa Soo. Pippa shares her love of rehearsal, her dreams of directing, and her perspective on the recently announced film featuring the original cast of Hamilton. BRAVE Creatives! Your creative work is needed now more than ever. Join us for The Spark File 2025 New Year Creativity Kickoff January 1, 2025 from 11am - 6:30pm ET This one day virtual retreat will help identify and clarify your cr...
Feb 20, 2020•42 min•Ep 53•Transcript available on Metacast In this week's episode of The Spark File, Susan and Laura share two new sparks of creativity: the enduring legend of Col. Percy Fawcett's final journey into the Amazon and the eternal search for personal creative space and a room of one's own, inspired in part by Caridad De La Luz and El Garaje. BRAVE Creatives! Your creative work is needed now more than ever. Join us for The Spark File 2025 New Year Creativity Kickoff January 1, 2025 from 11am - 6:30pm ET This one day virtu...
Feb 17, 2020•2 hr 35 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week on The Spark File, Susan and Laura get to talk to Bonnie Siegler, graphic designer of all things — books, TV shows, editorial, brand logos — and author of “signs of resistance” and “dear client”. Discussing everything from the beauty of “I notice” and “I wonder” to the inspiration of andy warhol to a fierce love of history, Bonnie shares the inspiration behind her work and how she uses her design superpowers for the good of all. BRAVE Creatives! Your creative work is needed now more th...
Feb 13, 2020•54 min•Ep 51•Transcript available on Metacast In this weeks episode of The Spark File, Susan and Laura dive into an exploration of the value of work, particularly working with your hands, described in Shop Class to Soul Craft by Matthew Crawford, and the beauty and benefits of Introversion, explained by Susan Cain in her book, Quiet. BRAVE Creatives! Your creative work is needed now more than ever. Join us for The Spark File 2025 New Year Creativity Kickoff January 1, 2025 from 11am - 6:30pm ET This one day virtual retreat will help i...
Feb 10, 2020•2 hr 41 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the latest bonus episode of The Spark File, Susan and Laura talk to Angela Johnson, Founder & CEO of Invest in Access about how important inclusion and access are to our creativity and creative endeavors. Angela Johnson is an Accessibility Strategist on a mission to increase equity for individuals living with disabilities. She is the Founder & CEO of Invest In Access, and owns AJ Inclusion Consulting, in furtherance of her mission. Angela's is presently focusing on accessibility ...
Feb 06, 2020•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week's episode features two very different sparks from Susan and Laura's spark files. First, the surprising and far reaching impact of this Bombshell beauty's life's work, then the potentially peace-creating, space-making philosophy of 'Fewer, Better.' BRAVE Creatives! Your creative work is needed now more than ever. Join us for The Spark File 2025 New Year Creativity Kickoff January 1, 2025 from 11am - 6:30pm ET This one day virtual retreat will help ide...
Feb 03, 2020•2 hr 35 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week's episode of The Spark File is Part 2 of Susan and Laura's conversation with Freestyle Love Supreme's Anthony "Two-Touch" Veneziale and Chris "Shockwave" Sullivan. Recorded LIVE from The Spark File New Year 2020 Creativity Workshop in NYC, Anthony and Shockwave share their belief in restorative play, mental fitness and the ability to learn how to learn. Plus, the unforgettable story of Anthony taking a tennis ball to the, well,... balls during a perfo...
Jan 30, 2020•33 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week on The Spark File, Susan and Laura share new inspirations — the many ways the arts (and crafts!) can come to the rescue when it's time for Making Change, and the increasing need for Self Reliance in a world of uncertainty. BRAVE Creatives! Your creative work is needed now more than ever. Join us for The Spark File 2025 New Year Creativity Kickoff January 1, 2025 from 11am - 6:30pm ET This one day virtual retreat will help identify and clarify your creative vision, and chart ...
Jan 27, 2020•1 hr 27 min•Ep 46•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, recorded LIVE from The Spark File New Year 2020 Creativity Workshop, Susan and Laura share in the flat out delight of Freestyle Love Supreme's Anthony "Two-Touch" Veneziale and Chris "Shockwave" Sullivan. We talk of overriding the fear mechanisms in our brains to allow for more freedom in expression and creativity and the belief that improv skills can benefit everyone. Plus, they're just hella cool. BRAVE Creatives! Your creative work is needed now ...
Jan 23, 2020•32 min•Ep 45•Transcript available on Metacast In this weeks episode, recorded LIVE from the The Spark File 2020 New Year Creativity Workshop, Susan and Laura share sparks near and dear to their hearts. From the deeply personal and close to home, The Sparks of Nancy Blackwell to the universally spark-ish, equally feared and revered, My Friend Fear, inspired by the book by Meera Lee Patel. BRAVE Creatives! Your creative work is needed now more than ever. Join us for The Spark File 2025 New Year Creativity Kickoff January 1, 2025 from 11...
Jan 20, 2020•1 hr 24 min•Transcript available on Metacast