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." BRAVE Creatives! Your creative work is needed n...
Feb 15, 2021•1 hr 29 min•Ep 14•Transcript available on Metacast 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. BRAVE Creatives! Your creative work is needed now more than ever...
Feb 08, 2021•2 hr 11 min•Ep 13•Transcript available on Metacast 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. BRAVE Creatives! Your creative work is needed now more than ever. Join us for The Spark ...
Feb 01, 2021•1 hr 29 min•Ep 12•Transcript available on Metacast 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, h...
Jan 25, 2021•2 hr 21 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 o...
Jan 18, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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. 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 fr...
Jan 11, 2021•2 hr 50 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 alw...
Jan 04, 2021•1 hr 17 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast This week on The Spark File, Susan and Laura are serving up two pipin' hot sparks... Join them as they suss out their obsession with Jane Austen -- is it the repressed sexual tension? the perfect witty, cutting remark? And listen as they dig into their memories of the toys that shaped our childhoods and what might be made of them now... From the Draw-a-Face Doll to the Little Lady Electric Range, Weebles that wobble, and Willy the Waterbug sprinkler... memories (and sparks) are tied up in t...
Dec 28, 2020•2 hr 1 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Tiffani Gavin, the new Executive Director of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, shares her passion for supporting emerging artists, and the desire to educate the world on the scope and impact of the industry overall - with the Broadway Community Project. 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...
Dec 21, 2020•1 hr 12 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week on The Spark File, Susan and Laura offer up two sparks of inspiration... First, Helene Hanff and her classic theatre book, 'Underfoot in Show Business' paints a picture of the early days of Broadway; and then the infinite spark power of secrets kept and secrets 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 i...
Dec 14, 2020•2 hr 39 min•Transcript available on Metacast On this week's episode of The Spark File, Susan and Laura laugh as much as they listen while conversing with comedian John Early, star of HBO's Search Party, The Characters on Netflix, and so much more. A true creator, John's always making something -- TV shows, short films, social posts, or profiles for political candidates he is passionate about. BRAVE Creatives! Your creative work is needed now more than ever. Join us for The Spark File 2025 New Year Creativity Kickoff Ja...
Dec 07, 2020•1 hr 19 min•Transcript available on Metacast On this week's episode, Susan and Laura reach into their spark files and share two fresh sparks of inspiration. First, the documentary Garnet's Gold weaves a tale of lost treasure in the Scottish highlands, but actually explores the pain of adventures not taken, lives not fully lived. And then, a deep dive into understanding land acknowlegement, recoginzing Indigenous Peoples as traditional stewards of these lands, and understanding our place within history. BRAVE Creatives! Your creat...
Nov 30, 2020•2 hr 38 min•Transcript available on Metacast Emmy Award winning actor Eric Stonestreet shares some great creative advice with Susan and Laura in the latest episode of The Spark File. They cover all the essentials — creativity, clowning, and how to build your dream bathroom in the woods. With the one-of-a-kind heart of an actor / comedian / clown / philanthropist / chef /drummer / die-hard sports fan, we’d argue that Eric is also inadvertently giving some great advice on livin’ life to the fullest! Also, don’t miss this classic Eric Stonest...
Nov 23, 2020•2 hr 33 min•Transcript available on Metacast Susan and Laura are back with Season 2 of The Spark File - rested, refreshed and creative fishpond restocked! They take a deep dive in search of the value of Creativity, and discover its life-saving attributes; AND they explore the need for resilience, and how to find it if you're not feeling it. 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 retrea...
Nov 16, 2020•2 hr 45 min•Transcript available on Metacast Susan and Laura are back with a few reflections and the latest and greatest updates on Season 1 topics, PLUS a projection for Season 2. Keep your eyes (and ears) peeled for new episodes coming this fall! 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 MOR...
Sep 28, 2020•1 hr 12 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the Season One finale, Susan and Laura discuss the various ways the world is exhausting us right now -- Zoom fatigue, Compassion fatigue, Caution fatigue and more. Plus, how knowing where you are in the Creative Cycle can help determine where your Hero goes from here. (hint: picture a Phoenix rising from the ashes). 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 ...
Jun 22, 2020•1 hr 26 min•Ep 89•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Susan and Laura sit down with the Pulitzer Prize winning truth teller, Michael R. Jackson who will blow your hair back with his authenticity. His metafictional musical, A Strange Loop explores the transformational story of an artist confronting issues of sexuality, race and identity. 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 h...
Jun 18, 2020•55 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Susan and Laura are sparked by the possibilities created by the Growth Mindset vs. Fixed Mindset, and explore the VUCA assessment tool to describe the Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous world we're living in. 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 cou...
Jun 15, 2020•2 hr 43 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Susan and Laura connect with Karen Olivo as she shares her recent vow to withhold her artistic services from "any theatre, company, or persons, who would knowingly fund organizations that would perpetuate inequality." Standing fully in her artistic power, Karen inspires with her leadership and action. 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 o...
Jun 11, 2020•1 hr•Ep 86•Transcript available on Metacast On this episode of The Spark File, Susan and Laura share sparks of creativity that have lit up this week. The continued fight for equality and the many ways individuals and groups have demanded it throughout history; and the many ways artists and creatives are making change in these tumultuous times. 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...
Jun 08, 2020•1 hr 24 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Susan and Laura talk with Donna Lieberman from the NYCLU. If there ever were a time to understand the important work of this tireless woman and this incredible organization, its now. Fighting for the neutral principles we believe in -- freedom of speech, right to peaceful protest and so much more -- the ACLU and the NYCLU are the angels protecting our inalienable rights. BRAVE Creatives! Your creative work is needed now more than ever. Join us for The Spark File 2025 New Year Cr...
Jun 04, 2020•1 hr 29 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week on The Spark File, Susan and Laura deliver two sparks of creativity... First, giving thought to the apocalypse now, what is it revealing to YOU? And the story of Russ Ewing, how one human being can make a difference in a corrupt system much bigger than us all. 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...
Jun 01, 2020•1 hr 26 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this very special episode, Susan and Laura talk with Celia Keenan-Bolger, who reads an original piece for us about the inspiration behind Broadway Feeds Bellevue, and the beauty of community. 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 ...
May 28, 2020•47 min•Ep 82•Transcript available on Metacast Susan and Laura dip into the mailbag and hear sparks of creativity from YOU! Sharing your grief, guilt, and guilty pleasures during quarantine and the many ways creativity is feeding your soul... 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 ...
May 25, 2020•1 hr 17 min•Ep 81•Transcript available on Metacast This is Part 2 of Susan and Laura's conversation with the inspirational and aspirational Bobby Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, all about creative collaborations, big wave riding and who determines success and failure? These two are a creative masterclass, illustrating the value of putting the people you collaborate with before the work you are creating. BRAVE Creatives! Your creative work is needed now more than ever. Join us for The Spark File 2025 New Year Creativity Kickoff Janua...
May 21, 2020•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast Two fresh new sparks of creativity -- first, a look at how the art of golden repair, Kintsugi, might give us proper perspective on our collective scars as we heal our broken world. And, the story of Vedem, an act of creative resistance and resilience, offers a glimpse into how art just might help us survive. 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...
May 18, 2020•1 hr 24 min•Ep 79•Transcript available on Metacast This week on The Spark File Makersode, because there is no better duo to laugh, cry and talk shop with than Bobby Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. Dare you to find a more talented and free flowing creative team than these two. On Part One, find out how they found their own voices, and each other. 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 wi...
May 14, 2020•53 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this week's sparks of creativity episode, Susan shares a glimpse into The Show Must Go On...line mindset that allowed Orange County School of the Art's production of Now.Here.This to continue despite the recent closures and cancellations. Plus, Laura gives appreciation to all the educators out there, holding it all together, including a shout out to her Kansas State University. Thanks to Taylor Mali for the always timeless reminder of what teachers contribute to us all! BRAVE Creati...
May 11, 2020•1 hr 28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Part two of Susan and Laura's conversation with Heidi Blickenstaff digs deeper into the spark that inspired her to create GenZStayHome, and how she fanned it into a flame that has now become the bonfire called Broadway Because. 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 cou...
May 07, 2020•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week, Susan and Laura share some recent sparks of creativity that have inspired them while the world is upside down. First, an ode to the beauty of handwritten letters and the USPS for delivering them, plus, ideas for making a day at home special and meaningful, including the joy of kittens on a blanket. 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...
May 04, 2020•2 hr 33 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
