Bless you Sunni! To all my students, actors, bosses, classmates, teachers and colleagues: I am paying attention to you. Truly, I am
Get Yourself Back in the Creative Zone Grab a copy of this free e-book from Mark McGuinness of Lateral Action. I do appreciate Marks’s helpful and generous work. This book is a collection of articles he wrote in response to submissions from readers of his Lateral Action blog when asked to submit the creative blocks that keep them struggling. Mark is a poet who earns a living as a coach and trainer for creative professionals. He has no clue who I am, but he is one of my heroes on the horizon. Please grab a copy of this book and check out Mark’s blog too. Enjoy!
Usually after a show closes, I get sick. All the stress and adrenaline that have been keeping me running for however many months of rehearsal + tech + performance take a vacation and leave my body defenseless. And my body says, “Girlfriend, you need a nap. I’m gonna zap you with a cold so you stay in bed and take long hot soaks in the tub.” Zing! Since Hedda Gabler opened last Thursday, my brain has gone numb. I had so many blog posts churning in my head when I didn’t have time to write them. Now that I have time to write them, they’ve vanished. I have them captured on my little “Future Blog Posts” list, but the creative energy required in order to bring those ideas coherently to fruition just wants to be left alone to play sudoku and read escapist fiction
I promised I would share the goodies I found on my DIY Artsy-fartsy Planner Page Hunt. I wanted unique, attractive, useful, adaptable, fun, whimsical and colorful pages for my great big I-can’t-believe-I-carry-this-around-with-me-every-day binder. And I found some beautiful stuff: Eye candy for geeky artsy planners: There’s a group on Flickr with 370 members who have posted over 580 photos of their home-made, hacked, doodled-on, re-tooled, planners: Flickr:Do It Yourself Planners
If it weren’t for the doing of it, I wouldn’t know what I wanted to do. Aha moment this morning! I have a confession. I plunged into this blogging project and the acting classes without a lot of forethought. When I began, I had no idea what I wanted and truth be told – the dream is still unfolding. All I know right now is that I am building something of value. Something authentic and something new
I am a sucker for planners, productivity programs and task management tools. Not an expert – a sucker. Someday I hope to qualify as a semi-pro. There are many wonderful systems and tools available to choose from along with endless blogs and blog entries dedicated to improving personal productivity. I’m going to give you a run-down of my favorites and their pros and cons and then introduce you to a concept that I’ve been playing with which applies Theatrical Perspectives to Life Planning and Productivity. First let me explain a bit about why I came up with the Theatrical Perspectives and how planning from multiple yet cohesive and collaborative perspectives may be helpful for you too
Artists and writers are often required to sneak their creative work in around the edges of their lives and rely on their own will, desire and self-coaching to achieve their goals. And, because our creative work is often a labor of love as opposed to the kinds of labor we do for a paycheck, because there is no boss waiting expectantly for our results to add to his/her bottom line – we can let our creative time slip by. Then another week goes by and another month and another three years and that dream of writing a novel or seeing your art in a gallery is still sitting on a shelf gathering dust and waiting for you to show up
Sometimes my fear wants me to pull back and stop, but I know in my heart that my fear is a signal telling me I am in the midst of expanding a very worn comfort zone. Since I have started paying more attention to the tactics of my inner critic and my ego I have realized how active they are every day. They want me to stay in my comfort zone with the blankets pulled up over my head. They want me to keep reading about how to do it instead of doing it. They want me to make another plan and another plan for making the plan. They want me to play computer games and drink more wine. And they love junk food – especially Cheezits flavored with tobasco!
Change signals an opportunity to ask big questions, to re-vision and make yourself anew. That’s where my head was over the past two weeks and I found some nifty cool things I want to share with you: The first one is Living in a Human Suit created by Scott Brandon Hoffman aka @TheEntertainer. Scott leads with his sense of humor and has a refreshing way of making you laugh while making you think about the Big Picture. You know things like your life and your purpose and why you might be inhabiting this planet at this point in time
I was restless last night. I think my restlessness is related to the fast pace of my life right now. I am enjoying my life so much right now. I am involved in so many things that I am happy about and at the same time I am finding it hard to settle myself down at the end of the day. When I am restless I start browsing my bookshelves, perusing the titles and spines of my books looking for a sign. Books play a large role in my comfort and self-care. I found Michael Port’s Book Yourself Solid. Nice. But I knew as soon as I started leafing through it that it was going to stir me up rather than settle me down
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