Creatavita: Create and flourish, professionally and personally.
Meaghan over at Lucid Ladybug has a charming post - Fun facts.
Which has me thinking - what are fun facts about Creatavita?
Which might seduce you into considering - what are fun facts about you?
Also, here's two photos from my current location - Copenhagen.
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| Part of the Elephant Gate, located by the Carlsberg Brewery |
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| Part of the Multiple Realities exhibit at the Cisternerne. Very cool! |
And if you can't make it to the September 27th seminar, I'll be offering a similar experience at the Media Arts Council the week before.
Check out details here.
Here’s your opportunity to work with two of the Philadelphia area’s most experienced teaching artists, Heidi Hayes and Mark Yurkanin.
Each participant will receive a minimum of 20 minutes to present and work on a song. Attention will be given to the integration of dramatic, musical and vocal content. The seminar will also engage in honest discussion about the business, auditioning, creating performance opportunities, and dramatic and vocal challenges.
Tuesday, September 27, 7:00 - 9:30 pm
8 N Warner Ave. in Bryn Mawr, PA 19010
$60/participant
To ensure a quality experience, this seminar will be limited to
a minimum of 5 participants and a maximum of 7 participants.
Details
Venmo, PayPal, cash or check accepted.
50% refund through 5:00 pm on Thursday, Sept. 22.
NO REFUNDS AFTER 5:00 PM ON THURSDAY, SEPT. 22.
To register, email Heidi Hayes here.
HEIDI HAYES has maintained a thriving Philadelphia-area studio for over 20 years. Heidi has also been on the faculty of the Walnut Street Theatre School and Muhlenberg College. Her passionate approach to arts education has been experienced in educational settings from Oklahoma to Singapore. In addition to her career as a teaching artist, Heidi maintains an active performing career. Recent regional credits include Fraulein Schneider in Cabaret and Baruska in Once, both at Hangar Theatre Company, as well as Jack's Mother in Into The Woods and Fraulein Schneider in Cabaret, both at Resident Theatre Company. Pre-pandemic, she toured Asia in Troika Entertainment's production of Sister Act. Other regional credits include Walnut St. Theatre, Riverside Theatre, Bucks County Playhouse, Gretna Theatre, Alchemists' Workshop, and City Theater of Wilmington, Delaware. For more information, visit heidihayesonline.com.
MARK YURKANIN Collaborative pianist: Brind School of Theater/University of the Arts; Walnut Street Theatre. Principal Accompanist: Savoy Opera Company. Collaborative pianist, music director, arranger in the greater Philadelphia musical theater community-at-large. Favorite productions include Side by Side by Sondheim, Walnut Street Theatre; The Fantasticks, Bristol Riverside Theatre. Studied at Penn State, with Broadway conductor Paul Bogaev, and the Literature and Materials Program at The Juilliard School.
I thought I should elaborate on the back story to my current social media pause.
On Friday, July 8, my Facebook account was hacked and subsequently disabled (within a matter of 15 minutes). I had been receiving emails with a "Facebook recovery code" for about a month, I guess. I ignored them, assuming they were spam/phishing and that Facebook would take care of it. WRONG!
I happened to be kayaking when the hack and disabling took place. When I returned to land, there was one email from Facebook, giving me the opportunity to dispute the decision. I quickly responded, assuming that Facebook would see that my account had been hacked and would quickly recover my account. WRONG.
At first, I was relieved. Like most humans, I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook. The thought of truly not being allowed to enter the realm initially felt like an opportunity for bliss. I mean, they were NOT letting me in.
But then I tried to go onto my Instagram account, which is more important to me, predominantly for my performing career and my work as a creative guide, and BAM...I was shut out there as well. Kicked out of the Meta-owned universe completely, except for WhatsApp. Which makes no sense. But I digress.
I tried for a few days to dispute, but there was no way in. I did start to see this screen:
Delightful. The hackers were really messing this up. Gees.
I thought of the people who I only communicate with through social media. A former student who had just committed to attending a creative event I was hosting in a few weeks. A dear friend battling brain cancer in New Mexico. The township group I rely on for local recommendations and very sadly, local news.
I also thought of how many times I had relied on social media when I was in callbacks or cast in a show. The first stop is social media, specifically IG or FB, to see if I am connected to any of the same people as the creative team or rest of the cast. This one really hurts - if people who potentially want to cast me are trying to find me, I have disappeared. And that's just stupid. Mark Zuckerberg should not have that power. No one human should have that power over my work, except for me.
Fast forward to this past Wednesday, July 20. I received an email from Facebook...or was it phishing? And who knows for certain? I thought of asking a tech friend to take a look, but to be honest most of the tech people I've talked to about this have just shrugged (I did write to the Washington Post Help Desk as well; no response yet). One told me other friends had had the same experience and they had to start over completely. Ugh. Life's too short. I don't want to sit on a device recreating social media accounts. I want to go outside and ride a bike! I was feeling helpless and that is also ridiculous. No one should have to feel helpless when dealing with a large corporation that controls massive amounts of data, including my own (which I recognize I willingly gave to said corporation). Said corporation should have more humanity when dealing with humans.
Anyway, back to the July 20 email, which told me I had 18 days to dispute the decision (I guess the one I sent back in the park on July 8 didn't go through???). I decided to take the chance that it was legit and clicked to dispute. I had to submit ID, which would have felt like phishing, BUT a colleague whose account was hacked told me he had also had to submit ID, so I bit and sent ID. I know, some of you are shaking your heads and screaming. However, I immediately received a confirmation email from Facebook, which also thanked me for my patience (nope). Legit? Let's say yes. I do check my credit card accounts daily.
Back to the present - I'm still on a social media pause, and to be honest, I'm enjoying it. I don't spend nearly as much time on my device, and if I do, I'm reading legitimate news, playing Duolingo or communicating with people I actually know. Texting a friend or two takes longer, but the conversation feels more connected. I know I could set up new accounts. However, I'm waiting, in case the old accounts are allowed back on.
So, if you're looking for information about my work as a performer, please head to my website or my YouTube channel. And if you are/were a friend or follower on Meta's social media platforms, I'd appreciate if you could share this post to your page. Perhaps we have friends/followers in common and they can find out what happened to me.
That title popped into my head as I looked out the window on this beautiful day (why am I inside???) and saw a breeze blow through the tree. A walk will be my reward after writing this post.
Hey. I found this really cool and inspiring idea in Bird By Bird by Anne Lamott. While this book is focused on the art of writing, I recommend it for anyone curious about creativity, as the principles, strategies and experiences Lamott writes about resonate across all creative fields. Besides that, Lamott makes me laugh out loud. Right now, I like laughing out loud...and not at the current absurdities of life!
Here's the idea - the one-inch square (or frame). Now, I'm not the first blogger to write a post about this. I just googled and found three others in less than ten seconds. But you're here and I'm here, and I am tremendously jazzed by this, so let's see if I can send some of that jazzed energy over to you.
Here's the premise - you're working on a creative project and find yourself in that common and uncomfortable feeling of being stuck. You're not sure how to proceed. You find yourself doubting every creative act you attempt. You look for diversions, any diversion, to get you away from these feelings.
Anne Lamott's solution? Fill in a one-inch square and call it a day. Do not judge the actions, the ideas, the paint strokes, the sounds, the words. Fill the square and be done.
Of course I can't let an idea stay simple. I must raise the stakes. So, I challenged myself to fill in a table on a Google doc for seven days. Yes, I recognize that a table on a Google doc expands as one fills it in. I also recognize that a Google doc tends to be a rectangle and not a square. I'm not letting perfect get in the way of good.
Guess what? I am 36 days into this experiment and having a blast. I have taken one day off completely (my stepdaughter and her husband were here for the first time in at least three years. That merits a day off.) and taken three days to organize the squares.
What am I writing about? I started with a simple question. Simple for me anyway. There's a character in the Kander & Ebb musical, Cabaret whose name is Fraulein Schneider. Fraulein Schneider is older (no exact age is given. Let's say 68 because that's how old Lotte Lenye was when she originated the role), but here's the thing - Fraulein translates as Miss. In the time period Cabaret takes place in, using that title means the woman has not been married. Ever. The simple question?
Why has Fraulein Schneider never married?
And away my imagination flew, and continues to fly. Yes, there are days when I get stuck. What do I do on those days?
Fill in the square.
I'd love to have you as a subscriber to Creatavita's new newsletter. I'm aiming to publish one every month. I fill the newsletter with a Creative Thought of the Moment (usually centered on a project I'm engaged in), an Inspiring Creator, upcoming events and a Giveaway. My intention is to inspire and delight you, no matter how creativity is a part of your life. You can sign up here.
Welcome to 2022!
More creating, less noise. That's the intention over here. I've already taken some steps in that direction.
First up, Creatavita's 2022 Annual Plan. I had a good time dreaming, envisioning and finalizing this plan, so take a look. I'll be checking in with this image once a month to remind myself of accomplishments and of ideas yet to be realized.
Secondly, have you signed up for the Creatavita Newsletter? Go here. This newsletter will be the only way to find out about Monthly Gatherings (first one is next Monday, January 24!), Open Houses, Retreats and all the other experiences coming this year.
One more thing - I believe in you, even if you don't.
See you soon!