The Spark File with Susan Blackwell and Laura Camien
Susan Blackwell and Laura Camien
Your one stop shop for creative ideas and inspiration. Sign up for our newsletter HERE. Each week on The Spark File podcast, Susan Blackwell and Laura Camien reach into their spark files and share stories, ideas and fascinations to ignite your imagination. Obsessed with creativity, Blackwell and Camien also talk with artists and makers, movers and shakers who have taken the spark of inspiration and fanned it into a flame. Hear from inspiring creatives like Lin-Manuel Miranda, Sara Bareilles, Eric Stonestreet, Jonathan Groff, Julianne Moore and Bart Freundlich, Zachary Quinto, Leslie Odom Jr, Bobby Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Billy Eichner, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Karen Olivo, Sutton Foster, Michael R. Jackson and many more about their passions and their failures, their inspirations and their aspirations. Refill your creative fish pond with new ideas and fresh perspectives. Listen, then take it and make it! Learn more at thesparkfile.com.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Mar 22, 2021 • 1h 6min
Makers: Susan Stroman: Fill Up With the Art of It All
This week, the incomparable Susan Stroman sits down to share it all with Susan and Laura, including lessons learned from the lockdown, insights from her 5x Tony Award Winning career, as well as what it's all for. Spoiler Alert: the answer is love.From her work on The Producers, Crazy For You, Bullets Over Broadway, Contact, The Scottsboro Boys and so much more, Susan recommends that we fill ourselves up with the art of it all! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 15, 2021 • 1h 56min
Creativity Sparks: The Upper Limit Problem + The Storytelling Secrets of David Sedaris
This week on The Spark File, Susan and Laura explore how an Upper Limit Problem (as defined in The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks) might be keeping you from pursuing or completing your creative goals; AND file under "Insight from The Greats"-- storytelling secrets gleaned from the David Sedaris masterclass. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 8, 2021 • 1h 3min
Makers: Emily Fletcher: From Broadway to Ziva Meditation + Getting Better at Life
This week, Broadway performer turned meditation and mindfulness expert, Emily Fletcher gives us all the details on how learning to meditate makes us better at life. The mastermind behind Ziva Meditation, Emily has our mental support covered -- now including Ziva Kids! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mar 1, 2021 • 47min
Creativity Sparks: Imagine If... in honor of Sir Ken Robinson
This episode of The Spark File is dedicated to the memory of one of our creative heroes, Sir Ken Robinson. Laura shares the tale of how Ken walked into her life and left an indelible mark on her creativity and on The Spark File company she and Susan are now building. Be sure to check out the Imagine If Festival going on now online at Imagine-if.com, celebrating the life and the legacy of Sir Ken Robinson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 22, 2021 • 1h 22min
Makers: Ryan J. Haddad: New Homes, Solo Plays + Hi, Are You Single?
This week, Ryan J. Haddad, writer and star of Hi, Are You Single? (now playing virtually through February 28 at Woolly Mammoth Theater) shares secrets of storytelling via solo shows. His passion for centering "gay, disabled and arabic communities" is palpable and essential. Susan and Laura celebrate Ryan's message to us all - "You don't have to wait for anyone to approve. Your stories are compelling." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 15, 2021 • 1h 28min
Makers: Kenyatta Emmanuel: Slavic Soul Party, Carnegie Hall + The Time Without Time
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." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 8, 2021 • 2h 10min
Creativity Sparks: Every Month is Black History Month + Here Is New York
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Feb 1, 2021 • 1h 29min
Makers: Billy Eichner: Man on the Street, Risk Taking + Saying What You Need to Say
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. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 25, 2021 • 2h 20min
Creativity Sparks: Burnout + My Octopus Teacher
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, his human relationships, and his creative expression. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Jan 18, 2021 • 1h 4min
Makers: Laura Benanti + Venus Fischer: HBO Max's Homeschool Musical
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 over the course of this year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
