Creativity in Captivity

An established Hollywood screenwriter and novelist whose credits include Arachnophobia, True Believer, Final Analysis, Wolf, A Nightmare on Elm Streetand the Martin Scorsese remake of Cape Fear. As a “script doctor” he has done production polishes on such films as Batman Returns, Face/Off and Mission: Impossible 2. Strick wrote the original script for Tim Burton’s unproduced Superman Lives. His first novel Out There in the Dark was published by St. Martin’s Publishing Group and his second novel Whirlybird is available as a Kindle book. Since 1995, Wesley has served as a creative advisor at the Sundance Institute Screenwriters Lab. Strick is a writer/executive producer on the Amazon drama series, The Man in the High Castle. On this episode he talks about collaborating on projects with Tim Burton, studying creative writing with poet Thom Gunn and his early days as a rock journalist for Rolling Stone, Circus and Creem. 

An award-winning creative director for cultural attractions, theme parks, and destinations. Cynthia is a principal for Thinkwell Group, a global experience design company. She has gained a reputation for combining creative approaches to exhibition and education development with a focused understanding of experiences as a means of advancing equity, inclusion, early education, and visitor behavior. Her adventures have put her in cahoots with Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and National Museum of Natural History, Google, Warner Bros. Entertainment, San Diego Zoo, Adler Planetarium, Fernbank Museum of Natural History, the U.S. Marshals Museum, Wahat Al Karama, Universal, and Space Center Houston. She shines a light on immersive audience experiences, the importance of decolonizing museum exhibits, and strives to tell more inclusive stories that are accessible to all.  

An exceptional Photographer, Creative Director and Visual Storyteller known for his signature style with Beauty, Celebrity & Fashion Photography. His list of clients include Cardi B, Billy Porter, Priyanka Chopra, Lewis Hamilton, Ruby Rose, Kim Kardashian, Katy Perry, Prince, Taraji P. Henson, Jim Parsons, Queen Latifah, Betty White & Kelly Clarkson. He has gone on to direct music videos for Kelly Rowland, Vanessa Williams & Erika Jayne. Mike made his feature film directorial debut with RuPaul’s uproarious comedy Starrbooty. He was recently named creative director and principal photographer for L’Officiel Fashion Book Australia, L’Officiel Fashion Book Monte Carlo and PhotoBook Magazine. Mike supports the Ali Forney Center, GMHC, The Trevor Project, Housing Works, It Gets Better Project, Live Out Loud, Project Angel Food, Stand Up for Pits Foundation and GLAAD. He serves on the honorary board of the “Let There Be Hope” research foundation. On this episode he shares what it was like shooting with Prince at Paisley Park, he explains his rich fantasy life as a kid and how the discovery of his first camera allowed him to express his vision of the world. To learn more go to MikeRuiz.com.

A professional, confessional writer and producer who created the TV series The New Adventures of Old Christine and Call Your Mother. She served as co-executive producer on Will & Grace and is the author of a book of humorous and unflinching essays on midlife called Aren’t You Forgetting Someone? Essays from my Mid-Life Revenge. Kari started her career writing for the series Weird Science and creating the TV show Maggie Winters. She tells us the responsibilities required to be a television showrunner, explains how her face got covered in poison oak and reveals the lies she told as a kid.  

A world-class illusionist and the choreographer & artistic director of Austin’s long-running musical/comedy review Esther’s Follies. Ray is the featured performer in this theatrical juggernaut blending illusion, comedy, and audience participation into one of the most carefully constructed performances in the magic world today. There isn't a dull moment when Ray is onstage. Performing immaculate and inventive large-scale illusions, or parodying the genre, his talent shines as a Follies treasure. The Academy of Magical Arts recently recognized Ray with a prestigious Performing Fellowship. Ray shares stories of what he has seen through the picture window behind him on stage and how he develops his routines so effectively to music.   

Journey is the Executive Director of the National Comedy Center, the nation’s official cultural institution dedicated to the art of comedy. Under Journey’s direction, the National Comedy Center leads the way in 21st Century museum design, featuring state-of-the-art technology, interactivity, and customization for visitors of all ages. Blooloop recognized Gunderson as one of the Top Museum Influencers in the world. Under her leadership, The National Comedy Center was named “Best New Museum” in the country in 2020 by USA Today, one of the “World’s Greatest Places” by TIME magazine, and one of “100 Reasons to Love America” by People magazine. The Interrobang named Journey and her design team second on its list of “Innovators Who Changed Comedy.” Gunderson also serves as Executive Director of Jamestown New York’s Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum and the acclaimed Lucille Ball Comedy Festival. In this episode, she talks about the importance of maintaining the archives of George Carlin, Carl Reiner, Joan Rivers, The Smothers Brothers, and many others. She also recounts filling time on a microphone waiting for Dan Aykroyd to make an entrance on a motorcycle at the grand opening and introduces us to comedy karaoke. There is definitely something funny going on around her. 

The director and writer of the comedy martial arts movie The Paper Tigers, Bao tells global stories that have universal appeal. Mentored by master action director Corey Yuen, Bao Tran’s approach draws on spectacle through story and character. Screen Anarchy commended his written-and-directed short Bookie for its “flawlessly realized world populated by entirely fleshed out and believable characters, driven by a compelling narrative and brought to sumptuous life.” His editing credits include Cho Lon, one of Southeast Asia’s highest-budgeted action blockbusters, and Jackpot, a heartfelt comedy selected as Vietnam’s official entry to the 2016 Oscars for Best Foreign Film. Bao's feature The Paper Tigers garnered praise from Collider as “an impressive feature debut with confident command of the narrative and action alike, it’s an absolutely lovely time at the movies.” Rotten Tomatoes ranks it as one of the top Action Comedies and Asian American Movies with a Certified Fresh rating. He tells us the impact that Corey Yuen had on him as a kid, he shares Brad Bird’s advice that the job of a storyteller is telling campfire stories as big as the world and together Bao and Pat take a shot at the first kung fu fight on a podcast.  

An award-winning and accredited German art conservator for paintings and sculptures in Los Angeles with over 15 years of experience in the field of cultural heritage conservation. She completed graduate studies in Art Conservation and has held positions at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Balboa Art Conservation Center, the National Gallery of Denmark, and for the German Government. Kamila is the founder of LA Art Labs on Museum Row in Los Angeles that employs scientific techniques and instrumentation to achieve museum-quality results. In this week’s episode, Kamila tells us about her pigment collection, including colors from an Egyptian mummy, and she shares stories about working on restoring everything from Picasso to Banksy.

Brian Regan is one of the most respected comedians in America and a veteran of Late Night TV with multiple appearances on The Tonight Show, The Late Show with David Letterman and Late Night with Conan O’Brien. His Netflix stand-up specials include: Brian Regan: On The Rocks and Brian Regan: Nunchucks and Flamethrowers, which is also available as a vinyl album. Brian stars in his own original half-hour Netflix series, Stand Up and Away! With Brian Regan combining sketch and stand-up comedy, executive produced by himself and Jerry Seinfeld. His 30-plus year career of touring theaters has taken him to The Leicester Square Theatre in London, The Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, The Beacon Theatre, Radio City Music Hall, Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Denver and the Vivant Arena in Salt Lake City. Brian’s other comedy releases include: Live From Radio City Music Hall, All By Myself, The Epitome of Hyperbole, Standing Up, I Walked on the Moon and Brian Regan Live. On this episode Brian impresses the importance of power napping, how he found his voice as a comic who avoided explicit material and why he considers himself ‘The Laziest Playwright’ of all time.

Colette is an award-winning short fiction writer, teacher and mentor. Her short story collection Once Removed won the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction, the NYC Big Book Award for Short Story Collections, and the Juror’s Choice Award and the Short Stories Award from the National Indie Excellence Awards. Her work has appeared in The Chicago Tribune, Harvard Review, Kenyon Review Online, Slice, Carve, The Rumpus, Prairie Schooner and Colorado Review. Her other awards include a Writers@Work Fiction Prize, a Glenna Luschei Award, a Reynolds Price Short Fiction Award, and a Truman Capote fellowship from the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, where she completed her MFA. She has taught writing for 20 years, currently at UCLA Extension Writers’ Program, as well as privately. She co-hosts the Literary Roadhouse Bookclub Podcast and is the Executive Director of The CineStory Foundation, a nonprofit mentoring organization for emerging TV writers and screenwriters. On this episode Colette discusses being an identical twin, the importance of a good opening line and the value of ass-in-the-chair time.