Creativity in Captivity

A versatile musician and the co-founder of the Brooklyn-based alt rock band “They Might Be Giants” known for their uniquely experimental and absurdist style using surreal, humorous lyrics and unconventional instruments in their songs. John is a singer/songwriter, who plays accordion, baritone, bass saxophone, clarinet and keyboards. TMBG has released 23 albums and has two Grammy Awards. John shares the impact his parents’ record collection had on him, the way his band found success in children’s music and he gives insight into TMBG’s newest album: “Book” with partner John Flansburgh. 

An award-winning librettist and lyricist that serves on National Council of the Dramatists Guild of America. Cheryl has been a Resident Playwright at Chicago Dramatists since 2008, and serves as the company’s Director of New Musical Theatre Development. She has co-written more than a dozen musicals that have been developed and showcased at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center’s National Music Theater Conference, the National Alliance for Musical Theatre’s Festival of New Works and the New York Musical Theatre Festival. Her original novelty songs have been featured on Good Morning America, the Today Show, and NPR’s Morning Edition. On this episode Cheryl breaks down the architecture of musical theatre, explains how getting someone to like a musical is like getting them to like sushi and shares Stephen Sondheim’s affinity for perfect rhyme.

A Southern California artist whose practice is focused mainly on abstract and figurative painting, as well as sculpture, printmaking and music. Tim studied fine art at Otis-Parsons before entering the animation and illustration industries where he honed his technical skills. His complex color and design theories pushed forward a decidedly populist aesthetic, which has continued to develop and morph over time. He’s the author of an extraordinary retrospective monograph/autobiography entitled Tree of Life. Tim shares the amazing sense of accomplishment he feels when filling up a sketchbook, his affection for the quality of estate sale paper and his ability to get out of the way so that art can be made.

Jackie is 35 year veteran of stand-up comedy whose albums have been #1 on Amazon and iTunes and have over fifty million views on Spotify and Pandora. She is the host of two podcasts, the long running The Dork Forest and her new show The Jackie & Laurie Show co-hosted with fellow comic/writer, Laurie Kilmartin. Kashian’s list of acclaimed comedy specials include This Will Make an Excellent Horcrux, which was named one of Vulture’s best stand-up comedy specials, and I Am Not The Hero of This Story. Her latest special is Stay-Kashian now available everywhere. On this episode we talk about the first joke she ever wrote, the invention of her childhood game “Imagination” and we break down the definitions of Dork, Nerd, Dweeb, Weirdo and Geek. 

A world-class paleo artist who produces natural history and prehistoric life models for museums, publishing, and film. Gary has a degree in Art/Biology and he interned at the Smithsonian Institution and the British Museum of Natural History. He has created sculptures for National Geographic, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, the BBC, The Discovery Channel, and The American Museum of Natural History. His work recreating the mummy of the “Iceman” can be seen on PBS, in the NOVA special Iceman Reborn. Gary is a mammoth talent in a bigger-than-life profession. We talk about the physical conundrum of getting a 52-foot Megaladon through a man-size door and how he often disturbed his teachers by bringing roadkill to school for show & tell.  

This creative director, feminist researcher, and writer resides at the intersection of art, technology, and social justice.  She is the Augmented and Virtual Realities Lead at the Atlantic Institute in Oxford, England. Alice is the founder of Herstory, a project that uses art and culture to engage people with women’s history. She has worked with Magic Leap, U2, The Gates Foundation, Tate, and Penguin Books. In this episode, she shares what it’s like to collaborate with the band U2, offers insights on her time developing Mica—the first digital human and she encourages Pat to join her in becoming an Accidental Technologist. Keep your AI on this bright talent and forward thinker.

The author of Crazy Screenwriting Secrets: How to Capture a Global Audience and an accomplished international storyteller who wrote and produced the Chinese-language romance film 100 Days. Weiko is an associate professor at Emerson College, a Fulbright Senior Specialist, a Samuel Goldwyn Writing Award recipient, and an AMPAS Nicholl Fellowship finalist. He has written projects for The Walt Disney Company, The Mark Gordon Company, Turner Broadcasting’s Super Deluxe, Ivanhoe Pictures (SK Global Entertainment), Don Mischer Productions, and Wanda Pictures. Weiko Lin shares the importance of comfort food in Eastern Culture, how much fear impacts the stories he tells, and why he has an affection for the movie Rain Man as he chats with Pat from Taipei. 

An accomplished actor who is the computer voice of the Starship La Sirena in the CBS All Access series Star Trek: Picard, the voice of Bellroc in tandem with Piotr Michael in Wizards; the third installment of Guillermo Del Toro’s epic trilogy Tales of Arcadia and the voice of Ana in Lara Croft: Rise of the Tomb Raider. Kay has choice voice roles in renowned gaming franchises such as The Last of Us II, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Mass Effect: Andromeda, Agents of MAYHEM, Skylanders: SuperChargers, State of Decay 2, Crackdown 3, Final Fantasy XV, and Fallout 76.  She also voices roles in noted animation series such as The Loud House, Spirit Riding Free, and Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts.  Kay is the host of The B-Hive Podcast: Women in VoiceOver.  On today’s episode of Creativity in Captivity she reminds us that the audition really is the job, that there is no expiration date on your career and she reads Pat Hazell’s poem Kid’s Table as a Thanksgiving treat. 

A stand-up comedian, actor, and visual artist who is a nine-year veteran of Saturday Night Live is known for his characters Mr. Subliminal, Tarzan, and Franz (of Hans and Franz), and as an anchor on Weekend Update. Kevin was a series regular on Weeds, Man with a Plan, and Glenn Martin, DDS. A frequent guest on The Tonight Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Conan. Kevin has made numerous guest appearances on shows such as Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Larry Sanders Show. His feature films include All I want for Christmas, Happy Gilmore, The Wedding Singer, Anger Management, Little Nicky, and Daddy Daycare. He hosts Hiking with Kevin on YouTube. In this episode, he shares with us the secret to sketching a good caricature, his admiration of Leonardo da Vinci and advice he received from Joan Rivers about surviving life on the road.

A New York Times best-selling author of five books: Steal Like an Artist, Show Your Work!, Keep Going, The Steal Like an Artist Journal, and Newspaper Blackout.  Austin has spoken as a guest presenter at Pixar, Google, Adobe, and TEDx, and at conferences such as The Economist’s Human Potential Summit and SXSW. His work focuses on creativity in today’s world. In this episode, we learn why he thinks it is important to keep unread books around, why he considers play to be serious business and why the greatest gift you can give an artist is space to do their work. Austin is a man who makes art with words and books with pictures.