Creativity in Captivity

It’s National Poetry Month and we are joined by the Nebraska State Poet, Matt Mason who has run poetry workshops in Botswana, Romania, Nepal, and Belarus for the U.S. State Department. Matt’s poetry has appeared in The New York Times and he is a recipient of a Pushcart Prize as well as fellowships from the Academy of American Poets and the Nebraska Arts Council. His work can be found in Rattle, Po...

Sarah & Shannon are no strangers to the music industry. Together they span decades of hard work, songwriting, touring, and perseverance. Shannon LaBrie’s undeniable voice and musicianship have been described as “nothing short of breathtaking” by American Songwriter and NPR added her heroic anthem Firewalker to their Top 20 of 2020. Sarah Holbrook and her three sisters make up the genre-twisting sp...

Charlie Frye began life as a clown, performing alongside his father and grandfather. He then joined the circus and kidnapped a ballerina – his future wife, Sherry. Together they created a distinctive, original act that’s undeniably fresh, yet designed to feel classic, blending skill and physical comedy. As one of the world's most successful variety acts, they've appeared on television in over twen...

Lindsey Ferrentino is a prolific playwright who writes with, according to The New York Times, “a muscular empathy which seeks to enter the minds of people for whom life is often a struggle of heroic proportions”. Whether writing about a female burn survivor or the first leading role for a person with Down Syndrome, Lindsey has been called “a brave playwright of dauntless conviction whose unflinchi...

A two-time Tony Award winner for “Best Actor in a Musical” and one of Broadway’s legendary leading men. From his humble beginning as the 7th of 11 children to originating roles on Broadway in Jason Robert Browns’ The Last Five Years, Stephen Schwartz’s Wicked, in Andrew Lippa’s Big Fish, in Harry Connick Jr’s Thou Shalt Not (Tony nomination) in the Lincoln Center 2018 revival of My Fair Lady (Tony...

A world-class performer, speaker, consultant and a pioneer in the application of deception to real-world environments. Apollo Robbins uses pick-pocketing and sleight-of-hand to demonstrate perception management, diversion techniques and self-deception. Known as “The Gentleman Thief,” Robbins first made national news as the man who pick-pocketed the Secret Service while entertaining former U.S. pre...

A pop and jazz singer, trombone player and songwriter whose body of work is underscored by the integrity of a performer that is able to stretch herself emotionally across a musical landscape that defies description. Logan won the Audience's Choice Award and the Jury's First Place Award at the 2009 Shure-Monreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. She was also an American Idol in 2009, but was eliminated...

(Short) A renowned juggler & innovative comedian with appearances on The Tonight Show and The Late Late Show with James Corden. Scot produced and curated the critically-acclaimed circus variety show Scot Nery’s Boobietrap that was LA’s #1 show on Trip Advisor. (Long ) A renowned juggler, comedian, curator, and advisor, has revolutionized the entertainment landscape over three decades on stages fro...

A GRAMMY Winning, NYC based singer-songwriter Joanie Leeds is a National touring artist, early childhood educator and activist. For her original children's music, she has won a GRAMMY for Best Children’s Album for her album, All the Ladies- a gender equality album for families, 1st place in the USA Songwriting Competition, International Songwriting Competition Winner, Independent Music Awards, Gol...

An award-winning cartoonist whose work appears in over 800 newspapers worldwide. Jeff’s original drawings have flown on space shuttle Discovery, have been exhibited in Paris, and elsewhere in France. He is a two-time TEDx speaker who speaks on creativity, problem solving, and entrepreneurship. Jeff is a creativity coach, a painter and a sculptor. He often finds inspiration for his subject matter b...

Randy Pitchford is a video game industry veteran of more than 30 years and founder of the Gearbox Entertainment Company, which develops and publishes award-winning and best-selling video games and produces film and television content. Randy has created, developed, produced, directed, written, designed, and otherwise driven or significantly contributed to some of the most successful and famous vide...

As one of the country's top comedians, Cathy Ladman presents herself as the self-probing, anxiety-venting person that she is. She has appeared on The Tonight Show ten times and was also featured on the last two of Johnny Carson’s "Tonight Show Anniversary" shows. She’s been on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, five times, has had her own HBO One Night Stand comedy special, and was awarded th...

Ukulele ambassador and songwriter, Jake Shimabukuro captivates audiences around the world with his unique and dynamic style. With his mother as his first teacher of the instrument, Jake embraced a deep love and respect for the ukulele and has explored new and unexpected ways to push the boundaries of what was possible on the humble four-string instrument. Each of his albums showcases his mastery a...

A sought-after coach and teacher for 35 years, to filmmakers and actors around the world, Judith is the author of two books. Her beloved classic Directing Actors, a bestseller ever since it was first published in 1996, has now been released in a 25th Anniversary Edition, expanded, revised and updated. Meanwhile, the original edition is available as an Audiobook, narrated by Judith. Her second book...

Reggie Watts is an internationally renowned musician/comedian/writer who served as the bandleader on CBS’s The Late Late Show with James Corden. Using nothing but his voice, his looping pedals, and his vast imagination, Watts blurs the lines between music and comedy, wowing audiences with performances that are one hundred percent improvised.  He is the author of the book Great Falls, Montana: Fast...

A Tony-honored, Obie, Rosetta LeNoire, JACL, and Asian American Arts Alliance award-winning writer, actor, director, filmmaker and advocate for inclusion. Christine’s plays and libretti have been developed with the Roundabout Theatre Company, The O'Neill Theater Center, Prospect Theater Company, National Women's Theatre Festival, Village Theatre, Ars Nova, Greater Boston Stage Company, the Abingdo...

Leaving Dublin, Ireland where he was born and raised until the age of 22, David Nihill got drunk on travel and never quite hit sobriety of it. He has lived and worked in twelve countries and visited over seventy. His storytelling and comedy shows draw on his wide travels, cultural observations, attempts at language study, (occasional) international drinking session(s) and being a mildly confused i...

Lisa Pelto, founder and CEO of Concierge Marketing Inc. Publishing Services, has been working with authors and small publishers as a publishing consultant and author services provider for over three decades. Her career in books began with an architect firm in 1980, then to an ad agency in 1986, purchasing printing and graphic design. From there, she went to Boys Town Press, where she fell head ove...

Mario "the Maker Magician" Marchese is a first generation Italian-American, New York-based touring performer, author, and maker, known for his unique brand of Robot Magic. He infuses DIY electronics and robotics into his work and uses magic to inspire kids and families to make and create without limitation. Mario has appeared on Sesame Street, NBC's Universal Kids, HGTV, and live on tour opening f...

Micah Christian is an artist passionate about storytelling, composing, and performing music that supports, enhances, and creates "moments." He is the co-founder and lead vocalist of America's Got Talent Finalist, Sons of Serendip. Career Highlights include collaborations with the Boston Pops, Cincinnati Pops, Cynthia Erivo, performing for the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, Oprah Winfrey's 2020 Vision...

A professor and head of the Department of Graphic Design, Apparel Design, Retail Merchandising, and Product Design at the University of Minnesota. He received his PhD from the Mechanical Engineering Department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), studying humor, creativity, and idea generation. Dr. Kudrowitz is interested in how creativity is perceived, evaluated and learned. He has...

Engineer turned comedienne, Amy Barnes, started her stand-up career in Seattle, appearing at comedy clubs while working days in the aerospace industry. When faced with a choice between the two career paths, in a striking blow to the Girls In STEM Movement, she chose comedy. In a move to Los Angeles she began working as a comedy writer. Contributing material to the likes of Nancy Travis, Bonnie Hun...

Jason Ma (馬智培) is the son of an immigrant family and a grateful descendant of a long line of those who were able to persist, overcome, and succeed on their way to becoming Americans. In addition to writing, he's an actor who has performed extensively on Broadway and Off-Broadway stages, in regional theaters, and in many international venues. Jason is the ASCAP Foundation’s 2017 recipient of the...

A dynamic standup comic & actor with an original blend of storytelling and improvised rock-n-roll comedy. Jen was the 2017 Winner of NPR's Snap Judgement Comedic Performance of the Year for her Girl Scout Cookie Caper story. Kober received the 2018 Comedic Performance of the Year for her story titled Nana Vs. OJ. She appeared on Netflix in 2019 as she joined the casts of RuPaul's sitcom AJ & The Q...

A world-class juggler and visual artist who has performed in 45 different countries, touring solo work and collaborating with companies such as Spiegelworld, The Gandini Juggling Project, Cie Jérôme Thomas, Les 7 doigts de la main, Cirkus Cirkör, Cie Ea Eo, and Cirque du Soleil. Jay is the former head teacher of juggling at the Dans och Cirkushögskolan in Stockholm , Sweden (2000-2019), and has pu...