Creativity in Captivity

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, Sli...

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 share...

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...

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 morp...

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,...

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...

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 Peng...

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...

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...

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 appearance...

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...

A journalist, documentary filmmaker and the founder & CEO of Emblematic Group widely credited with helping create the genre of immersive journalism.  Nonny combines Unity graphics with real witness audio to recreate powerful events the user can experience using virtual reality headsets. She was selected by Wired Magazine as a “Make Tech Human Agent of Change” and Fast Company listed her as one of...

An actor, author, musician and magician who is the former frontman for the post punk-pop group Possum Dixon, and wrote the captivating memoir Strange Cures. Rob Zabrecky is a regular performer at the Magic Castle in Hollywood who frequently hosts séances for private events. As an actor, Rob landed a supporting role in the supernatural drama, A Ghost Story. His other film credits include a supporti...

This five-time Tony Award-winning stage & film Director/Choreographer brought to life The Producers, Young Frankenstein, Crazy For You, Contact, The Scottsboro Boys, Bullets Over Broadway, Steel Pier, Big Fish, The Music Man and Prince of Broadway. For 10 years she choreographed Madison Square Garden’s annual spectacular A Christmas Carol. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut directing and choreo...

An award-winning character actor recognized for his salute to the lunacy and legacy of Groucho Marx and his portrayal of the outrageous Latin Lover Caesar in Teatro ZinZanni. Frank is a theatrical barnstormer and has performed lead roles at the Arena Stage, Goodspeed Opera House, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, Milwaukee Rep, Bucks County Playhouse, Pasadena Playhouse, Boston's Huntington Theatr...

This poetic polymath was born in Cape Town, South Africa. The daughter of jazz musicians Sathima Bea Benjamin and Abdullah Ibrahim, she was raised in New York City and studied vocal performance at Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School. Jean was destined to be an entertainer from her earliest days dancing with the Alvin Ailey Dance Company. She is a versatile writer, musician, director, producer, actor...

This iconic Hollywood talent manager that represented Jerry Seinfeld, Andy Kauffman & Carl Reiner began in the mailroom at the William Morris Agency in New York. He soon became an agent and accompanied Elvis to an early appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show. He served as a packaging agent for a series of hit shows: The Steve Allen Show, That Girl, Gomer Pyle and specials for Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler...

Jerry Seinfeld is best known for playing a semi-fictionalized version of himself on NBC’s Seinfeld, which he co-created and wrote with Larry David. The show aired from 1989- 1998 becoming one of the most popular American sitcoms of all time. Seinfeld also produced and co-wrote the film Bee Movie, the reality series The Marriage Ref, the documentary Comedian, and is the host of the web series Comed...

An accomplished stage and TV actress, theatre educator, and singer who originated the Broadway roles of Vanessa in In The Heights and Satine in the stage adaptation of Moulin Rouge! She portrayed Angelica Schyler in the Chicago production of Hamilton and received a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her role as Anita in West Side Story. Today she reveals what it means to be a “S...

This multi-talented comedian and podcast host served as a writer and Co-Executive Producer on The Simpsons. He has numerous HBO specials as well as appearances on Conan and Letterman. He appeared as an actor on Seinfeld and The Ben Stiller Show. He created the series Stan Against Evil and co-created MTV’s Super Adventure Team. He hosts his own podcast The Dana Gould Hour available everywhere in th...

A dynamic award-winning Magicienne and the executive director of Magicana, a Toronto-based Arts Organization, dedicated to the study, exploration, and advancement of magic as a performing art. Julie was one of the founders of My Magic Hands a community outreach program for at-risk youth. She was also instrumental in launching Senior Sorcery an interactive magic program designed to engage and empow...

An award-winning screenwriter, director, and author who has worked in film, television, and comic books for over 30 years. His book on story structure Invisible Ink has been translated into several languages and is required reading for interns at Pixar Animation Studios.  He is also the author of The Golden Theme, Ink Spots, and Old Souls. As a story consultant Brian has taught story construction...

As an artist, songwriter & producer Maia is active in the music business. Her songs have been recorded by Bonnie Raitt, The Chicks, Trisha Yearwood, Keb’ Mo’, Cher, Edwin McCain, Art Garfunkel, and Lisa Loeb. She has appeared on NPR's All Things Considered, CBS Early Morning, and The Today Show. Maia has been writing for Songwriting with Soldiers since 2017. She wrote and sings the theme song for...

 A Mid-century pop culture expert who is a performer, author of coffee table books, and collector celebrating classic and kitschy American life and style. Charles has appeared on Jay Leno’s Garage, Martha Stewart, Conan, and Queen Latifah Show; also serving as a judge on Cake Wars Christmas and Nailed It, as well as a vintage appraiser on Storage Wars.  He is known for his spirited live slide show...

This Musical Pioneer has beamed her music into space, been appointed a United Nations Women role model for Innovation, and held an acclaimed solo exhibition of her ‘world first’ album designs at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London. Wired Magazine named Beatie one of the “22 People Changing The World.”  She is at the forefront of delivering new formats for music that bridge the physical and the...