The Creative Present

Mastering Your Creative Flow: The Art of Directing Energy Ever feel like you’re riding a wave of inspiration one minute, then stuck in a creative rut the next? That’s your energy talking, and it’s got a lot to say. In the latest episode of The Creative Present podcast, Joshua Townshend dives into the secret sauce of creativity: directing your energy flow at will . Whether you’re an actor commandin...

Creating Your Body Of Work: Embracing Vertical Time This work is for anyone who wished to enter the realm of the Conscious Creator - and go deep into the well of "All That Is" and make their work impactful and universal. Creativity is a river that runs through our lives, sometimes rushing, sometimes meandering, but always present. It's not confined to the moments we sit down to write, paint, or pe...

Today, we'll explore how moving from the ordinary to the non-ordinary can unlock new creative possibilities. From Patterns to Chaos to Growth We all live in patterns. As creatives, we have routines, habits, and ways of approaching our craft. These patterns are essential—they help us navigate the complexities of storytelling, character development, and the creative process. However, staying too lon...

Welcome to The Creative Present ! Today, we're diving deep into a topic that hits close to home for many creatives—breaking free from patterns. Whether you're an artist, actor, writer, or just someone looking to explore your own narrative, understanding and expanding beyond repetitive patterns is crucial. It’s about giving space to your space, allowing spaciousness in your work, and going beyond t...

Welcome back to The Creative Present ! I’m Joshua Townshend, your host, and today we’re diving into something essential for all creatives: the subordinate image . Whether you’re an actor, writer, or artist of any kind, this concept can transform your work in profound ways. Let’s explore how! What Is a Subordinate Image? A subordinate image is the image behind the image—it's the underlying emotion,...

The Power of One-Minute Breathing: A Practice for Creatives Every morning, I begin with a simple yet profound practice that grounds me for the day: one-minute breathing. This technique is precisely what it sounds like—slowing the breath down to one complete breath cycle per minute. It's a practice of intentional breathing that goes like this: a 20-second inhale, a 20-second suspension, and a 2...

Welcome to The Creative Present , where we delve into expanding your creative self-expression while getting your projects done.  The creative process is like an endless game full of possibilities, joy, and discovery. It’s not just about understanding ourselves and our projects; it's about understanding the world around us and how we relate to it. My daily practice revolves around finding these...

I developed the Three Circles of Attention framework in my work with actors, writers, and other creatives. This framework is a tool for navigating the myriad possibilities in any given scene, allowing you to consciously choose where to focus your creative energy. First Circle of Attention: The Internal World - This is where everything begins—within the character. It includes their thoughts, feelin...

Today, we’re diving deep into a concept that can transform the way you approach every scene you write or perform: alternative realities. The Nature of Alternative Realities Every scene you write or perform exists within a web of alternative realities. These are not just theoretical possibilities; they are the rich, textured pathways that characters often navigate subconsciously as they move throug...

Introduction: Seeking Surprises As creatives, our constant quest is to discover the new and the unexpected. Whether we’re writers, actors, filmmakers, or any kind of storyteller, our work thrives on surprises—both for ourselves and for our audience. We don’t want to create the same old thing; we want to unearth something fresh, something that feels like an adventure happening in real-time. But dis...

Welcome to The Creative Present, a space I created to support all of us in expanding our creative self-expression while—here’s the kicker—actually getting our projects done. Yes, you can have both! I’m Joshua Townshend, your guide on this wild journey. Now, I’ve been thinking a lot about two very different yet essential states of being that form the foundation of your creative process. If you aren...

Embracing Presence: The Dance of Polarity in Narrative Welcome to the sixth and final episode in our series on presence! Today, we're exploring the law of polarity, the dynamic dance between expansion and contraction, positive and negative, light and dark, masculine and feminine, and more. Understanding and utilizing this polarity is essential for creating compelling narratives that captivate...

Embracing Presence: Expanding Your Creative Space - Part 5 Working with presence is about opening and filling the space with your entire being. It's about awareness—fully aware allows you to fill the creative space, giving you more resources to draw from in your creative endeavors. Let's dive into how this works and how you can practice it in your daily life. Opening the Space The more awa...

The Direction of Focus: Harnessing Creative Impulses with Intention The Power of Focus and Intention in Creativity Focus and intention are key in the realm of creativity. Let's explore how to take a creative impulse and direct it with intention, creating a more impactful and coherent artistic expression. Setting the Baseline of Intention Every creative endeavor should start with a clear baseli...

Embodying Creativity: Thoughts, Feelings, and Sensory Inputs in Your Art Thoughts and Feelings: From a Somatic Experience Point Of View. Let's dive into the fascinating interplay between thoughts and feelings. Imagine your thoughts and feelings as a two-way street, where one influences the other. It's a bit like a dance – sometimes it's a waltz, other times it's a cha-cha. The key...

Being More Present: Focus of Attention This is part two of our six-part series about being present and everything that comes with it. Focus of Attention Today, we're zooming in on the focus of attention. To be a true creative force, your focus of attention needs to be on point and accessible. The ability to focus on anything at any time, at your choosing—when and where to direct your attention...

Being More Present  Part 1 of 6   The Game of Creativity: The Power of Presence In the creative world, the game of creativity begins once you are very present and grounded in the here (hear) and now. Ideally, you are immersed in the moment to work authentically and organically, creatively with your process.  Yes, you can have fragmented attention—bits and pieces scattered all around—and still get...

When reading any kind of material for performance - scripts, texts, voice over work etc, we break down have vital it is to get off the "verbal line" and go for depth of entry. And a lot of times I hear people read material to me and I can hear that they're reading material to me, which is not the point of communication, if you're going to be sharing it with someone through a medium other than your...

In this episode we go deep into how you keep your audience or reader on the edge of their seat. With suspension and letting go of holding.

This is for EP.018NAME: Attraction / Distraction Show Notes: Focus of attention is such an important component for any creative artist. In order to get a project done - we must be able to focus - at will - on whatever needs our attention next. At the same time - we need to be open enough in order to see what is in front of us and follow that - wherever it takes us as the creative being we are. Foc...

This is for EP.017NAME: Listen To ... Show Notes: Not all listening is the same. We have casual listening. We have deep listening. We have full body listening. We have all kinds of listening. For the artist / creative - there is so much to be brought forth by this kind of deep listening. We are not supported by our culture to listen at this level. No formal school or university offers a degree pro...

This is for EP.016NAME: Tell Me More Show Notes: Tell me more. Such a simple phrase - and yet it can open up doors on so many levels. We need to have a spirit of inquiry and discovery. Genuine interest in the other - personal, circumstances, hopes and dreams and really take the time to dig for the gold. Turn over every rock. Going into deeper and deeper states of allowing in order to get to greate...

This is for EP.015NAME: Perspective & Point Of View Show Notes: We all hold a certain PERSPECTIVE in life. And this perspective will lead us to a certain POINT OF VIEW. This point of view - whatever it is - will lead us to have a certain thought and feeling about all the persons, places and things in our life. And these points of views will then hold either a positive or a negative charge. And...

EP. 014 NAME: Show & Tell Show & Tell. That is how we are raised. In grade school - we come in to share in front of the whole class. We either love it or hate it - but most of us have fear run up and down our spine. Then later - during notes in creative sessions we get this comment, "Show us, don't just tell us." But does that really mean? In this episode we take a deep dive as well as go...

This is for EP.013NAME: Know Your Phase Show Notes: Knowing the phase of development you are in is a key component to helping yourself succeed. Each phase has its' own unique qualities. In brief: 1st phase is to generate the prime material. 2nd phase is to organize it, edit, shape and reshape it. The 3rd phase is to deliver it. That would look like the final polish - going over all the details bef...