The Spark File with Susan Blackwell and Laura Camien

This week, Laura and Susan take a deep dive into the fascinating tale of betrayal, corporate espionage, and family feuds that resulted in the world's most famous breakfast cereals, and how the feedback process can work in service and support of the artist to the benefit of all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Susan and Laura have a bloody delightful time talking with Sir Richard Eyre, whose creative work has spanned all manner of Arts -- directing theatre, film, television and opera, as well as writing books and plays.  He has guided Kate Winslet, Anthony Hopkins, Emma Thompson, Colin Firth, Dame Judi Dench and many more to some of our favorite performances. His insight from decades of exper...

This week, Susan and Laura offer up two new sparks of creativity - the many ways we can be sparked to make art out of art, plus, a myriad reflections on the tumultuous past few weeks, and how reflecting might just put us on the path to healing. Tune in, get inspired, and then take it and make it! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, the incomparable Susan Stroman sits down to share it all with Susan and Laura, including lessons learned from the lockdown, insights from her 5x Tony Award Winning career, as well as what it's all for. Spoiler Alert: the answer is love. From her work on The Producers, Crazy For You, Bullets Over Broadway, Contact, The Scottsboro Boys and so much more, Susan recommends that we fill ourse...

This week on The Spark File, Susan and Laura explore how an Upper Limit Problem (as defined in The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks) might be keeping you from pursuing or completing your creative goals; AND file under "Insight from The Greats"-- storytelling secrets gleaned from the David Sedaris masterclass. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Broadway performer turned meditation and mindfulness expert, Emily Fletcher gives us all the details on how learning to meditate makes us better at life. The mastermind behind Ziva Meditation, Emily has our mental support covered -- now including Ziva Kids! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode of The Spark File is dedicated to the memory of one of our creative heroes, Sir Ken Robinson. Laura shares the tale of how Ken walked into her life and left an indelible mark on her creativity and on The Spark File company she and Susan are now building. Be sure to check out the Imagine If Festival going on now online at Imagine-if.com, celebrating the life and the legacy of Sir Ken R...

This week, Ryan J. Haddad, writer and star of Hi, Are You Single? (now playing virtually through February 28 at Woolly Mammoth Theater) shares secrets of storytelling via solo shows. His passion for centering "gay, disabled and arabic communities" is palpable and essential. Susan and Laura celebrate Ryan's message to us all - "You don't have to wait for anyone to approve. Your stories are compelli...

This week, Susan and Laura have the honor of speaking with Kenyatta Emmanuel, musician, singer, songwriter, and storyteller. Kenyatta shares his personal story of how, on October 21, 2019, he exited a New York state prison after 24 1/2 years incarcerated, and at 6pm that same evening, he performed at Carnegie Hall. In this episode, Kenyatta shares his creative process, his commitment to uplift, an...

The Spark File is kicking off February celebrating Black History Month while asserting that Every Month is Black History Month! Creative sparks fly with conversations about Jackie Shane, William + Ellen Craft and more! Plus, E.B. White's Here is New York is the little classic you need. The mighty NYC has been through much in it's storied history. It is resilient, ever changing and changless at the...

This week, Susan and Laura have the pleasure of speaking with Billy Eichner about his many creative endeavors, including Man on the Street, Friends from College, and making his singing debut on The James Corden Show. We even get a glimpse into the new gay rom-com he's writing, plus some truly helpful advice -- stand up for yourself, say what you need to say to get the quality of work you envision....

This week on The Spark File -- news you can really use! Two hot sparks of inspiration, starting with the book Burnout by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski, and the ways we can complete the stress cycle to avoid feeling fried. Physical activity, breathing, laughter -- all serve a higher purpose in our overall wellbeing. Next, the documentary My Octopus Teacher illustrates how a man's extraordinary r...

Recorded LIVE from The Spark File New Year 2021 Creativity KickOff,  Susan and Laura have a lively conversation with the one and only TONY Award winner Laura Benanti! Laura took some big leaps during the quarantine, and shares how an idea from the heart spilled onto instagram and grew into an HBO Max special -- Homeschool Musical: Class of 2020. Plus... one of the stars of that very show, Venus Fi...

Riding high from the recent Spark File New Year 2021 Creativity KickOff, Susan and Laura discuss the highlights, and share two sparks inspired by the event - the enduring artform of Haiku, and the power we yield when we make things together, such as the work done at quilting bees, crafting bees, raising bees -- also known as collective creativity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone....

What a way to ring in the New Year! This week on The Spark File, Susan and Laura dig in deep with Uber Maker Sutton Foster. In addition to her TONY Award winning career on Broadway, and in film, television, and music, Sutton is a maker extraordinaire -- cross stitching, crocheting, drawing, teaching and writing. Her upcoming book (tentatively called HOOKED: How Crafting Saved My Life) is all about...

This week on The Spark File, Susan and Laura are serving up two pipin' hot sparks... Join them as they suss out their obsession with Jane Austen -- is it the repressed sexual tension? the perfect witty, cutting remark? And listen as they dig into their memories of the toys that shaped our childhoods and what might be made of them now... From the Draw-a-Face Doll to the Little Lady Electric Range,...

This week, Tiffani Gavin, the new Executive Director of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, shares her passion for supporting emerging artists, and the desire to educate the world on the scope and impact of the industry overall - with the Broadway Community Project. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week on The Spark File,  Susan and Laura offer up two sparks of inspiration... First, Helene Hanff and her classic theatre book, 'Underfoot in Show Business' paints a picture of the early days of Broadway; and then the infinite spark power of secrets kept and secrets shared. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week's episode of The Spark File, Susan and Laura laugh as much as they listen while conversing with comedian John Early, star of HBO's Search Party, The Characters on Netflix, and so much more. A true creator, John's always making something -- TV shows, short films, social posts, or profiles for political candidates he is passionate about.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphon...

On this week's episode, Susan and Laura reach into their spark files and share two fresh sparks of inspiration. First, the documentary Garnet's Gold weaves a tale of lost treasure in the Scottish highlands, but actually explores the pain of adventures not taken, lives not fully lived.  And then, a deep dive into understanding land acknowlegement, recoginzing Indigenous Peoples as traditional stewa...

Emmy Award winning actor Eric Stonestreet shares some great creative advice with Susan and Laura in the latest episode of The Spark File. They cover all the essentials — creativity, clowning, and how to build your dream bathroom in the woods. With the one-of-a-kind heart of an actor / comedian / clown / philanthropist / chef /drummer / die-hard sports fan, we’d argue that Eric is also inadvertentl...

Susan and Laura are back with Season 2 of The Spark File - rested, refreshed and creative fishpond restocked! They take a deep dive in search of the value of Creativity, and discover its life-saving attributes; AND they explore the need for resilience, and how to find it if you're not feeling it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Susan and Laura are back with a few reflections and the latest and greatest updates on Season 1 topics, PLUS a projection for Season 2. Keep your eyes (and ears) peeled for new episodes coming this fall! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the Season One finale, Susan and Laura discuss the various ways the world is exhausting us right now -- Zoom fatigue, Compassion fatigue, Caution fatigue and more. Plus, how knowing where you are in the Creative Cycle can help determine where your Hero goes from here. (hint: picture a Phoenix rising from the ashes). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, Susan and Laura sit down with the Pulitzer Prize winning truth teller, Michael R. Jackson who will blow your hair back with his authenticity. His metafictional musical, A Strange Loop explores the transformational story of an artist confronting issues of sexuality, race and identity.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices