May 2014 – Christa Avampato

I’ve been thinking a lot about mastery lately because I am still, 7 years after graduating from business school, considering the value of being a generalist versus being a specialist. I see both sides of the argument. Being a generalist lets you see the insights and patterns that occur when you analyze seemingly disparate disciplines. Being a specialist lets you delve deeply into a specific area where you become an expert. Can we know a lot about a little and a little about a lot, all at once? I’m puzzling through that now. I don’t have any answers yet, but I’m searching for them. If you have any insights on this one, I’ll gladly take them!

art, goals, theatre

Inspired: Sing After Storms is Halfway to Opening Night

May 30, 2014May 30, 2014 Christa Avampato

Yesterday Sing After Storms hit a huge milestone: we’ve now run every scene in the show, I’ve met with all of the production team members, and marketing materials are hitting the streets. A play is a vertical journey up a mountain and every once in a while you hit a plateau in the road so that you can rest and gather your thoughts and emotions for reflection. It’s a brief though necessary rest stop. We’ve got all the pieces; now it’s a matter of refining them and putting them together to tell a story that’s authentic, powerful, and memorable. I have no doubt—not one—that we will get there. Here’s another sneak peek at the work going on behind-the-scenes thanks to the abundantly talented photographer Marita La Monica and her trusty camera.

Detective Dennehey (Oheri Otobo) and Jack (Joe Laureiro) face a tense moment

Jack shows what he’s capable of as Christa looks on

Christa, Mia, Joe, and Catherine work out blocking

Jack lays down the law to Catherine and Pearl

Catherine (Kate Flynn) and Pearl (Mia Fraboni) see their world fall apart

Emma, Celia, Rob, and Christa enjoy a lighter side of the show driven by the warmth and humor of the cast

Jack straightens up as Catherine and Pearl look on in disbelief

action, freedom, inspiration

Inspired: What I Learned from Maya Angelou and Walter Mitty

May 29, 2014May 28, 2014 Christa Avampato

“I can be changed by what happens to me, but I refuse to be reduced by it.” ~ Maya Angelou

Maya Angelou and Walter Mitty taught me about the importance of taking action. Maya Angelou’s life is an example of the beauty that unfolds when we learn to sing after the most horrific of storms. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty shows us how a man’s life unfolds if he thinks about what he wants to do and his life if he actually does what he wants to do. Action is everything. Absolutely everything.

We must get our ideas out of our heads and into the world. If they stay locked away inside us, they are no good. When we release our words, we free ourselves. By freeing ourselves, we free others. Action creates freedom. The one thing we all want, wherever we live, whatever we do, whoever we are, is to be free. And the best part is that we have the power to free ourselves through our actions. Freedom is a choice we can always exercise.

art, creative process, creativity, theatre, work

Inspired: Lost and Found

May 28, 2014 Christa Avampato

I feel lost and found. Lost because I’m drifting away from my consulting work because I don’t enjoy it. Found because Sing After Storms and our amazing cast and crew have made me fall madly in love with the act of creating theater again. I literally run to rehearsal and never want to leave. I relish the roles of playwright, director, and producer. They make me feel more alive than I’ve ever felt in a very long time.

I don’t know where this road will lead. I just know I have to keep following this road as far as it will take me because it feels so good to take this journey.

future, strengths, worry

Inspired: Don’t Worry. Be Happy Today.

May 27, 2014 Christa Avampato

“Worry doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.” ~ Corrie ten Boom, Dutch writer

I’ve been trying to let go of worry. To leave tomorrow to tomorrow so that I can enjoy and learn today. After all, the answer to tomorrow’s question might be in front of me at this very moment, and I don’t want to miss it.

free, freedom, grateful, gratitude, memory

Inspired: Memorial Day

May 26, 2014May 25, 2014 Christa Avampato

For all those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for people they would never know so that all of us could be free, thank you.

art, New York City

Inspired: Artist Kara Walker Gives the Domino Sugar Refinery in Williamsburg, Brooklyn a Proper Farewell

May 25, 2014May 24, 2014 Christa Avampato

My friend, Ria, and I trekked to Williamsburg to see artist Kara Walker’s insanely cool installation at the abandoned Domino Sugar Refinery. With the rich scent of molasses hanging in the air and thickly caked on the walls, we stood in awe of Walker’s sphinx made of styrofoam and 80 tons (!) of sugar.

There’s something eerie about abandoned spaces. At one time, it was the largest sugar refinery in the world. We could hear and feel the souls of people who toiled long, exhausting hours in that space from 1882 until 2004, when it was shuttered.

Walker is known for her provocative work that reflects her deep contemplation about gender, race, and the horrors of slavery. Her emotions are raw and her judgements swift. She never sugarcoats her opinions, which makes this exhibit all the more ironic. It runs through July 6th when it will be demolished as most of site is leveled to make way for a new multi-use development. For those who can’t get to Brooklyn to see it, here’s the exhibit through my lens:

decision-making, future

Inspired: Say Yes to What’s Next—Starbucks Wisdom

May 24, 2014May 23, 2014 Christa Avampato

I saw this picture on a door at Starbucks as I was on my way to teach my yoga class. I had spent the entire morning thinking about my future since every area of my life is completely up in the air. I took these 5 words on my local Starbucks door as a sign.

I don’t know what’s going to happen next but I do know this: it will be wonderful and I’m going to say yes. I’ve put an insanely large amount of trust in the universe at this juncture. Whoever it wants me to meet. Wherever it wants me to go. Whatever it wants me to do. When the opportunity knocks, I’m going to throw the door open and rush to meet it. My answer is yes.

change, loss, time

Inspired: The Hardest Part of All Changes

May 23, 2014 Christa Avampato

All changes are tough, even the ones that are blessings. With every change, something dies and falls away. We mourn the loss of the good and the bad. To wipe the slate clean, we have to go through this loss of the old to make way for the new. Give yourself the space and time to process the loss, even though it may be welcomed and expected. Go through the motions. Take all the steps. Feel all the feelings. No regrets.

choices, decision-making, dreams, time

Inspired: Know When It’s Time to Be Done

May 22, 2014May 20, 2014 Christa Avampato

Ever feel done? Really done with a situation that’s been somewhat bearable for a while and now feels so heavy you have to let it go? I hit that wall Tuesday morning with a few of my consulting projects.

And in the midst of that realization there were so many incredible things happening—the amazing rehearsal process of Sing After Storms with our incredibly talented team and friends pouring in support through every possible avenue. I could feel transformation start to make its way into my life, the way water begins to carve its path through stone, the way plants begin to overtake manmade structures when left to their own devices. It feels like progress, however slow and uncomfortable it may be. I could sense a serious make-over of my entire life taking root right at the center of my heart.

Life is so incredibly short. As my friend, Alex, recently said to me, “I’m going to wake up and be 70. That’s how fast life’s going.” She’s totally right. Time is flying. My energy and creativity have to be channelled into what lights me up, not what tears me down. That’s all we really have time to do.