Category: art

art, risk, theatre

Inspired: Taking a Shot on Goal By Directing Sing After Storms

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

To use a hockey analogy: there’s a time to pass the puck and a time to take a shot on goal. Though I initially intended to have someone else direct my play  Sing After Storms, a set of circumstances arose that presented me with the option to direct the show as well as write and produce it. In my gut, I immediately knew that this was my chance to live this show in a number of facets, to immerse myself in what I can only imagine will be the most fulfilling creative project of my life to-date. It’s scary and thrilling, and I’m going for it. Let’s see how far this amazing creative team can push the puck across the ice.

art, change, community, theatre

Inspired: Casting Sing After Storms and the Impact of Community-Created Art

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

Yesterday we had our first round of casting for my play Sing After Storms. I continue to be astonished by the immense talent in this city. I feel like so much of it is locked up, waiting for its turn to be seen and heard. I want to find a way to free it, to give it the space and opportunity to let it unfurl, experiment, and take risks in the pursuit of creating something that affects hearts, minds, and souls on a massive scale. It is such a privilege to see this raw truth up close and personal, to have a hand in crafting its path. We’ll find a way to scale this effort, to bring more people into the fold and give them a way to make significant contributions through the work they love to do. Sing After Storms is just the first step in a much longer journey.

art, commitment, creativity, determination, film, Second Step

Inspired: The Long Road Toward The Wolf of Wall Street

Christa Avampato
Leo laughing in the face of adversity, on-screen and off
Leo laughing in the face of adversity, on-screen and off

I thought Leonardo DiCaprio had some sort of magic Hollywood wand that makes everything he touches turn to gold. I was completely wrong. Even with his passion and commitment, it took Leo 7 years to get The Wolf of Wall Street made. Like Matthew McConaughey and Dallas Buyers Club (who incidentally is also in The Wolf of Wall Street), Leo refused to give up on the film and chipped away at Hollywood until he lined up the right partners and the right funding. In our own creative pursuits, we sometimes struggle to get something to go in the direction we want it to take. We grease the skids of our own imaginations over and over again without much movement. It’s often akin to getting a car parked on ice to move. Don’t let the hard work and slow progress deter you. Keep at it knowing you’re in good company. Eventually, the ice relents (or melts) and we’re on our way.

art, writer, writing

Inspired: I Write for Others

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

Here’s what’s amazing about art – we begin to create it for ourselves and it ends up being for others. One of the production designers on my play, Sing After Storms recently told me, “I feel like this play was meant to be. It’s exactly what I need in my life at exactly the right time.” These words met me like a brick wall. They made me look up and take notice. I thought I was writing and producing this play because it means something to me when actually I wrote it for so many others, some of whom I’m just meeting now and others I have yet to meet. And that feels damn good. It’s a gift that keeps on giving to everyone it touches.

art, theatre

Inspired: Making My Way as a Theater Producer and How You Can Join Me

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

A long time ago, I had a dream of being an artistic director of a theatre company. I was the chair of a theatre group while I was an undergrad at Penn and it was one of the best experiences of my life. My first theater job in New York was at the Roundabout Theatre Company and I greatly admired Todd Haimes, the Artistic Director at RTC. Like me, he came from a business background and traditional education outside of the arts. (He’s also a Penn alum.) He applied those skills effectively and built RTC into a powerhouse in the theater world. I wanted to be just like him.

After six years in the Broadway world, I lost my way. I couldn’t see my way past the ugly underside of entertainment. The egos, greed, broken dreams, and flat-out cruelty. I was hurt by it and I saw a lot of other people get hurt, too. I went running from it as fast as I could. I wrote off theater as something that didn’t deserve my attention and effort. I was young. I didn’t understand that I could change a system I didn’t like. I didn’t know that there was another way, that I didn’t have to accept an industry as it was. I didn’t believe I could make something different. It took me a long time to realize that you could be part of a system and not be defined by it.

That dream of being an artistic director never really died. It was placed on a burner so far to the back that it almost disappeared but somehow it kept fanning its own flame so that I could eventually follow the light and find my way back to it. That’s what I’m trying to do now, and my play, Sing After Storms, is the first step in that direction for a branch of my content development company, Chasing Down the Muse.

I want to bring a more human approach, dare I be so bold as to say an approach with more kindness and a sense of justice, to an industry that is defined by anything but kindness and justice. I’d like to give people a way in based on their passion for and commitment to producing work that inspires people, a kind of haven that celebrates them and their work, and lifts them up rather than taking them down. This summer I’ll work on two new plays that I’ve started to create, and I hope Sing After Storms has a long, healthy, spherical life after the New York City production in June that leads the charge to build this new way of creating theater.

That’s the goal. That’s where I’m going, and I hope you’ll hop on board. Interested? Drop me a line at christa@chasingdownthemuse.com.

art, change, courage, film, inspiration, movie, work

Inspired: The Un-branding of Matthew McConaughey Built Dallas Buyers Club

Christa Avampato
An unglamorous Matthew McConaughey in The Dallas Buyers Club
An unglamorous Matthew McConaughey in The Dallas Buyers Club

Matthew McConaughey was on CBS Sunday Morning to talk about his un-branding. In a world where branding in all its many forms seem inescapable, it was refreshing to hear someone talk about chucking it all out the window and what’s come of his efforts. Known as a guy’s guy / romantic lead, McConaughey is nominated for an Academy Award for his role in Dallas Buyers Club in which he plays a homophobic rodeo cowboy who is diagnosed with HIV and given 30 days to live. He meets, befriends, and starts an illegal business with a transsexual who also has HIV. In Texas. Based on a true story. What?!

While Dallas Buyers Club is now a contender for several Oscars, for a long time it seemed destined to never see the light of day. 137 potential producers turned it down over several years before it found the funding, and the week before shooting was set to begin, they still didn’t have all the money they needed. They pushed on anyway. They just wouldn’t give up.

McConaughey was committed to the making of this film and the remaking of his own career in the process. For two years he turned down everything that fit the image that made him famous because he wanted to send a clear and persistent message that he would only take challenging roles that scared him. He wanted a complete career shake-up. While that was a personal choice, he certainly didn’t want to be largely unemployed for two years. Yet, that’s what it took. Two years of no work to prove that he was serious about taking his career in a new direction.

When I first heard this I thought, “Big deal. He’s probably got so much money that if he never works again he and his family will be just fine. Was he really taking such a big risk?”

And then I thought about what a shark tank the world of work can be, to say nothing of the world of work in Hollywood. He could have kept right on doing what worked, what he was good at, and raking in the money in the process. No one would have batted an eye at that and he would have gotten plenty of pats on the back for a job well done. Instead, he risked failing in a big way and throwing away an image and a career that have served him well that couldn’t have been recovered. They just didn’t feel good to him anymore, so he tossed them in favor of the unknown, something that made him feel alive again. Dallas Buyers Club is the result of that work. Was it worth it? All signs point to yes.

art, creativity, failure, Second Step, success, theatre, writer, writing

Inspired: How We Almost Lost Arthur Miller to Failure

Christa Avampato
Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller

Arthur Miller gave up the theater after his play, The Man Who Had All the Luck, flopped horribly on Broadway. It ran for only 4 performances in 1944. He attempted to write novels after that, and they flopped too. So he went back to the theater and several years later finished the Tony Award-winning play All My Sons, one of the most beloved, heart-wrenching, and successful in theater history. It took him 5 years to write it and was his first successful production. At the time of its debut, it was panned critically save for Brooks Atkinson’s review in the New York Times. Mr. Atkinson is often credited with rescuing the piece from failure. 2 years later, Miller wrote Death of a Salesman in 6 weeks and it won the Pulitzer.

Miller said this about watching All My Sons for the first time with an audience:

“The success of a play, especially one’s first success, is somewhat like pushing against a door which is suddenly opened from the other side. One may fall on one’s face or not, but certainly a new room is opened that was always securely shut until then. For myself, the experience was invigorating. It made it possible to dream of daring more and risking more. The audience sat in silence before the unwinding of All My Sons and gasped when they should have, and I tasted that power which is reserved, I imagine, for playwrights, which is to know that by one’s invention a mass of strangers has been publicly transfixed.”

It would have been very easy for Mr. Miller to give up writing after his early string of failures. At that point, there was no reason to believe he would ever be successful. And yet, he kept going. He kept trying as he worked menial jobs to make ends meet while remaining passionate about his craft. All he had was raw determination.

Maybe you’ve tried to do something and it wasn’t as successful as you wanted it to be even though you gave it everything you had. Maybe you’re thinking about throwing in the towel and getting a new dream. You’re in good company. At many points, Miller considered giving up. How could he not? But he didn’t. He started again. He took the second step, and it’s that step that made all the difference, for him, for us, and for the American theater. Follow that lead.

To sign up for updates on my new book, Your Second Step: What to Do After Your Leap, by clicking here.

art, balance, creativity

Inspired: Creative Detox for the Soul

Christa Avampato
Yin and yang
Yin and yang

This weekend, I took myself on a creative retreat inside my apartment. I didn’t make any plans and spent the entire time working on creative projects – writing, cooking, reading, and building. This is a new experiment for me and another New Year’s resolution. It was inspired by my time in California this summer where I took a creative sabbatical and wrote my play, Sing After Storms. It was such a life-affirming experience to devote all of my time to being creative and I wanted to find a way to keep that fire burning on a regular basis. I decided to try this experiment of taking one weekend / month to follow my creativity wherever it leads me. Here are the results:

– I wrote my blog posts for the week
– I worked on a series of images that pair inspiring photos with quotes from my blog.
– I contacted a number of different potential partners for Sing After Storms as I think about casting and staffing the show. I also started to build a comprehensive project plan for the show and it was a blast to put my producer hat back on after all these years. We also have a new updated website. Check it out by clicking here.
– I wrote and pitched a few different classes I’d like to teach at various outlets this year.
– I worked on a very short video project that’s been kicking around in my head for over a year.
– Did some cooking including my Golden Globes vegan cookies
– Which brings me to my favorite activity of the weekend…watching the Golden Globes, one of my favorite broadcasts of the year. Check out who I picked to win by clicking here.

Now it’s Monday and I’m off to a client site for the day followed by a drink with a wonderful friend of mine from my Amex days whom I haven’t seen in a very long time. It’s wonderful to be out there in the world getting things done. It’s also wonderful to spend some time in retreat and reflection so that we’re prepared to face and engage with the world. Yin and yang. We need both to inform and inspire our best work in both spheres. I think I’m going to make my creative retreats a regular part of my life.

art, commitment, creativity, television

Inspired: Lena Dunham and Sheldon Cooper on the Power of Career Commitment

Christa Avampato
Zosia Mamet, Lena Dunham and Allison Williams. Photo by Jason Laveris/FILMMAGIC
Zosia Mamet, Lena Dunham and Allison Williams. Photo by Jason Laveris/FILMMAGIC

Lena Dunham, the creator and star of Girls, and Sheldon Cooper, the quirky and maddening character played by actor Jim Parsons on The Big Bang Theory, have something in common and something powerful to teach us: commitment and focus create the magic sauce of achievement. It’s hard to imagine two people who are less alike and yet they arrive at the same conclusion when it comes to their work. They bet the farm and won.

Lena Dunham was on David Letterman this week. She was so funny and authentic that I decided to learn more about her career. She built her rising star through a web series, Delusional Downtown Divas, and SXSW Film. In 2009, SXSW Film screened her first feature film, Creative Nonfiction. In 2010, the same festival screened her second feature film, Tiny Furniture. Dunham wrote, directed, and starred in both films. Tiny Furniture earned two Independent Spirit Award nominations and that caught the attention of Producer Judd Apatow. Girls is the result of their collaboration; she creates, stars, and sometimes directs it while he serves as the Executive Producer.

Sheldon Cooper said something profound in this week’s episode, appropriately titled “The Occupation Recalibration”. His neighbor and friend, Penny, decides to quit her job as a waitress at the Cheesecake Factory to focus on her acting career. After five years in LA, she does much more waitressing than acting and she decides to give her near-impossible dream all of her attention. Sheldon supports this decision with one simple statement: “The best way to achieve a goal is to devote 100% of your time and energy to it. When I decided I was going to be a physicist, I didn’t take some other job in case it didn’t work out…We’re dreamers.”

Who says there’s nothing good on television? People who don’t watch television. There’s plenty of inspiration to be found in the content squeezed in-between expensive commercials. Lena and Sheldon are just two examples and they serve as powerful role models for all of us: if we really want to achieve a dream, we must double-down on it. There’s no guarantee of success, though focus gives us our best possible chance to make it come true.

* Tonight, The Big Bang Theory and Girls are competing for the Best Television Series – Comedy or Musical Golden Globe. Lena and Jim are both nominated for Best Actress and Actor, respectively.  

art, creativity, theatre

Inspired: I’m Looking for Team Members for My Play, Sing After Storms

Christa Avampato

unnamedLooking to stretch your creative wings in 2014? I’d love to have you join the on-stage or behind-the-scenes team for my play, Sing After Storms. Most roles don’t require any experience, though if you have experience we will gladly find a way to put it to use. I’ve done all of these roles at some point in my career and I can help as much as needed. So if something below looks interesting, don’t be shy. Hop on board – I’d be glad to have you join us. I’m also glad to take referrals of friends whom you think would be interested. Please feel free to forward, share these details, and ask questions.

Business / Promotion
Photographer, Videographer, PR, Marketing, Fundraising, Event planner (opening night party and talk-back event with actors), Investors / in-kind sponsors, someone interested in crowdfunding (Kickstarter, etc.)

Production (I would love to have these people involved in the casting decisions)
Stage Manager, Assistant Stage Manager, Assistant Director (we have an incredibly talented director on-board!), Production Assistants

Design
Costumes, Props, Set

Performance team
Light and sound board operator (very simple system)

Cast
We will be holding auditions in March / April for the remaining roles that have not yet been cast. If you’re interested in auditioning, or you know someone who would be interested, please let me know!

Additional info:
– Rehearsals will be held in the evening in mid-town Manhattan from mid-May to mid-June, Monday nights through Thursday nights.
– Performances will be held as part of New York City’s Thespis Theater Festival on June 18th @ 8:45pm, June 21st @ 9:00pm, June 22nd @ 9:30pm at Cabrini Repertory Theater, 701 Fort Washington Avenue in Washington Heights (northern Manhattan.) All actors, the stage manager, assistant stage manager, assistant director, and the light and sound board operator will need to attend the tech rehearsal in the theater on June 18th from 2:30pm – 8:30pm.
– Many people are cast in roles of other productions and hired for off-stage roles as a result of Thespis Theater Festival performances.
– All roles are volunteer-based (mine included!) You will receive comp tickets to give to anyone you’d like and you’ll have your headshot and bio listed in the play’s program and on the website. I will also be forever happy to provide you with references and loads of good karma for the rest of your life. My goal is to make this a fun, close-knit community that will continue to work together on future productions of this show and others.
– It’s my hope that Sing After Storms will have a long and healthy life long after the theater festival is over. As original team members, I would love to have everyone from this production continue on with us wherever this path leads.

Have an idea for a role that’s not on here? Please let me know!