Category: theatre

inspiration, New Years Eve, theatre, writing

Beautiful: 2014 Will Be a Year to Inspire

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

Last week Aimee Johnson, one of my blog readers, wrote me an email to thank me for helping to inspire her on her path to healing. She started her own blog as a result: http://aimees-apothecary.blogspot.co.uk. I’ve never met Aimee in-person though she wanted to make sure I knew how important my writing was to her, that my daily posts give her the motivation to keep going. I am humbled by her sentiments and her thoughtfulness to send me this note.

Just that morning I had been wondering how to structure this blog in 2014. I try to stick with a theme every year and 2013 was a year dedicated to making something beautiful, in my case a life and a career. Until I got Aimee’s email I was struggling with what to do for 2014. Aimee helped me solve that problem – 2014 will be about inspiring others and shining a spotlight on people who inspire me. I want to help people let go of things that don’t serve them and take more chances. Stories give us the courage we need to make that happen.

I’ve got a good feeling about 2014. Something tells me it’s going to be one of those landmark years with twists and turns and wild rides. I’m ready for it. I’m ready for all of it. Happy New Year!

happiness, play, sadness, theatre, writer, writing

Beautiful: Laugh into the hurt – a lesson in playwriting

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest

Yesterday I went back through the play I wrote over the summer to make some additional edits as I prep it for playwriting fellowship applications. It is a deeply personal work that is layered with lots of bits and pieces of me inside all of the characters.

Many are pieces I am not especially proud of. They are bits that often feel like microscopic shards of glass that I step on over and over again. The hardest part of writing it has been to see the light, the humor, and the release, even in the moments of the play that portray incredible pain and sadness.

People have asked me if it’s a comedy or a tragedy. There are bright spots, and dark spots. It’s happy and sad and happy again. It’s a roller coaster. It’s a different ride for each character because they all know something different. Want something different. Feel something different. They each live the same set of circumstances and yet each has a different lens on them. They’re all trying to heal. They’re all trying to survive the plot and emerge from the other side a better person. It’s a lot like real life. It’s messy, and beautiful, all at once.

art, fear, theatre, writer, writing

Beautiful: Lessons on Authenticity from My First Playwriting Fellowship Application

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest

Last night I sent off my first playwriting fellowship application. The fellowship is with one of the theater companies I admire most in the world, right here in New York City. I have been inspired by many of their productions, philosophy, and leadership. I am quite certain they get inundated with applications and that landing even an interview is a long shot. No matter. I feel drawn to them and what they do so I’m tossing my hat in the ring.

While the play itself that I wrote this summer came pouring out of me, the personal statement didn’t flow as easily at first. The 2 questions for the personal statement were very straight forward: 1.) What kind of work do I want to make? and 2.) Why do I feel that this theatre company is the right place for me? I made a lot of notes and tossed around a lot of ideas. I’d like to think I did this in order to create a meaningful, concise statement. After a couple of weeks, I realized what I was doing. I was procrastinating. I was afraid to put my artist statement in writing and have it stare back at me. It felt like such a heavy, daunting task. What kind of work do I want to make, and why, and how, and with whom? In 750 words or less.

I would stare at a blank screen, unable to start, and then close my laptop. Last week, I put the fear aside. What’s the worst that would happen? I’d write a horrible artist statement that’s whiny and arrogant and lifeless. That’s all. And then I’d throw it in the trash having gotten all the rotten stuff out.

My artist statement wasn’t anything like that. I just answered as honestly as I could. I want to make work that has a lasting impact on how people see themselves and their contributions to humanity in a place that celebrates and supports artists. I expounded on that idea in multiple ways, but that’s the gist of it. And it felt good, really good, to say it aloud, on paper, for someone to read.

Everyone stumps for authenticity but no one tells you how hard it is to discover it, admit it, and live it. It opens us up for criticism of the very deepest part of our hearts. We give it over to someone to judge and critique and analyze. Someone peers into our essence and says, “Yes, you’re one of us” or “No, you’re not one of us.” “I get you” or “I don’t get you.” And that can be frightening. It certainly is for me, but I do it anyway because I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t. I couldn’t get up everyday if I didn’t feel like I was giving the world they very best that I’ve got.

Ultimately, we have to do it. We have to be frightened and stand up anyway and say, “This is who I am, what I care about, and I want to know if we can work on this whole business of building a better world together.” It’s an invitation, and it might be accepted and it might be rejected. As artists, that is our path no matter what our medium. We have to invite people in. Some will stick around and some will stay. It’s the only way to find our pack and to help one another. This is the way forward, and it feels good to be on the path.

creativity, New York City, theatre, writing

Beautiful: How You Set the Stage Can Make or Break the Play

Christa Avampato
A pic I snapped before heading into B.B. King Blues Club in NYC

Yesterday was the first time I set foot inside 3 top tourist destinations in Times Square – Hard Rock Cafe, BB King Blues Club, and Dave & Busters. Why? On day 2 of my journalism gig for Allvoices.com covering Advertising Week, I trekked through these spaces to gather the inspiring bits and pieces from a variety of panels that ranged from women media makers to white-hot advertising idea generation to the 21st century talent wars. These spaces were much more intimate, with a creative vibe, than The New York Times building where I spent my entire day yesterday. That intimate look and feel fed my creativity to the point that my mind is now whirring with ideas and possibilities in the media space to grow my work as a writer.

There’s a lot to be said for the spaces where we spend our lives, whether at work or at play. Many people say to me, “it’s so great that you are a writer because you can write from anywhere.” While technically that’s true, in reality it’s not. I need to be in an inspiring space. I need to be surrounded by other creatives who jive on the same types of ideas that get me up out of bed in the morning and make me want to toil away into the wee hours of the morning. My work makes me feel alive. I need to be with other people who feel the same way about their work. Without that energy, I feel dull, almost lifeless.

New York City is full of hidden spaces in plain sight. I would have never guessed that Hard Rock Cafe, B.B. King, and D&B had such wonderful conference spaces. I used to manage Broadway shows and now I am an enormous fan of the theatre so I’ve spent a good portion of my life tunneling through Times Square. Most people hate it. I love it because I did so much growing up in those streets. They still have much more to teach me. Spaces, and the lessons they provide, the experiences they foster, become characters in the acts of our lives. Today I am grateful for these stages that provided so much food for thought.

change, friendship, inspiration, TED, theatre

Beautiful: Shower Inspiration, Old Friends, TEDxCharlottesville, and the Theatre – a Story of Change

Christa Avampato

TEDx_logo_sydney_022309What is it about the shower that induces creativity and the ability to connect disparate dots of information that are percolating in our cerebral cortex? I don’t know the answers to those questions, but I’m glad a shower does more than just wash away the dirt and grime of the day.

In the shower on Monday morning, I was kicking around the following challenges:
1.) What could I say to an old friend that would be helpful?
2.) What could I speak about at TEDxCharlottesville?
3.) How can I resolve the latest plot twist that showed up on the page of my play?
4.) Why are all these questions rising up at once?

On Monday morning, I had an unexpected message from an old friend whom I haven’t seen in many years but whom I had some great times with in college. Though we haven’t seen each other in a long time, he’s one of those people whom I always hope is well and happy. He’s contemplating a big change in his life and after following my shenanigans and adventures on Facebook, he wanted to know how I took the first steps out of corporate life and into a life of authentic and passionate work.

His email was so beautiful and heartfelt that I responded to him right away, and in the process I realized I was outlining the book I’ve been trying to write for years through my blog. In each line of my response, one more piece fell into place. More odd life event after another fit together. I think I literally heard the sound “thoomp” as it all converged. And the best part is that I think this collection of pieces will be abundantly helpful to so many people coping with or hoping to instigate personal and professional change.

Simultaneously, I have also been wrestling with an application for TEDxCharlottesville. My friend, Alex, told me that a local TED event was going to be held this Fall in the beautiful city where we spent our graduate school years. Our Ethics Professor, Ed Freeman, is slated to speak. I’ve done a handful of speaking engagement over the last few years at places like SXSW, and I’m interested in doing more of them. I’m particularly interested in speaking to people who want to make the same leap I did into careers that make a difference in the world. With the theme of “The Difference that Makes a Difference”, I’ve been thinking about the exact topic that I’d like to submit for their consideration.

I put this conundrum aside and kept working on my first full-length play. I’ve been doing a lot of reading on dramatic structure, character development, and plot development. My friend, Trevin, has been coaching me through this process and his advice has been invaluable. The wheels of a story over a decade in the making have started to move with a lot less effort than in the past.

And then the shower worked its magic. It washed the shampoo out of my hair, cleared my thoughts, and I saw that all of these questions were actually the same question. It’s all about change. My friend is contemplating how to make a leap into the work he loves. The difference that makes a difference is understanding the mechanics of change and using those mechanics to build the world we want to live in. Over 2,000 years ago, Aristotle gave us the elements of dramatic structure. In short, that dramatic structure is a roadmap for navigating change, both personal and societal.

Theatre is life, life is theatre.

art, creativity, friendship, play, theatre, writing

Beautiful: I’m Writing a Play

Christa Avampato

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This summer I’m taking my first shot at writing a full-length play. It’s challenging, heartfelt work based on a story that’s been rattling around in my mind for over a decade. I’m not sure what I’d do without my friend, Trevin, who has supported the idea since I first mentioned it to him earlier this year and has read the very first words formally put to page. In a 30 minute FB chat, I learned more about playwriting from him than I did in an 8-hour playwriting intensive class that I took a few months ago.

By the end of my time in LA, I plan to have a completed first draft and new insights into my own life and skills as a writer. Already, I’ve learned so much in this process and I’m only one scene into the play. We have to keep challenging ourselves in our craft, whatever our craft is. We have to push our boundaries. And we have to ask for help from those who are able to support and guide us in our new endeavors. Whatever the outcome of this play, writing it alone will make me a better person. And that’s what art is all about – it’s a means to improve ourselves from the inside out.

creativity, inspiration, play, politics, theatre, women

Beautiful: Ann Richards Has Her Day on Broadway Thanks to Holland Taylor

Christa Avampato

“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Buenas noches, mis amigos! I am delighted to be here with you this evening because after listening to George Bush all these years, I figured you needed to know what a real Texas accent sounds like. Twelve years ago, Barbara Jordan, another Texas woman, made the keynote address to this convention – and two women in 160 years is about par for the course. But, if you give us a chance, we can perform. After all, Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did. She just did it backwards and in high heels.” ~ Ann Richards, then-Governor of Texas, at the 1988 Democratic National Convention

The play Ann, now at Lincoln Center through September 1st, opens with this quote delivered via archival video footage of the late great Ann Richards. And though this about sums up her vibrant, spit-fire, take-no-prisoners, gutsy, straight-shooting, truth-in-comedy personality, it is nothing short of an absolute delight to see the brilliant Holland Taylor portray her on stage for two hours in one of the finest one-person shows I’ve ever seen. I was enthralled from beginning to end. Taylor also conceived of the idea and wrote the play, which I find even more remarkable than her stunning performance.

Within two hours, I learned so much about her life and legacy. I laughed. And laughed and laughed. A lot. And then I cried a little when I realized how wonderful she was, how rare she was, in politics and in the public eye in general, and how I will never get the chance to meet her in person. This play made me believe that I did know her, and that’s how everyone felt about Ann. She was exactly who she was, all the time, in front of everyone. From humble house wife to Governor of Texas, she was someone to be reckoned with and yet everyone had to find her charming, regardless of whether or not they disagreed with her. I wanted to have her over for dinner and I definitely wanted her in my corner.

She was a stronger advocate for women, all women everywhere, than anyone else in the public sphere has ever been. And though I’ll never have the chance to know her, I did take away one great comfort. Madeleine Albright once said that there is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women. I believe that the converse must also be true. There is a special place in heaven for women who do help other women. Therefore, I’m certain that Ann Richards is looking down on all of us, cheering us on, bolstering us up, and encouraging us to fly higher than even our own dreams dare imagine. Even death can’t stop that kind of indomitable spirit. And for that I am both grateful and inspired.

Go see Ann. Two hours in her company, and Taylor’s, and you’ll walk out of the theatre and into the world a little taller, a little prouder, and a whole lot more determined to do something extraordinary. (If you’d like to read Ann’s convention speech in its entirety, click here.)

creative, creative process, creativity, play, theatre, time, writing

Beautiful: There Is No Time Like the Present

Christa Avampato

0b458c7c03370c2046f32e8f87edfa96Yesterday I took a playwriting class. I started my career in theatre management so it’s a genre that I worked in and around for many years. I’d like to get back to it, but in a different way this time. I’m not sure if that means as a writer so I thought I would take this opportunity to explore the option. Also, I have a story I’d like to tell and as much as I tried to put it into narrative form, it’s meant to be seen as well as heard.

There were a lot of nuggets of knowledge in the class. I learned about dramatic structure, character development, story arc, and the role of timing. It gave me enough to get started. And that was perhaps the most valuable piece of insight.

Our instructor urged us to get going and finish as soon as possible. Dump a first draft out on the page in a month, 2 months tops. Don’t worry if it’s messy, disjointed, and rough around all of its edges. Just…get…it….out before it looses steam, before you get too scared to have the story you need to tell stare back at you. This is a time to be hasty, as hasty as humanly possible.

What’s true for playwriting is also true for so many projects in life. I firmly believe that we hold ourselves back far too often. We become so intentional, so purposeful that we lose sight of the joy found in spontaneity. We worry too much about failure, and when we’re done with that we worry too much about success. We have all kinds of reasons for not doing something we really want to do – most of them are rubbish.

There will be time to refine, time to tweak and fix and finesse. But that time is not at the start of trying something new, it’s not at the beginning of the beginning. As hard as it may be, put your perfectionism aside. Calm your mind by reminding yourself that no one has to see your first draft of anything. You don’t even need to tell anyone you’re creating a first at all. Just begin. Start. Try. Play. Make a mess. Now. There is no time like the present.

play, story, theatre, writing

Leap: The Play’s the Thing

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest

Yesterday the play that’s been in my head for over a decade began to take shape on a page – a yellow legal pad in blue ink. I needed to see this beginning in my own hand rather than in uniform lettering on my laptop screen. It feels more deliberate, more personal in my own scrawl.

Stories stuck in the mind of storytellers serve no one. For stories to be useful, we must share them with others. Put them out into the world and let the world have at it. Some people would prefer to run naked through Times Square than put ink to page and let others critique their ideas. I understand this sentiment. It took me a long time to be comfortable with critique, mostly because I was fairly beaten up by criticism early on in life. As I grow older, I realize what a gift it can be. I have enough conviction and confidence now to keep only those critiques that improve my work. I let the others roll away as if I have a Teflon shield around me.

This play is one of the things I’ll be crafting into the new year. 2013 will be a year of making, a year of thoughtful and purposeful creation for me. More details to come as we wind down the month of December and turn our collective and hopeful gaze toward January.

I’m very certain you have some kind of story in your head, too. In 2013, I hope you’ll take up your pen, get it down, and share it with the world. We’re all ears.

books, creative, creative process, creativity, theatre, time

Leap: Learn to Love Your Constraints

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest

“You break out of the box by stepping into shackles.” ~ Jonah Lehrer, Imagine: How Creativity Works

It’s a bit of a morbid visual but Jonah Lehrer’s quote made me pay attention.

Have you ever had the thought that goes something like this: “If only I had (blank), my life would be so much easier?” I have this thought several times a day, and when it pops into my mind I stop, breathe, and keep going. I’m sure somewhere in that breath there is a silent prayer for help to someone somewhere. Most of the time I don’t get that (blank) that I wish for, but to quote the Rolling Stones, I do get what I need. And often what I need is constraints. (No shortage of those lying around!)

Jonah Lehrer, and many other creativity researchers, make the case for loving constraints. Some go so far as to ask us to feel grateful for them. Why? They light a fire under us. If we had all the time, money, and resources in the world, would we really use them wisely? There’s at least the slight possibility that we would squander them to some degree.

I’ve seen this happen in many large companies. We get used to big budgets and flexible launch dates. Too used to them and it’s ultimately a curse.

When I worked in theatre, we were constrained in almost every area, especially by the hard deadlines. If there was going to be an audience on Tuesday at 8:00pm, then there was no way we could launch late. It forced collaboration, cooperation, and dedication from all parties involved. In theatre, the good of the many always outweighs the good of the few or the one so the few or the one had better get on board or exit stage left. That might sound brutal, but the curtain rises. The show goes on because of constraints, not in spite of them.

Maybe you’re working on a project right now that has constraints you wish you didn’t have. Rather than resenting those shackles, take a moment to recognize what they give you rather than focusing on what they take away from you. Creative work is a series of trade-offs. We get something and we give something. It is a sacred exchange.