The Spark File with Susan Blackwell and Laura Camien

Have you ever found yourself giggling at the most unexpected insult, like "sparrow's fart"? Join us as we kick off this episode of The Spark File with laughter and a light-hearted exchange that sets the stage for a journey through creativity and introspection. We'll explore the wonderful world of "spark files," those magical little tools for capturing inspiration, and emphasize how much more fun the creative process can be with good company. As the conversation unfolds, we'll tackle the anxiety stirred by the relentless election cycle and recent global upheavals. Hear how staying up late with jigsaw puzzles becomes a peculiar form of revenge against bedtime procrastination, as we search for peace amid chaos.

We then transition to managing moral distress, presenting effective strategies to calm the mind with practices like meditation, breathing exercises, and EFT tapping. Reflecting on the timeless wisdom of the Serenity Prayer, we focus on controlling what we can and finding solace in helping others. The discussion emphasizes the transformative power of self-care in building resilience against stress. We cap it off with an invitation for you to share your creative risks and feedback, acknowledging the Lenape and Mohican lands. With a "forever permission slip," we encourage you to chase those sparks of inspiration and turn them into something vibrant. Let’s navigate this creative landscape together with humor, courage, and camaraderie.

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In this week’s episode of the Spark File podcast, we head back to the beautiful Saunders Farm in Ottawa, Canada, where we were fortunate to host our almost annual SPARKFest. This week, on the eve of Halloween, we’re embracing the spooky season. Listen on to hear directly from Spark File community members. In this week’s episode you’ll hear sparks that explore

Plus, you’ll hear from Spark Scribe Jill Dryer about the impact and power of dreams. But that’s not all! Saunders Farm’s own Angela Grant Saunders walks you through some of the spooky and sweet magic that makes Saunders Farm so special. (Hint: Apple cider donuts. Hundreds of them)

So, if you’re feeling spooky, or you just want to cuddle up with some autumnal coziness, dig into the latest episode of…THE SPOOK FILE.… just kidding.

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Every so often we hear the question: what is that “special sauce” that helps make up this “warm clan of creatives.” The truth is, a healthy culture and community requires a commitment to that mission from every single person involved. As educators, we’ve spent years learning about what conditions are most optimal for connection and community. 

As creatives, we’ve spent years participating in various collaborations and configurations of people working together and noting what processes and agreements bring out the best in each individual while bringing the group together.

All of this experience led to developing our own expectations for our classrooms and workshop spaces. Enter: The Spark File Course Guidelines…A Poem.

If you’ve ever been involved in a Spark File class session—whether part of a coaching cohort, participating in a one-off workshop, or kicking off the New Year with us in creative style—you’re probably familiar with these guidelines. In this week’s episode of The Spark File podcast, we’ll take a closer look at our community’s creative roadmap. Join us as we break down the course guidelines and explore the history of this living, breathing guide. We’ll discuss the educators, thought leaders and science (yes, science!) that influenced our creation of the course guidelines, and discover the “why” behind each component.

There aren’t a lot of requirements when it comes to making things, but communal creative freedom demands that we all swim in the same direction. So, as the course guidelines say: As long as you’re present when you’re present, do the work, and aren’t being a dick, however you’re doing it, you’re doing it right. Them’s the rules!

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In this week’s episode, you’ll get an extra special glimpse into SPARKfest 2024, our Spark File community retreat, held last fall at the beautiful Saunders Farm in Ottawa, Canada. When we say that The Spark File is a warm and wonderful clan of creatives, this is what we mean! Listen in and you’ll feel the live-in-front-of-a-crackling-fire ambience straight from the Saunders Farm ciderhouse!

Our SPARKfest attendees met the challenge of finding and crafting a spark to share inspired by their time on the farm. From this fearless crew of multi-hyphenates, you’ll hear about:

We’ll share more SPARKfest goodness later in the season. For now get yourself by a warm fire or hook onto to your nearest zipline and join us for this first round of piping hot SPARKfest sparks! Happy listening!

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As we grieve the loss of our dear friend Gavin Creel, Susan called out for memories, wisdom, and lessons learned from Gavin, and we were touched by the outpouring of love from all across the globe. In this week’s episode, titled “WWGD? (Learning from Gavin Creel)," we hear from people who learned something from Gavin over the years—in rehearsal halls or classrooms, in nature, and on a city rooftop. We gathered all the light that Gavin reflected onto others and put it together so that we could, collectively, feel the warmth of its glow.

We heard from so many people—award-winning actors, composers, producers, directors; Gavin’s colleagues in the theater, in activism, and in philanthropy; his classmates, students, partners, friends; and fans from all across the globe—who shared the innumerable ways in which Gavin positively impacted them. We heard the wisdom Gavin shared about artistry and creation, openness, activism, love, and all things life. As we share this collective loss, we hope this episode can serve as a reminder for all of us to embody those qualities that made Gavin so remarkable.

You can listen to all these lessons and more on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and directly on our website.​ You can also learn more about Gavin, in his own words, in Season 1, Episode 21: Gavin Creel: Creative Sponges and Meaningful Relationships. And, If you’d like to honor Gavin’s memory, his family has asked that donations be made to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids in his name.

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In this special episode, we draw from Laura’s experiences having lost both of her parents and discuss the ways in which creativity can help us to move through grief. We share thoughts on the non-linear path of grieving, and how to meet grief in the sometimes-unexpected places that it manifests. We also take a look at how profound artists like Frida Kahlo used grief in their own work. And, with examples from our lives, we examine the power of intentionally processing grief as a method of healing. 

When we recorded this episode, we hoped it would be of help to others who are processing their own loss. Then came the news that our dear friend Gavin Creel had passed away. In addition to his prolific award-winning work as an actor and writer, Gavin was a longtime friend of The Spark File community and beloved by all of us. Along with Ian Axness, he was the music director of our theme songs (recorded live at The Performing Arts Project), and can be heard singing with Sophie Hearn in our closing theme. In honor of all the light he brought into our lives, we’ve dedicated this week's episode, “Grief + Creativity” to our friend Gavin. 

In many ways, grief and creation often walk hand in hand. Much like the act of making something, grief is a process to be moved through. Creation can be fuel to move through grief, and grief can be fuel to create. Both require the love and support of like-minded individuals to shout “We love it! Keep going!” Most importantly, though, grief and creation share one very important ground rule: However you’re doing it, you’re doing it right. 

You can listen to this week’s episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and directly on our website.

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Here’s a summary of the key takeaways from this episode!

In this week’s episode, we discuss the idea of “shining the light” on your creative work.What do we mean by “shining the light”? In The Spark File Community, we think of the creative cycle in three steps: generating sparks, fanning the flames of creativity, and shining the light on your creative work. This step involves inviting others to share in your work. This might be requesting feedback, inviting folks to a reading, submitting to a festival, or promoting the sale of your work - anything that extends your work beyond your safe and comfortable realm.

This week, we tackle the most common reasons why people struggle to shine the light—and, we take a look at our recent cohort of llumineers, who did a whole lot of light shining in their recent capstone presentations. Our goal is to make sure that every artist has a choice about whether or not they want to share their work, and if they choose to do so, support them as they learn how to share it in a way that generates excitement.

As always—whether you’re generating those sparks, fanning the flames, or shining that light—however you’re doing it, you’re doing it right! Dive back into Season 5 and bask in the warm glow of The Spark File.

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Certainty or Creativity - which will you choose?

This week, Nathan Hill’s novel “Wellness” serves as a springboard for Laura’s spark. 
The specific line that ignited our conversation?  "You can choose to be certain or you can choose to be alive." We'll discuss how this notion impacts all our creative journeys and share wisdom from playwright Stephen Karam on the price of admission for love and artistry.

This episode marks the launch of Season 5 with a fresh approach—shorter, more frequent episodes designed to keep your creative sparks burning. Join us as we explore how the need for certainty can hold us back in love and creativity, and how embracing uncertainty can fuel growth and transformation. 

And consider the scientifically proven placebo effect…just the belief in positive outcomes can lead to positive outcomes. What might happen if we approached our creative work with optimism, hope, and a belief in positive outcomes?

Jump back into The Spark File and discover how you can connect with us to turn your sparks of inspiration into a bonfire of creativity!

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Holy Moly! Season 4 of The Spark File is coming to an end! In this episode, Susan + Laura reminisce on some of our favorite sparks from this season. .
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And with a bonus spark inspired by Milwaukee Bucks player, Giannis Antetokounmpo, who left us with this mini ted talk when asked if he believed this season was a failure because they didn’t win the playoffs. Just because you don’t win, do we count that as a fail?
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Season 4 of The Spark File is wrapping up, but don’t worry - there are 178 episodes of The Spark File for you to binge! 

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Ever wonder what's needed to take your creative project to the next level? Or wonder if maybe good is good enough? How do we know when to invest the additional time and energy it's going to take to go from Good to Great? If you're ready or when you're ready to level up your work, Susan and Laura discuss the difference between Good and Great, and some of the factors it takes to get there. Inspired by the book, Good to Great by Jim Collins, but seen through the lens of creativity.

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