This past Friday, our church held two Good Friday Services. It was a very cool experience and helped prepare us all for a great Easter Weekend.
A special thanks to the folks at MTV Unplugged for the stage design. We stole the idea from the Nirvana Unplugged in New York concert (below).
There is an interesting essay in the current issue of Communication Arts. In her column, Wendy Richmond discusses the Creative Process Loop and how it can help any artist or creative type over come the proverbial “block” (writer’s block, artist’s block, director’s block…think 8 1/2). Ms. Richmond makes a good point about overcoming the drought of inspiration. So, often we believe that inspiration just isn’t coming. However, Ms. Richmond asserts that:
“…the problem is not a lack of inspiration. Instead, it is that the initial spark of an idea is so delicate that it is often prematurely stifled. It is subject to the terrible forces of nature: doubt, distractions, fear of the work being derivative, overwhelming technical complexity, lack of time, lack of discipline, lack of money…There is the desperate need to have the ‘answer’ before one allows a simple germ of an idea to grow and morph, and to finally achieve its fullest realization.”
Quite regularly, I experience this problem. I kill the spark of an idea before it ever begins to turn in to a flame. Ms. Richmond goes on to talk through the three stages of the Creative Process Loop. (1) OBSERVE - “Anything can spark a nascent creative idea, from a stray hair on a sleeve to two people engaged in an explosive argument.” (2) REFLECT - What are the “unformed nuggets” hidden within your notes, observations and sketches? (3) ARTICULATE - Now comes the hard work of creating tangible ideas from the previous two stages. While it is the hardest stage, it is also the most rewarding.
This past weekend, my girlfriend and I saw Wicked, at Los Angeles’ Pantages Theater.
In an episode of the short-lived (but brilliant) series Sports Night, Dana (Felicity Huffman), the high-strung producer of a sports show, takes her niece to see the Broadway production of The Lion King. Prior to the show, she comments that she doesn’t have time for it and expresses her disinterest in the theater. However, after seeing the show, she returns with a new-found sense of discovery. She, excitedly, tries to tell her co-workers about her experience:
Dana: “It was really quite something. The music began and I just started to cry. I don’t know where it came from. It was like (pause) church. I didn’t know we could do that. Did you know we could do that?”
Casey: “Well, when I forget, something usually reminds me.”
Dana: “I didn’t know we could do that.”
Following the show, I shared Dana’s sentiments. Wicked is amazing. It is captivating and entertaining. I was raptured and in awe of the power of music and theater - the power of human emotion and the depths of artistic expression.
All I can really say after seeing it is, “I didn’t know we could do that.”
