"You do an eclectic celebration of dance! You do FOSSE FOSSE FOSSE, you do Martha GRAHAM Martha GRAHAM Martha GRAHAM, or Twyla! Twyla! Twlya! or Michael Kidd, Michael Kidd Michael Kidd, Michael Kidd, or MaDONna! MaDONna! MaDONna! ...but you keep it all inside."
If you don't know where the above quote originates, we can't be friends until you fix this.
This year I've been working my way through Twyla Tharp's "The Creative Habit: Learn It And Use It For Life" - see, there is a connection here to the above quote! I am not a dancer by any stretch of the imagination, but I've found Tharp's perspective, wisdom, and practical activities and exercises for stimulating creativity to be enormously helpful. Some of them I've been working through on my own, some of them I implemented in my last directing project, and all of them have clarified and affirmed my intent and perspective as an artist. It's a fantastic book, and I highly recommend ordering a copy through your local independent bookstore** ASAP, especially if you've felt like you're in a bit of a creative rut lately.
Early on, Tharp introduces her creative autobiography, a series of questions designed to help artists identify their creative DNA, the common threads that run through our work and what ultimately matters to us as artists. She writes:
"I suspect many people never get a handle on their creative identity this way. They take their urges, their biases, their work habits for granted. But a little self knowledge goes a long way. If you understand the strands of your creative DNA, you begin to see how they mutate into common threads in your work. You begin to see the 'story' that you're trying to tell; why you do the things you do (both positive and self-destructive); where you are strong and where you are weak (which prevents a lot of false starts), and how you see the world and function in it."
Every one of my students is a theatre artist. It doesn't matter if they participate in every production, recital, workshop, master class and webinar they can find, or if they are the kid in the back of the room who slumps in their seat and silently prays for the sweet, sweet release of the bell. You're in my class? You're a theatre artist, and theatre artists benefit from self-knowledge.
For my money, theatre arts requires as much discipline and focus as any other academic course, and theatre itself requires that we're able to step back and assess ourselves constantly and constructively. Many of my own answers surprised me when I answered the creative autobiography, but looking back at the whole, I could see patterns and tendencies emerge that had been at play for most of my creative life, even if I didn't recognize they were there.
Tharp's creative autobiography makes a great assignment for high school theatre students any time, but especially during this time of distance teaching. It's endlessly adaptable; these are the modifications that immediately spring to mind:
Creative Autobiography: Black Splash
Creative Autobiography - Blue Swirl
Creative Autobiography - Grey and White Chevron
Creative Autobiography - Plain Document
Hope you are all hanging in there and that this can be a useful, pinch-hit assignment for you. Heck, feel free to stash it in your sub plans, if you wish! Though I am hopeful you won't need one for a good long time.
Take care,
Ann
**Note - Link is to my own local indie bookstore, but this isn't a paid or promoted post. I just really love my bookstore, and your local shop is probably (almost) as awesome as mine.
If you don't know where the above quote originates, we can't be friends until you fix this.
This year I've been working my way through Twyla Tharp's "The Creative Habit: Learn It And Use It For Life" - see, there is a connection here to the above quote! I am not a dancer by any stretch of the imagination, but I've found Tharp's perspective, wisdom, and practical activities and exercises for stimulating creativity to be enormously helpful. Some of them I've been working through on my own, some of them I implemented in my last directing project, and all of them have clarified and affirmed my intent and perspective as an artist. It's a fantastic book, and I highly recommend ordering a copy through your local independent bookstore** ASAP, especially if you've felt like you're in a bit of a creative rut lately.
"I suspect many people never get a handle on their creative identity this way. They take their urges, their biases, their work habits for granted. But a little self knowledge goes a long way. If you understand the strands of your creative DNA, you begin to see how they mutate into common threads in your work. You begin to see the 'story' that you're trying to tell; why you do the things you do (both positive and self-destructive); where you are strong and where you are weak (which prevents a lot of false starts), and how you see the world and function in it."
Every one of my students is a theatre artist. It doesn't matter if they participate in every production, recital, workshop, master class and webinar they can find, or if they are the kid in the back of the room who slumps in their seat and silently prays for the sweet, sweet release of the bell. You're in my class? You're a theatre artist, and theatre artists benefit from self-knowledge.
For my money, theatre arts requires as much discipline and focus as any other academic course, and theatre itself requires that we're able to step back and assess ourselves constantly and constructively. Many of my own answers surprised me when I answered the creative autobiography, but looking back at the whole, I could see patterns and tendencies emerge that had been at play for most of my creative life, even if I didn't recognize they were there.
Tharp's creative autobiography makes a great assignment for high school theatre students any time, but especially during this time of distance teaching. It's endlessly adaptable; these are the modifications that immediately spring to mind:
- You could have students answer the questionnaire itself and check it for completion (it works best if students write for themselves and not to impress you)
- You could add a reflection response after it's completed.
- You need no special equipment; just the questions, some paper, and a writing implement, so students without access to technology can complete this easily.
- You could also choose to assign questions daily as writing prompts for a journal, though read carefully, as some do better when they are answered when paired with other questions.
- You can make certain questions the prompts for discussion groups online and have students share out only specific responses
- You can pair it with additional material on Tharp herself for a lesson on modern American dance - Tharp is still alive and there are endless YouTube clips of her work being performed, like this gorgeous clip from the Sinatra Suite, performed when she was honored at the Kennedy Center.
- You could also choose the questions you want answered to best suit student populations on IEPs; some of these questions would also lend themselves well to answering in other mediums, such as drawing, collage works, photography, etc.
- This doesn't just apply to theatre artists! Musicians, dancers, visual artists, writers, designers - this is excellent self-knowledge for anyone in a creative discipline.
Creative Autobiography: Black Splash
Creative Autobiography - Blue Swirl
Creative Autobiography - Grey and White Chevron
Creative Autobiography - Plain Document
Hope you are all hanging in there and that this can be a useful, pinch-hit assignment for you. Heck, feel free to stash it in your sub plans, if you wish! Though I am hopeful you won't need one for a good long time.
Take care,
Ann
**Note - Link is to my own local indie bookstore, but this isn't a paid or promoted post. I just really love my bookstore, and your local shop is probably (almost) as awesome as mine.
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