Tag Archives: creativity coach bay area

So You Want to Write a One Person Show, Part 6 of 7

So You Want to Write a One Person Show, Part 6 of 7

So to recap, Part 1 of "So You Want to Write a One Person Show", I spoke about discovering the Central Moment on which your show pivots.

Part 2 of "So You Want to Write a One Person Show" we looked at the moments that lead up to the Central Moment of your revelation in your solo show.  We explored possible turning points and after effects of the Central Moment, and we looked at possible through lines, the threads that sew your stories together into one cohesive piece.

Part 3, Write write write. We threw out all we "knew" and explored all possible avenues.  This is where the rubber meets the road–we took creative risks and pushed past our normal habits and ideas about who we are and what we can create.

Part 4, Take a break, play, and contact your muses. We contacted our "muses"–that something greater that guides us and shows its genius.

Part 5, Bringing it all together, editing, refining through performance.  "The difference between a standup show and a solo show is that in standup, the character knows exactly what they're talking about and exactly what they think.  And they're going to tell you.  In a solo show, the character doesn't know.  They're looking for something, they want something, and they're figuring it all out with you, on this ride, together.  The hero has a conflict."

Part 6, Kill Your Darlings.  

You may have heard this quote before and not fully understood what it meant, so let me elaborate.   It was Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch who spoke it first, ???Whenever you feel an impulse to perpetrate a piece of exceptionally fine writing, obey it ??? whole-heartedly ??? and delete it before sending your manuscripts to press. Murder your darlings.??? 

My senior film thesis in college was a mockumentary about standup comedy.  I made a feature length film (video) in which I starred as a struggling comedian, struggling with whether she wanted to be a famous comedian or just date one.  It was a lot of fun to make, and earned a high grade in a school where we didn't technically even have grades.  And it was good work.  But years later, I got re-acquainted with an assistant who helped shoot the movie.  He handed me a DVD of my film, recut.  He recut my film.  From 75 minutes to 40.  And you know what?  It was better.  It was a totally different movie and missed a lot of the points I was making, but there were about 30 minutes of purely self-indulgent material that I had no ability to recognize as indulgent at the time.  In fact, if I were to re-cut the film again, I'd make it about 25 minutes long.  There is a fantastic scene (which I am not in) that I directed two friends to improvise about chicken soup and sex, and it is probably the best 10 minutes of the whole film.  By killing 65 of my "darling" minutes, there is an incredible piece that would be wonderful to watch.  And it took 10 years to be able to see that truth.

So take some steps back, acknowledge and let go of your darlings.  What is really in your work because it stands on its own, and what is there that needs explaining?  What is in your work because it makes only you satisfied, and what is truly satisfying to people in general?  What is in this piece that sheds light on some aspect of humanity never before spoken, and what is trite or cliche?  What is in your piece that's part of some inside joke and what is a universal joke?  What's there to make a secret jab and someone you're mad at, and what's there to speak truth to power?  What's there to secretly impress someone you're in love with and seem clever or brilliant, and what's there that was truly channeled through genius?  What's there that distracts people from what you really want to say, and what's there to artfully hide what you want to say so they'll come upon it in surprise?  It's time to be ruthlessly honest with yourself, step aside, and allow your muses to speak through you.  And when it goes well, let them take the credit, too.  The joy will come, not in hearing the accolades, but in being an instrument for something truly, humanly brilliant that touches people's hearts and raises the stakes in living their lives fully.

Stay tuned for Part 7, though I have no idea what could follow that!

How to Actually Manifest Your Dream, Part 5 of 7

How to Actually Manifest Your Dream, Part 5 of 7

Hat
In the last post, you were in the "creation" phase.  Creation is always happening, but it can get blocked, so we did a lot of exercises to make a safe container for the creative part of you to unfold.  As you move into the next phase, keep taking time to be intentionally and spontaneously in creation–free of criticism. 

And now, very gently and clearly, we're going to begin the process of editing.  Many people consider editing to be the most important part of art because this is where we begin to turn toward the idea of our work being received.  Many people consider art incomplete until it is in fact received–that seeing, hearing, or experiencing the work is its last phase of creation, "closing the loop."  I agree with this, but I also feel that for some art works, the maker can also be the best audience.  If we don't please ourselves in our art, we're not doing anyone else any favors!

So here's an exercise to transition yourself temporarily from creator to editor, feeler to thinker: 

Get three actual hats.  Really do this…  Maybe your "creator" hat is big and silly, your "appreciator" hat is beautiful and flowery, and your "editor" hat is like a newspaper editor's? 

Have your "creator" hat on while you're brainstorming, writing, drawing, singing…  After your allotted creating time, take off your creator hat, and put on your "appreciator" hat.  As the appreciator, you will talk to the creator for a few minutes and let her (or him) know how thankful you are to her for being so open and uncensored.  Tell her how it felt (fun? silly? exhilarating?) to be with her, and how happy you are that she has come to play with you.  Tell her that the next step you are going to take is to gather, organize, and edit what she has delivered so you can deliver this gift to the world!  Ask her if she has any requests of how you shape the material.  Ask if she will stay as an observer of the process to help keep the integrity of the work.  When you are done, take your appreciator hat off and put on your editor hat. 

If your creator lives mostly in your second chakra (the pelvis), your appreciator lives mostly in your heart chakra.  Your editor lives in your throat and "third eye" chakras.  Sitting with your back straight so all of your chakras are aligned, begin to look at your work with a warm, clear head.  Look at it as if it's not in fact your work at all, but the work of your best friend.  Begin to sort, clarify, and solidify what's there, seeing the best in it, and looking for places to chip away the extraneous pieces.  Do more cutting than adding.  Finish off your session with a quick flip of the appreciator hat and remind yourself how much great work you've just done and what your purpose in doing this is!

"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful
servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has
forgotten the gift."

-Albert Einstein

Rave Reviews – Life Coaching

Rave Reviews – Life Coaching

“I used to be disappointed that I don’t create the connections in my life that I’d like.  I now see how my way of connecting can be very much a one-way street.  Alica asked me about what I wanted (connection) and how I would know when I had it.  What I saw in that moment was the ways in which I can be very present with people yet where they still somehow find me inaccessible. I saw that I am very vague when talking about my own feelings and that I use this to keep people at arm’s length. For the first time maybe ever I actually saw and felt the dissonance between how I am with people and how I let them be with me. WOW!

Alica also had me feel into what kind of question I might ask where I would actually feel vulnerable, thereby taking down the wall that keeps people out. This was a stroke of brilliance on Alica’s part. We threw around some ideas and landed on one that felt so vulnerable that I actually threw it out the first time around. “How do you feel about me?” Yikes! Getting reflection and contribution from Alica in that vulnerable moment put me into an incredible place of bliss and connection that I’m not sure I’ve ever been in. 

We did an incredible amount of very deep work an a very short period of time – quite possibly the most efficient hour of coaching I’ve ever gotten… really!  It was incredible – a huge breakthrough for me.”

~Ben P.

Testimonial – Life Coaching

Testimonial – Life Coaching

"I used to be disappointed that I don't create the connections in my life that I'd like.  I now see how my way of connecting can be very much a one-way street.  Alica asked me about what I wanted (connection) and how I would know when I had it.  What I saw in that moment was the ways in which I can be very present with people yet where they still somehow find me inaccessible. I saw that I am very vague when talking about my own feelings and that I use this to keep people at arm's length. For the first time maybe ever I actually saw and felt the dissonance between how I am with people and how I let them be with me. WOW!

Alica also had me feel into what kind of question I might ask where I would actually feel vulnerable, thereby taking down the wall that keeps people out. This was a stroke of brilliance on Alica's part. We threw around some ideas and landed on one that felt so vulnerable that I actually threw it out the first time around. "How do you feel about me?" Yikes! Getting reflection and contribution from Alica in that vulnerable moment put me into an incredible place of bliss and connection that I'm not sure I've ever been in. 

We did an incredible amount of very deep work an a very short period of time – quite possibly the most efficient hour of coaching I've ever gotten… really!  It was incredible – a huge breakthrough for me."

~Ben P.