Spark & Fire: Fuel Your Creativity

Masters of Scale Network
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Spark & Fire: Fuel Your Creativity Podcast

Every creative work you’ve ever loved has a hero’s journey behind it. On Spark & Fire, you'll hear creators tell the story of bringing one beloved work to life.  Iconic creatives — like Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz, Pixar director Domee Shi, comedian Patton Oswald, musician Wynton Marsalis, and novelist Isabel Allende — share the endless iterations, the inevitable setbacks, and the breakthrough ideas along the epic process of creation. But this isn’t an interview show. It’s a story — told entirely in the artist's own words. With host June Cohen, co-founder of WaitWhat and the former executive producer of TED Talks. Transcripts and images for every episode are available at sparkandfire.com Sign up for the weekly Spark & Fire newsletter.

  1. APR 17

    Introducing: Offsite Adventures

    From the team behind Spark & Fire, we're happy to share the first episode of Offsite Adventures, our newest show uncovering the gems, magical moments, and unique learnings in iconic business travel destinations. Three minutes before midnight in Times Square, one of the most trafficked commercial centers in the world momentarily transforms into a vibrant digital art installation, providing a refreshing pause for locals and tourists alike. It’s called the Midnight Moment, and you won’t believe how something so unexpected came together. In this episode, Janet digs into the history of this unique collaboration between the advertising and arts communities before experiencing it herself with innovative, boundary-breaking artist Shahzia Sikander. Offsite Adventures is a Masters of Scale Production presented in alliance with Capital One Business. Special thanks to Jean Cooney and Times Squares Arts and artists featured as part of the Midnight Moment episode:   Artist: Shahzia Sikander | Title: Reckoning | Video by Tatyana Tenenbaum  Artist: Nora Maité Nieves | Title: Eyes of the Sea | Video by Tatyana Tenenbaum Artist: LuYang | Title: DOKU: Digital Reincarnation | Video by Phatt Features Special thanks to composer Du Yun for music featured in this episode. See this story come to life in our video series on YouTube. Click here to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERpUrWKdCjE See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    21 min

  2. 04/19/2023

    Create from joy: Writer Phoebe Robinson on "You Can’t Touch My Hair"

    There’s a commonly held belief that great creative work comes from pain. But comedian and writer Phoebe Robinson says that this is a myth. Instead, Phoebe believes great creative work comes from a place of joy. As Phoebe shares her personal story of writing her debut essay collection, You Can’t Touch My Hair: And Other Things I Still Have to Explain, she draws on the things that bring her the most joy in life, whether it’s her Peloton bike, or her obsession with the band U2. Her joy is what allows her to hone her unique creative voice, which she describes as having “a lot of pop culture references, but there's also some smarty smarty pants stuff that's going on.” Phoebe will inspire you to tap into what brings you joy, whatever it may be, and use it as fuel to create — and have fun doing it. Content Warning: This episode contains explicit language. Go to sparkandfire.com/download to download Spark & Fire's free creativity guide and access 100 activities designed to fuel your creative practice. Follow along (with transcript and photos) at sparkandfire.com/ Subscribe to the Spark & Fire weekly newsletter for images, stories and creative prompts: http://eepurl.com/hkmyMr See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    33 min

  3. 03/30/2023

    5 ways to handle creative conflict

    Creative conflict can destroy a work-in-progress — or it can push your work beyond good to great. What matters is how you respond. We’re going to hear from 5 creators in 5 very different fields who share actionable strategies (and great stories) about how to recognize, resolve, and harness conflict to create work that is visionary. Featuring “Frozen” songwriters Kristen Anderson Lopez and Robert Lopez, actor and comedian Cristela Alonzo, choreographer Bill T. Jones, salsa legend Rubén Blades, and “Queen’s Gambit” producers Bill Horberg and Allan Scott.  Listen to the full episodes that inspired this mixtape: “Frozen” songwriters Kristen Anderson Lopez and Robert Lopez: https://sparkandfire.com/frozen/  “Cristela” creator Cristela Alonzo: https://sparkandfire.com/cristela/  “Afterwardsness” choreographer Bill T. Jones: https://sparkandfire.com/billtjones/  “Pedro Navaja” songwriter Rubén Blades: https://sparkandfire.com/rubenblades/  “Queen’s Gambit” producers Allan Scott and William Horberg: https://sparkandfire.com/queensgambit/ Follow along (with transcript and photos) at sparkandfire.com/ Subscribe to the Spark & Fire weekly newsletter for images, stories and creative prompts: http://eepurl.com/hkmyMr See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    23 min

  4. 03/23/2023

    Get to the fun part: Game creators Matthew Inman and Elan Lee on Exploding Kittens

    To make something irresistible, get to the fun part — fast. That’s how Exploding Kittens became one of the world’s most popular games. When cartoonist Matthew Inman (The Oatmeal) and game developer Elan Lee (former Xbox) designed the card game Exploding Kittens, they took fun very seriously. This mindset unlocked their creativity in unexpected ways: They transformed a Kickstarter into a wildly successful interactive game, and radically simplified their instructions so their players could get to the fun part faster. In their story, you’ll find surprising lessons for any field on serving your audience and feeding your own creativity. Get the transcript, photos and original game sketches at https://sparkandfire.com/explodingkittens/ Subscribe to the Spark & Fire weekly newsletter for images, stories and creative prompts: http://eepurl.com/hkmyMr See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    35 min

  5. 03/15/2023

    Trust creates gold: Comedian David Cross on “Arrested Development”

    Behind every masterpiece — comedic, artistic, or otherwise — is a deep well of trust. Case in point: the legendary sit-com, Arrested Development. As Comedian David Cross shares the story of bringing to life the brilliantly absurd character Tobias Fünke, you’ll hear how every moment of comedic gold on the show was made possible by trust — trusting his collaborators, trusting the writing, and trusting his instincts (“Send the stunt double home. I can do that my own…”). See David Cross on tour: https://officialdavidcross.com/pages/appearances Follow along (with transcript and photos) at sparkandfire.com/ Subscribe to the Spark & Fire weekly newsletter for images, stories and creative prompts: http://eepurl.com/hkmyMr See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    31 min

  6. 03/08/2023

    Let emotion be your North Star: Composer Kris Bowers

    This episode follows the composer Kris Bowers’ personal story about composing the score for the culture-shifting and emotionally devastating work When They See Us. This award-winning series follows the true story of five boys, wrongfully accused in 1989 of the brutal rape of a jogger in New York’s Central Park. The narrative spans a quarter-century, from the night of the incident to their eventual exoneration as grown men.  To tackle this project, Kris let emotion be his North Star. Allowing his emotions to guide him led him straight to the heart of the story — and inspired a score that connects the audience to the characters. Follow along (with transcript and photos) at sparkandfire.com/ Subscribe to the Spark & Fire weekly newsletter for images, stories and creative prompts: http://eepurl.com/hkmyMr See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    29 min

  7. 02/27/2023

    5 strategies for overcoming failure

    Failure is a normal part — even an essential part — of any creative journey. But that probably isn’t what you want to hear after experiencing failure yourself. It’s easy to just want to crawl into a hole for a while. Today on Spark & Fire, we’re going to crawl out of that hole long enough to hear from 5 iconic creatives who have learned how to overcome failure to create something truly great.  Featuring actor and writer Randall Park on Always Be My Maybe, novelist Ann Patchett on The Dutch House, songwriting duo Kristen Anderson Lopez and Robert Lopez on Disney’s Frozen, producers Allan Scott and William Horberg on the hit series Queen’s Gambit, and singer/songwriter Ben Folds on the breakout album Whatever and Ever, Amen. Follow along (with transcript and photos) at sparkandfire.com/overcomingfailure Listen to the full episodes that inspired this mixtape: “Always Be My Maybe” writer and actor Randall Park: https://sparkandfire.com/randallpark/  “The Dutch House” author Ann Patchett: https://sparkandfire.com/annpatchett/ “Frozen” songwriting duo Kristen Anderson Lopez and Robert Lopez: https://sparkandfire.com/frozen/ “Queen’s Gambit” producers Allan Scott and William Horberg: https://sparkandfire.com/queensgambit/ Singer/songwriter Ben Folds: https://sparkandfire.com/benfolds/ Subscribe to the Spark & Fire weekly newsletter for images, stories and creative prompts: http://eepurl.com/hkmyMr See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    28 min

  8. 02/22/2023

    Fight for your dream: Comedian Cristela Alonzo

    When the ABC show Cristela premiered in 2014, Cristela Alonzo made U.S. history, the first Latina to write, produce, and star in her own prime-time comedy. But this dream didn’t come easy: Cristela had to fight for her vision at every stage of the process. As she takes us on the journey to making the sitcom, you’ll hear how she found her first opportunities by simply doing what she loved — which “accidentally” led to a show based on her life. You’ll hear how she fights for the show she wants, to the very end — and never waits for permission to chase her next dream. Get transcript and photos at sparkandfire.com/cristela Subscribe to the Spark & Fire weekly newsletter for images, stories and creative prompts: http://eepurl.com/hkmyMr See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

    33 min
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4.6
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Every creative work you’ve ever loved has a hero’s journey behind it. On Spark & Fire, you'll hear creators tell the story of bringing one beloved work to life.  Iconic creatives — like Wicked composer Stephen Schwartz, Pixar director Domee Shi, comedian Patton Oswald, musician Wynton Marsalis, and novelist Isabel Allende — share the endless iterations, the inevitable setbacks, and the breakthrough ideas along the epic process of creation. But this isn’t an interview show. It’s a story — told entirely in the artist's own words. With host June Cohen, co-founder of WaitWhat and the former executive producer of TED Talks. Transcripts and images for every episode are available at sparkandfire.com Sign up for the weekly Spark & Fire newsletter.

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