Creative Practice
Food: The Great Unifier by Sam Stollenwerck
Sep. 17, 2018—I have always been fascinated by other cultures, religions, and political beliefs, as each of these human constructs play a fundamental role in our day to day lives. Often times, we segregate ourselves based upon the groups we identify with, yet even through this separation, we are able to join together amicably through unifying practices...
Tell Me a Story: Multimedia Expression Night
May. 6, 2015—[ B ] Tell me a story. In this century, and moment, of mania, Tell me a story. Make it a story of great distances, and starlight. The name of the story will be Time, But you must not pronounce its name. Tell me a story of deep delight. from Robert Penn Warren’s “Tell Me...
One-on-One: Steven J. Tepper talks Creativity Camp at the University of Hartford
Aug. 5, 2013—One-on-One: Steven J. Tepper talks Creativity Camp at the University of Hartford A couple of weeks ago, Dr. Steven J. Tepper guided colleagues at the University of Hartford (Connecticut) through a week of creative experimentation. As happy as we were to see him back in the office, we were even more curious about how others...
Drop and give me 15 haikus!
Apr. 1, 2013—by Elizabeth Long Lingo I had the wonderful opportunity to present my ideas at TedX Furman University last week. At the end of all the presentations, their local student improv troupe offered mini-improv skits based on each of the talks. Here’s the one spoofing on my idea of the Creative Practice Booocamp. Love it! Drop and...
An Unstaged Reading
Mar. 10, 2013—by Aidan Carr Looks like this. There have been a couple historical models for developing new musicals. In the so-called “Golden Age,” shows grew via the out-of-town tryout—a month or so in New Haven or Philadelphia where changes would be made by gauging audience reception. The first number of Sondheim’s A Funny Thing Happened on the...
What A Bookwriter Does
Mar. 10, 2013— by Aidan Carr The blueprint. If a musical is a house, the bookwriter is its architect; he also shares interior/exterior design duties with the composer and the lyricist. Most of the spoken language of the piece (most) falls under his jurisdiction, but he also shapes the story itself, places the songs, cuts pages and scenes....
Music is Sculpture
Mar. 10, 2013—by Aidan Carr Writing music before the 20th century was a lot like painting—you had certain colors and certain brushes, and you painted certain things. Like painters, composers outgrew these boundaries—painters stopped painting things, composers stopped writing tonal music, etc. But we still think of most music as having a pretty narrow set of ‘brushes’ or...
What’s Being Adapted
Mar. 10, 2013— by Aidan Carr Opening credits. The film I’m adapting is called MAY. It is has a cult reputation of sorts—it frequently makes pop “Top 10 Horror of 2000’s” List, a horror-hipster favorite. This is actually how I discovered it—on such a list, the author ranked MAY as his second favorite of the decade, remarking that...
Making Musicals: An Introduction
Feb. 27, 2013—by Aidan Carr For the next two months, my writing here will document the process of creating a new work of musical theater. This process is lengthy and not particularly glamorous: indeed, much of the groundwork and infrastructure for the project that this creative diary follows has been in development for nearly two years. It is...