Inside the Creative Process; Inspiration from Artists, Writers, Performers, Designers, & More

Busting Out of the Trappings of Tradition with Opera Director Cynthia Stokes

Cynthia Stokes is an American stage and opera director committed to reimagining opera for the 21st century. She challenges the relationship between performer and audience by creating thrilling productions that take place outside the walls of the traditional theater setting. Cynthia is the head of the opera program at the University of Arizona and she recently premiered exciting work at SXSW: the first ten minutes of The Andrée Expedition, a virtual reality Opera that offers an intimate 360-degree immersive experience for an audience of one. In this episode, Cynthia speaks about her experience balancing parenthood with her career and the magic of process that is impossible to explain. Follow Cynthia on Instagram @cynthiaandtheguys and check out the info from SXSW here: https://sxsw.arizona.edu/person/cynthia-stokes   You can check out her website with videos of past performances and more interviews here: http://www.cynthiastokes.com  ||  DM Alicia on Instagram @aliciapetersonbaskel to share your take aways from this episode. 

Short Story Solo: That Time Tere O’Connor’s Choreography Blew My Mind

In this solo episode, Alicia shares her experience at the Bates Dance Festival seeing Tere O'Connor's choreography for the first time and the profound effect that this dance piece and discussions surrounding it had on her understanding of contemporary dance. **For more information about Tere O'Connor visit his website: http://tereoconnordance.org/media/ ** Then go visit the Bates Dance Festival Archive and scroll down to 2004: https://www.batesdancefestival.org/archives/inside-dance-notes/ **To join the Inside the Creative Process Facebook Group please visit: https://www.facebook.com/groups/246341480793690/ **To visit Maiko's Story Photograph Podcast go to: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/maikos-story-photograph-podcast/id1597212837

Violinist Kristopher Apple on How Community and Collaboration Can Feed Creativity

Violinist, composer, performer, and educator Kristopher Apple works at the intersection of music, dance, text, and digital media. In our conversation, Kristopher speaks about how his compositions have always come from a place of tinkering and experimenting. He shares why it is so important to find a group of artists you can "jam" with and explore the creative process without the need for a product in the end. You can listen to Kristopher Apple's music here: https://kristopherapple.bandcamp.com/ and dive more deeply into Kristopher's work by visiting his website: https://kristopherapple.wordpress.com/blog/ ~~ You can also check out the project we discuss at the end of our conversation - Caught In Translation by Yolande Snaith: https://vimeo.com/368326228. 

Short Story Solo: Artistic Nourishment in Berlin

In this solo episode, Alicia Peterson Baskel recalls a performance that nourished her during a time when she felt depleted artistically. The William Forsythe piece HUMAN WRITES which he made in collaboration with Professor Kendall Thomas, was presented at the Berlin dance festival: Tanz Im August in 2010. This installation performance blew Alicia's mind and still lingers in her heart. For more information and context about William Forsythe and his piece Human Writes go to https://www.williamforsythe.com/installations.html?&no_cache=1&detail=1&uid=16 or watch the trailer here https://vimeo.com/37104554. If you want to take a deeper dive into the discussion of Human Rights with William Forsythe and others watch this video https://vimeo.com/57358617#t=190s. // To learn more about San Diego Dance Theatre's Choreography Class (which is also online for non-San Diego artists!) go to sandiegodancetheater.org . // Find Alicia on Instagram @aliciapetersonbaskel

Playwright Jennifer Barclay on Taking Charge of Your Own Artistic Path

Playwright Jennifer Barclay shares her story about shifting from an actor with laser focus on her craft to becoming a playwright who creates stereotype-busting roles for women. Jennifer talks about how she paved her own way throughout her artistic career by earnestly creating a community of artists/collaborators who trust and support her work. “I believe that a play or a film at its best should be a challenge to the mind, a revelation for the heart, and a raw, joyful collision between human beings.” Follow her process and career at BarclayStudios.com /// Please share your thoughts and take-aways with Alicia on Instagram @aliciapetersonbaskel.

Dance Artist Eric Geiger on Honoring our Artistic Lineage

Dance artist Eric Geiger shares his incredible journey from studying on scholarship at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center to working with Bill T. Jones, Nancy McCaleb, Deborah Hay, and many, many others. Eric’s reverence for those who paved the way before him adds depth to his work and his teaching. His processes demand responsible citizenship by making a space for Otherness. “I imagine dance as a place in which we can practice embodiment together from a place of love, and let that generate a beauty that we may not understand right away, and that we will consistently need to reevaluate.” You can connect with Eric Geiger on Instagram at @ericandrewgeiger and see excerpts of his dance work on Vimeo. Sign up for his class Dance In Community at TDarts.org. // Please share your take-aways with me on Instagram @aliciapetersonbaskel

Short Story Solo: Engineering Improvisation

Host Alicia Peterson Baskel honors the memory of her late father, Garvin Peterson, as she tells the story of how an engineer resonates deeply with his daughter's improvised dance performance. This episode is dedicated in loving memory to Garvin W. Peterson (February 7, 1942 - January 31, 2022) Please visit me on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/aliciapetersonbaskel/

Visual and Performance Artist Carolyn Mara on How to Own Calling Yourself an Artist

Visual and performance artist Carolyn Mara is an unapologetic award-winning multimedia artist whose creative methodology uses videographical performance art, conceptual photography, and large-scale fine arts painting to explore ideas of personal struggle and collective pain. Carolyn repeatedly puts her work and her process out into the world and is no stranger to criticism. In this episode, Carolyn shares her brilliant advice to artists looking to create a specific direction for their work. She talks about how to bring family into the process, handle the haters, and use your art for your own personal healing. Follow Carolyn Mara on Instagram www.instagram.com/carolyn_mara and on TikTok @carolynmara. To see more of her work and sign up for her newsletter go to: www.carolynmara.com - For more conversations like this please subscribe to Inside the Creative Process Podcast and follow Alicia on Instagram at @aliciapetersonbaskel.

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