Three Ways to Avoid Creative Road Bumps!

Travel.  It makes me wanna blog.

Today, I’m on my way to Pittsburgh, and fall is HERE!  The trees have changed color a lot since my Amtrak ride back to NYC last week.  For those of you who don’t know, I have been going back and forth to Pittsburgh since August to work with the amazing choreographer Michael Rooney on ABC Family’s first movie musical, ELIXIR.  The movie stars the breathtaking Jane Seymour and the absolutely brilliant Chelsea Kane, as well as the gorgeous Sara Paxton, Drew Seeley, Tom Wopat, and Adrienne Bailon.  I have had an incredible time working with Michael, his assistant Danny, and the superteam of dancers on this project (including the stars- just WAIT until you see what they do!!), and feel so grateful to be part of it!  I can only imagine how I will cry and shriek when I see the finished product next spring- eeeee!  

Working as a choreographer for film = my Next Big Dream.  I love how the creative drawing board just expands when you think of camera angles, 360 shots, overhead shots...endless possibilities!!!  Especially when you have an upbeat and funky fun director like Sanaa Hamri, jumping around with childlike enthusiasm and spitting out ideas faster than you can possibly write them down!  It’s an adult playground.  Totally exciting, explosively creative and glamourous, but also challenging, fast-paced, and ever-changing.  Time is money.  You MUST plan well, but you also have to be flexible. You can’t be too attached to your material.  As with any major project, there have been changes, challenges and minor setbacks during our process with this film, but the art is in how you deal.  

I am not saying it's always easy.  But I AM saying there are some helpful guidelines to keep in mind, when you feel that THE MAN is taking away your juju!!!  And I am going to give them to you!!!  Here are three ways to help you artfully and smoothly maintain your creative flow in times of challenge:

1.  TAKE A HINT FROM THE FOUR AGREEMENTS:  REMEMBER THAT IT'S NOT PERSONAL!   Especially with your art.  Yes, you may have to change your favorite piece of choreography to fit a dancer who has different abilities.  You may have to cut entire numbers to stay within the budget.  You may have to revisit the same number four, five, or ten times to tweak it exactly how Mr. TV Executive sees it in his mind (clearly I am using choreo references here because that's what I know best.  Feel free to apply it to your line of work!).  And it has nothing to do with you, your work, or your artistic integrity.  It’s how you fit into the bigger picture and how you roll with the punches (bonus points if you stay chipper all the while!).  The ability to withstand all of that BS and still be able to let the brilliance flow-- that is the gold.  And who knows... maybe you’ll even (gasp) GROW as a result!  Fun Affirmation:  "I am a creative genius."

2.  REMEMBER THAT RESISTANCE IS YOUR FRIEND.  Whaaa?  That's right.  Next time your budget for paint gets cut, your project deadline gets pushed up a week, or your lead gets sick on the day of the show, y'all, just take a second and BREATHE.  Feel what is happening in your body.  Fear, anger, and the desire to chain smoke or inhale a Cinnabon are common knee jerk reactions to those pesky road blocks that appear out of nowhere just before your big break.  It's just resistance.  DO NOT LET THIS STOP YOU.  Take a few slow, deep breaths, clear your head and drink a glass of water, mentally remove the drama from your brain, and keep moving.  Sidenote: I highly recommend  Steven Pressfield’s The War Of Art, a warm and humorous book which first delves into the yucky things that can freeze your artistic vision, and then teaches you how to snap the hell out of it. It’s an easy read, guaranteed!  Fun Affirmation:  "I am able."

3.  TOOT YOUR OWN HORN AND GIVE YOURSELF SOME CREDIT!  There is no better way to get into that "I Can Do It NO MATTER WHAT" mentality than to remind yourself how far you have come!  I suggest you make a list of your biggest accomplishments and keep them where you can see them.  I keep my "As Seen In" graphic as my computer desktop image, not because I want everyone at Starbucks to see it, but to remind myself that I have accomplished things!  I have done this before!  I have succeeded in the past, and I can do it again.  Here's mine, and I highly recommend that you make yourself a flashy, pretty reminder for yourself!  Fun Affirmation:  "I am courageous!"

So there you go.  What do you think? How’s your grace under pressure?  Where do you feel inflexible or unwilling to let go?  What are your triumphs around this subject?  Leave a comment below and tell me where you excel, and where you fall apart!  Let’s help each other.  Can't wait to hear from you.

And if you liked this blog, hop on on over to my website and click "contact" to sign up for my mailing list!  Hope to hear from you soon!


Love,
Erika

Pack it up, pack it in, let me begin... Again...

Today is Sunday, which, when on tour with ROCK OF AGES, means one of two things: 1. SHOT NIGHT, or 2. Time to pack up and move to the next city. Today is a packing day. Tomorrow we move to Detroit, which is only the fifth city on the tour, but we are already growing weary of the mobile lifestyle. I miss my dresser, and my bed, my closet and my towels and shower curtain. Silly things. My kitchen table. The way the light hits my kitchen in the morning.
For those readers who have never been on tour, here’s how it works. We live out of 2 suitcases and one small trunk, the latter of which travels with the show trucks and stays at the theatre. Our total belongings cannot exceed 200 pounds (100 in the suitcases, and 100 in the trunk). One must be strategic about where to store our items so as not to exceed the baggage weight limit when flying. Sundays force us to mentally take stock of everything we own, categorize it into trunk vs. suitcase vs. trash can (sad but true), and then use remedial physics to fit it where we need it to go. We do-si-do between the theatre and hotel, swapping out black boots for brown, fall jackets for puffy coats, until it all fits, and we can go for that end-of-city drink to take the edge off (shout out to Nicholson’s Gastropub in Cincinnati, who created a custom ROA drink menu during our stay here!).

There is something charming about living with less (I recently picked up the book Radical Simplicity, written by Dan Price, who lived his entire adult life in a tipi with a sleeping bag, hotplate and an outhouse—a little extreme but refreshing and oddly inspiring), but every once in a while I have a mild freak out. Last night I had a dream that I returned to my hotel room to find that the sink and toilet had been removed (which I interpret to mean that my creature comforts and needs are at a bare minimum and I’m not happy about it). I woke up, checked to make sure the toilet was still there, and stumbled to my single serve hotel room coffee maker. I unwrapped a disposable coffee cup from the ever-present plastic wrap that seems to cover every dish and utensil have used since September, and longed for my favorite coffee mug (a white ceramic mug with a picture of a red-lipped, mean faced bee that says “Bee-otch”). And I got a little cranky.

Because I am a Taurus and into Things and home and hearth and all of that earthy stuff, I have to create a home in my hotel room. If you ever come to visit me on tour, here’s what you’ll find in my room:

*Lavender vanilla room spray, purchased on my honeymoon
*A very handy and extremely functional CVS brand mini-humidifier. It is compact, good for the ol’ voce, requires only an upside down water bottle, AND combats that dry hotel feeling. Love this and cannot live without it.
*my 6-inch tall Buddha statue
*at least 2 books (right now I am reading The Girl Who Played With Fire and Awakening into Oneness: The Power of Blessing in the Evolution of Consciousness. A little intrigue, a little spirituality. I like this combo.)
*CANDLES for ambience and a nice scent- an absolute must to transform any space!
*My portable iPod dock (nothing like old Craig David in the fall to stir up cozy memories of my crock pot and couch)
*A photo of me, Brian, and our dolphin friend Ladwani, taken on our honeymoon
*My netbook, which I use to skype with Brian and connect with the outside world, as well as watch The Event on Hulu.
*My favorite soaps, shampoo, and lotions (no hotel samples for me… I need my stuff)
*Assorted scarves to drape over uninspired furniture

It’s not luxury, but it feels that way, considering the weight of the statue, candles, books, and ipod dock! But I need these things to stay sane.

So today, in between shows, I’m heading back to the hotel to pack. I do, by the way, always unpack when I get to a new city. I like to hang my clothes up and see what I have. I take comfort in having a sock drawer. On tour, it’s the little things that bring joy. But the re-packing. Not fun. Especially when you’ve been in a city that doesn’t offer much in the way of things to do (ahem, Cincinnati…) besides go shopping. In the last two weeks, I’ve acquired 2 pair of shoes, a new pair of pants, and a new bottle of perfume. But I NEEDED them. ;) I mean, a girl can’t get through fall without a pair of brown flats. What else would I wear with that new Michael Kors sweater I picked up in Minneapolis? Sheesh!

By tomorrow evening, I will be setting up my little home in Dearborn, MI. I am so excited to venture to Ann Arbor for a few days, and even guest teach a few classes at my alma mater, The University of Michigan, for the Musical Theatre and Performing Arts Management students! And even with all of the packing, un-packing, and re-packing, it’s most valuable to remember that, as I mentioned in my last blog, home is not necessarily a specific place. It’s in my husband’s touch, the electricity of a Steelers game day in Pittsburgh, the taste of chipati at Pizza House in Ann Arbor, the reunions with old friends along my travels. I am so, so lucky. Wishing you a cozy Sunday in your home sweet home, until next time!