Shows
The Spark File with Susan Blackwell and Laura CamienThe Town Hall Spark Sessions - Season 1 TrailerThe Town Hall, New York City’s landmark cultural venue, is teams up with The Spark File, the acclaimed creativity podcast hosted by Susan Blackwell and Laura Camien, in this brand-new podcast series: The Town Hall Spark Sessions.
The Town Hall Spark Sessions will spotlight creatives, musicians, comedians, artists, advocates, cultural creators and conversation makers who have graced—or are about to grace—the legendary Town Hall stage.
Each episode features fun and fulfilling questions that dive deep into how these inspiring individuals are using their creativity not only to entertain, but to spark change, connection...2025-05-0704 min
The Spark File with Susan Blackwell and Laura CamienCreativity Sparks: ChangeWhy is it so hard for us to break patterns that are keeping us from our goals? In this episode, Susan and Laura discuss and discover the ways in which we as humans and artists can navigate lasting positive change. They dive into the powerful process and book “Immunity to Change,” by Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey, which unravels the concept of change and specifically how to close the gap between aspiration/good intention and actual behavior shifts. Susan and Laura discover that when experimenting with our own paths to change, remaining open and curious, not jumping to prob...2023-02-011h 03The Spark File with Susan Blackwell and Laura CamienCreativity Sparks: Toni MorrisonWords and language have real power. In this episode, Susan and Laura explore the amazing works and incredible life of someone who managed to harness that power to the benefit of so many: Toni Morrison, Nobel and Pulitzer prize winning author and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. As they pull back the curtain to look at her work and creative process, Susan and Laura discuss Toni’s ability to center her own world in her writing, the ways in which her philosophies apply directly to their creative work, and exactly how carrot cake fits into it all....2023-01-181h 04The Spark File with Susan Blackwell and Laura CamienCreativity Sparks: Making Marketing Part of Your Creative Process: The Blue Man Group EditionSusan and Laura have found that when they bring up the idea of promoting one’s own work with their creative clients, the idea is almost always met with a sense of dread. So, how can creators combat this feeling? By making marketing part of the creative process. In this episode, Laura and Susan explore the methodologies and philosophies of the innovative Blue Man Group and how this unique approach to marketing, (which Cams was deeply involved with), helped build their global brand and, more importantly, stay true to themselves in the process. Learn mor...2022-12-281h 14The Spark File with Susan Blackwell and Laura CamienCreativity Sparks: Write Like Your Parents Are Dead AgainMany people have the desire to spin their lived experience into their creative self-expression, Susan and Laura included. This desire can present a conundrum as these creations can feature people other than the creator, or have ideas in them that might make a loved one uncomfortable, or are about a topic that some close to us might consider to be taboo. So how do we create with freedom and without fear? In this episode, Susan and Laura turn to the works of Banksy, Anne Lamott, David Sedaris, David Wellington, and more while discovering one approach to creating without fear...2022-12-2156 minThe Spark File with Susan Blackwell and Laura CamienCreativity Sparks: Beauty + SorrowThis week, after experiencing unexpected loss, Laura and Susan discuss the role of grief and friendship, and the bittersweet and inevitable intermixing of joy and heartbreak along this journey we call life. Inspired by the genius of Brene Brown, Karen Walrond and Susan Cain, Laura and Susan agree with the conclusion that our broken hearts connect us all. And as creators all we can hope to do is make works of profound sadness and beauty. Break our hearts. Use all of the pain. Like Marcus Aurelius said, “A blazing fire makes flame and brightness out of e...2022-03-301h 04The Spark File with Susan Blackwell and Laura CamienCreativity Sparks: What If...?This week, Laura and Susan explore the inexplicable craving to consume pandemic-related entertainment during a pandemic - not entertainment about the current state of the world, no, we prefer imaginary pandemics dreamed up in the minds of fiction writers and TV writers like Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel, The End of October by Lawrence Wright, The Walking Dead and more. These are some of the works imagined by creative minds at a time when an actual pandemic was a scary but far-fetched idea…Listen in to hear how Laura made her way through a tunnel of im...2021-12-0159 minThe Spark File with Susan Blackwell and Laura CamienCreativity Sparks: Performance AnxietyThis week, Susan shares a spark so vast, we give it all our attention - Performance Anxiety. If you've ever felt tormented by fear, panic or anxiety related to your chosen profession, please do not miss this episode! Susan and Laura go deep into the prevalance of performance anxiety, what it feels like, who experiences it, and potential solutions to keep it at bay so that you can go on shining your light with ease. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices2021-07-051h 39The Spark File with Susan Blackwell and Laura CamienMakers: Susan Stroman: Fill Up With the Art of It AllThis week, the incomparable Susan Stroman sits down to share it all with Susan and Laura, including lessons learned from the lockdown, insights from her 5x Tony Award Winning career, as well as what it's all for. Spoiler Alert: the answer is love.From her work on The Producers, Crazy For You, Bullets Over Broadway, Contact, The Scottsboro Boys and so much more, Susan recommends that we fill ourselves up with the art of it all! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices2021-03-221h 06The Spark File with Susan Blackwell and Laura CamienMakers: Laura Benanti + Venus Fischer: HBO Max's Homeschool MusicalRecorded LIVE from The Spark File New Year 2021 Creativity KickOff, Susan and Laura have a lively conversation with the one and only TONY Award winner Laura Benanti! Laura took some big leaps during the quarantine, and shares how an idea from the heart spilled onto instagram and grew into an HBO Max special -- Homeschool Musical: Class of 2020. Plus... one of the stars of that very show, Venus Fischer, joins in on the fun, sharing her experiences on the show, and how her creativity has evolved over the course of this year. L...2021-01-181h 03The Spark File with Susan Blackwell and Laura CamienCreativity Sparks: The Intrigue of Austen + ToysThis week on The Spark File, Susan and Laura are serving up two pipin' hot sparks... Join them as they suss out their obsession with Jane Austen -- is it the repressed sexual tension? the perfect witty, cutting remark? And listen as they dig into their memories of the toys that shaped our childhoods and what might be made of them now... From the Draw-a-Face Doll to the Little Lady Electric Range, Weebles that wobble, and Willy the Waterbug sprinkler... memories (and sparks) are tied up in these toys! Learn more about your ad choices...2020-12-282h 00The Spark File with Susan Blackwell and Laura CamienCreativity Sparks: Helene Hanff + Secret LoveThis week on The Spark File, Susan and Laura offer up two sparks of inspiration... First, Helene Hanff and her classic theatre book, 'Underfoot in Show Business' paints a picture of the early days of Broadway; and then the infinite spark power of secrets kept and secrets shared. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices2020-12-141h 38The Spark File with Susan Blackwell and Laura CamienMakers: John Early: Search Party, Short Films + Political StorytellingOn this week's episode of The Spark File, Susan and Laura laugh as much as they listen while conversing with comedian John Early, star of HBO's Search Party, The Characters on Netflix, and so much more. A true creator, John's always making something -- TV shows, short films, social posts, or profiles for political candidates he is passionate about. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices2020-12-071h 18The Spark File with Susan Blackwell and Laura CamienCreativity Sparks: Garnet's Gold + Land AcknowledgementsOn this week's episode, Susan and Laura reach into their spark files and share two fresh sparks of inspiration. First, the documentary Garnet's Gold weaves a tale of lost treasure in the Scottish highlands, but actually explores the pain of adventures not taken, lives not fully lived. And then, a deep dive into understanding land acknowlegement, recoginzing Indigenous Peoples as traditional stewards of these lands, and understanding our place within history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices2020-11-301h 37The Spark File with Susan Blackwell and Laura CamienMakers: Eric Stonestreet: Fizbo the Clown, Outdoor Bathrooms + Making Memories with MusicEmmy Award winning actor Eric Stonestreet shares some great creative advice with Susan and Laura in the latest episode of The Spark File. They cover all the essentials — creativity, clowning, and how to build your dream bathroom in the woods.With the one-of-a-kind heart of an actor / comedian / clown / philanthropist / chef /drummer / die-hard sports fan, we’d argue that Eric is also inadvertently giving some great advice on livin’ life to the fullest!Also, don’t miss this classic Eric Stonestreet move — making lasting memories with music. Whether driving Sunset Boulevard with friends, or capturing the mood f...2020-11-231h 31The Spark File with Susan Blackwell and Laura CamienCreativity Sparks: Furious Dancing + ResilienceSusan and Laura are back with Season 2 of The Spark File - rested, refreshed and creative fishpond restocked! They take a deep dive in search of the value of Creativity, and discover its life-saving attributes; AND they explore the need for resilience, and how to find it if you're not feeling it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices2020-11-161h 43The Spark File with Susan Blackwell and Laura CamienCreativity Sparks: Previously On... The Spark FileSusan and Laura are back with a few reflections and the latest and greatest updates on Season 1 topics, PLUS a projection for Season 2. Keep your eyes (and ears) peeled for new episodes coming this fall! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices2020-09-281h 10The Spark File with Susan Blackwell and Laura CamienCreativity Sparks: Fatigue Fatigue + Creative CyclesIn the Season One finale, Susan and Laura discuss the various ways the world is exhausting us right now -- Zoom fatigue, Compassion fatigue, Caution fatigue and more. Plus, how knowing where you are in the Creative Cycle can help determine where your Hero goes from here. (hint: picture a Phoenix rising from the ashes). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices2020-06-221h 25