Module 5 - Bodily Thinking

A) Bodily thinking is the process of expressing yourself through actions and movements without the interference of bias, insecurity, and doubt from one’s mind.

B) I wanted to try two different experiments with this project, both involving choreography. For the first, I created a choreographed routine to the song, “Green Eggs and Ham” from Seussical the Musical.  The style of this song and dance is comparable to many other high-energy children’s theater numbers.  After I created the choreography, I took a step back to think about how it would read if I removed the music and changed the energy of the piece.  It still functions as an art form, but carries a strangely different message without the spunky music and purposeful positive energy. 

For my second experiment, I tried improv choreography – something I had never tried before! As a dancer that lives within the parameters of 8-counts and aesthetically pleasing routines, I managed to strip that away and kinesthetically respond to the music with honesty and passion.  I focused on the discoveries I was making in the music and the story that I heard it telling.  It transformed, rather surprisingly, into a dance piece that emphasized the many uses and wonders of our hands. See if you can figure out all the verbs I am doing with them during the dance! Often times in children’s musical theater, we get caught up in the routine of repetition. After countless shows, we rely on automaticity to carry us through dances.  But why can’t we make discoveries within these dances everyday, even if it technically looks the same?

C) My first experiment that separated the movement from the music made me realize the close connection between bodily thinking and empathy.  In performances of children’s musical theater, we often feel the empathy of the scene work and the emotions that arise from the dialogue.  However, these emotions can be felt in our bodies as well.  Particularly in dances, it is easy to focus on “getting it right.”  Having turned out feet, landing properly from a leap, or sticking a pirouette are all wonderful concerns of a beginner dancer.  However, as one continues to dance through the years, they cannot continue to find enjoyment in it unless they seek a deeper level of understanding within it – this is the role of bodily thinking.  It challenges the dancer to think with the body, while also empathizing with the choreography to understand how to properly perform it.  There is always room to discover more in a dance and in this field, even if the technique is “correct.”

My second experiment is relevant to children’s musical theater because it separates the actor’s mind from their body.  An actor, as any other profession can be too, becomes blocked creatively by “getting in one’s head.”  They start to analyze how they look in the play instead of how they feel.  They must empathize with their character to truly understand his or her thoughts and actions in the play.  Dance is wonderful escape to the world of kinesthetic thinking.  We must ask ourselves: What is the purpose of these dances? What are they radiating – celebration, conflict, isolation?  It is easy to become programmed to do the dances with grace and technique, but there is so much more to discover within them that we do not know. It is time to face the fear of this unknown.

CEP - Bodily Thinking Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHxCoHlCWWQ&list=UUAPQnifpeRyu5S-7h4lIJKQ

This video contains 4 parts:

1) Seussical choreography with no music

2) Seussical choreography with music but contrasting energy of performance

3) Seussical choreography as if it were in a performance

4) Improv choreography to Latika's Theme

Module 4 - Abstraction

A) Abstraction is simplifying something that we know then looking at it from a different perspective in order to learn and create more ideas about it.

B) The specific abstraction I chose was storytelling.  In musical theater, the story line can be lost to spectacle.  When we reflect on shows after watching them, we often discuss the shiny, sequined costumes, the incredible voices of the leading actors, or the fireworks, fog, and magic of special effects.  When the show becomes more about the visual presentation than the story and message of the words on the page, then it is a flop.  Though audiences are stunned by these theatrical elements, they are left feeling empty and unsatisfied (whether cognizant of it or not) from the lack of connection with the characters.  I chose this abstraction because it is very important to every member of my field. Whether designing lights, building costumes, or composing music, the production team can use the words of the writer to ground their work in truth and sincerity.  The costumes, for example, may be flashy, but they can also move the plot forward and assist the words on the page.

For my first abstraction, I took a picture of a celebration on the Cheonggyecheon Stream near City Hall in Seoul.  The Cheonggyecheon Stream is 20 feet below road level, but still smack in the middle of the busiest roadway in Seoul.  Families, couples, and friends frequent the Cheonggycheon Stream because of its relaxing atmosphere and rushing waters that drown out the buzz of Seoul.  I stumbled upon a festival this past week.  I did not know what the people were celebrating, but I didn’t need to.  I thought instantly of the idea of storytelling.  I realized that every celebration of our history is now a story; something that we carry with us as part of our heritage and culture.  The blue umbrellas, lovely autumn day, and the mother gazing on at her two children splashing in the water made me smile as I saw the power of a story presented in this new light.

For my second abstraction, I made a diagram of out of Korean currency constructed in the shape of a tree.  The larger coins are the trunk, the foundation of the story, from which many, many (important) branches can be built.  However, though the branches may grow and stretch farther from the base, the family will always be connected through these foundational fibers.  I used coins rather than buttons, M&Ms, etc, because I wanted to present an irony of storytelling. A story, no matter how far from the tree, will always be priceless.

C) Often times, I get caught up in the spectacle of musical theater. The athleticism of the dances, the excitement in the vocals, and consumption with what I look like.  As we have learned through the reading, only appealing to one sense is an incredibly weak presentation of creativity, and certainly not an influential one.  I realize that abstractions must be realized and pondered before art is created. Sometimes one must create art to learn how to abstract it.  However, the reason for the creativity is always immensely deep.  If an actor, singer, musician, anyone can discover this honesty in their art through abstracting it into simpler, larger concepts, relating it to themselves, juxtaposing it with prior knowledge, building and learning from these concepts, creativity will come from within – where it matters most.

The Creative "i" - Variations on a Theme

PART 1: Choose a song and change its lyrics.

You Raise Me Up – Josh Groban

Music Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJxrX42WcjQ

Verse 1

When I am down and, oh, my soul, so weary;
When troubles come and my heart burdened be;
Then I am still and wait here in the silence,
Until you come and sit awhile with me.

Chorus
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up to more than I can be.

Verse 2
There is no life - no life without its hunger;
Each restless heart beats so imperfectly;
But when you come and I am filled with wonder,
Sometimes, I think I glimpse eternity.

Chorus
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up to more than I can be.

Chorus
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up to more than I can be.

Chorus
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up to more than I can be.

End line
You raise me up to more than I can be.

Altered lyrics: A Father’s Love

Here is a link to a mp3 of me singing this new version.
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B0gEBWge0OuDbVhKeG1rZzNEY1U&usp=sharing

Verse 1

When I was young and you would hold me closely,

I’d look to you, my eyes were open wide.

And then you’d smile and kiss my forehead softly,

Saying “hush-a-bye. My baby, don’t you cry.”

Chorus 1

You watched me grow, as I became a young man.

You’d hold me up, my arms stretched towards the sky.

Everyday, when I came home to see you.

Your face would grin, a twinkle in your eye.

Verse 2

Now I am old and you are still here with me.

I look to you, my eyes still open wide.

I see you smile and feel you look upon me.

You’ll always be my teacher and my guide.

Chorus 1

You watched me grow, as I became a young man.

You’d hold me up, my arms stretched towards the sky.

Everyday, when I came home to see you.

Your face would grin. I always wondered why.

Chorus 2

You taught me strength when I was at my weakest.

You taught me love when I was all alone.

I followed you, through every day and hour,

When you were here, I knew that I was home.

Chorus 2

You taught me strength when I was at my weakest.

You taught me love when I was all alone.

I followed you, through every day and hour,

When you were here, I knew that I was home.

End line

A father’s love will always lead you home.

PART 2: Summarize in 200 words or less how you see what you have learned about the creative process, through the reading and assignment, that you could apply to your own personal or professional life.

I had never done anything like this assignment before. The only time I re-write lyrics is when I accidentally forget them when I’m singing along with the radio.  At first, I was only seeking out similarities between my new lyrics with the old ones.  I was examining the easy observable qualities: rhyme, rhythm, and content.  Then I tried to separate myself completely from the song (You Raise Me Up) and listen to the music as though I had never heard it before and it functioned as a completely independent art form.  Though I was not 100% focused on this new cognitive process for 100% of the song, I did not expect to be. I simply wanted to attempt to abstract myself from the song that I knew, and I loved it.  When I simplified it, what was left? What did it open up inside of me? Quite a lot.

This newfound freedom led to a surge of creativity.  In the music, I heard something that made me think of my dad.  I cannot write what it was, but it opened a passageway of memory and love in our relationship.  I was soon challenged to then funnel the ideas and feelings that were radiating from this abstraction into the order and structure of a song.  Not only that, I attempted to write words that would “set up an analogous state of being in someone else” (147).  I could sing for hours about my own stories with my dad, but I needed to go deeper.  I practiced internal and external attention (199) and soon realized that if an artist can truly observe, imagine, and feel the thoughts and needs of others, they will unmistakably appeal to their souls and senses.


Additional Thoughts (including the Henriksen and Mishra article)

“Creativity then, is the process of making alterations to, and new combinations with, pre-existing ideas and artifacts, to create something new” (Henriksen and Mishra, pg. 2).  In this project, our mission was to re-write the lyrics of a song that we were familiar with.  It was a great challenge to take a song that we have known and understood, and use the creative tools that we’ve encountered so far (perception, patterning, and abstraction) to build a new, unique work.  The focus was not on the creation of new lyrics, but rather the awareness of the broad foundation that we have to work with: “People with a wider range of knowledge and experience have richer concepts to build on, and hence the potential to see more knobs or possibilities than those with narrower foundations” (3). If the focus was instead only on lyric revision to replace the original words of the song, then the creativity becomes forced: “It is clear that combinatorial thinking cannot be forced or predicted, it must develop organically, determined and constrained by the unique resources that the individual brings to the creative process” (3).

This project allowed me to see more possibilities.  I was able to reflect on my experiences and prior knowledge to construct an individualized product.  The goal, though scary to accept to someone as practical as myself, is to live in a world of the “unpredictable combinations” (1). We cannot teach unpredictability in our world of education, but we can provide broad foundations for our fellow learners to see the “knobs and possibilities” in everything they create: “our task as educators is to provide learners with these diverse experiences to help them develop these broader perspectives. The future demands nothing less” (5).  Creativity is not about finding an answer; it is about discovering the possibilities along the way.

REVISED LYRICS

Verse 1

When I was young, I feared the word creative.

I sought a “spark.” I thought it was easy.

I thought for hours of what I could invent

But then I knew, I could simply be me.

Chorus
And then I learned that I needed to perceive

The world around. There’s always something new.

Everyday, each thing we see and hear

Can lead us to a world that we find true.

Verse 2
As I grew old, I tackled my new fears.

I knew my past would help me everyday.

These memories built on existing ideas

Would give me strength, and help me see new ways.

Chorus
And then I knew that I needed to perceive

The world around. There’s always something new.

Everyday, each thing we see and hear

Can lead us to a world that we find true.

Chorus
And now I see, the possibility

Connecting things within the world around me

I am not scared to think of something different.

In fact, I love the difficulty.

End line
Prepare the mind for creativity.

The Creative "i" - Defining Creativity

PART 1: Synopsis of the Interview (300 words max)

I interviewed my friend, Eileen, who is an actress currently working at the Sierra Repertory Theatre in California.  Through this interview, I realized that her relationship with creativity is largely emotional: “My creative process is very empathetic. I create because of what I feel. Whether it's a drawing, sculpture, or musical, I create because of how I am moved emotionally. If I don't feel it, I'm not being true to myself.”  I was fascinated by this honesty to herself sought in the emotions that emerge from her creativity.  Creativity, in her eyes, was also about joy: “I think creativity is the ability and joy in creating something.”  We talked about how joy does not necessarily mean happiness.  Instead, it is a freedom that the artist needs to find. 

She states that creativity is a form of expression. If it were not a part of our society, our freedom of speech would be limited. Creativity is a way to connect to others we would otherwise not have the chance to share our ideas with.  As expected, I asked her what fueled her creativity and she talked about the importance of other people molding her creative repertoire: “Wonderful people fuel me. Caring people fuel me. And emotionally connected stories fuel me.”  These wonderful people are not afraid to be wrong. People are creative because they feel the need.

To evaluate creativity, her “grade” would be given based on if a person’s enthusiasm for their material: “If they believe in it. If they have a clear message or a definitive point. And how pleasing the material is to them when finished.”  She realized, as we all do, that this was a murky answer to the question but stressed the importance of connectedness.

Finally, I want to end with her stunning words on the power of creativity: “Creativity is an escape. It can save people. It is a way to process the bad and make more good.”

PART 2: Summarize, in 200 words or less, how what you learned from the reading and interview relates to your own personal or professional life. What would you do to become more creative?

Eileen’s fuel for creativity was largely derived from empathy, which I know we will look at in a few weeks. Her creativity and those of others revolves around emotion and the importance of what we feel. It seems that she is in support of the “gut feeling” idea that we read about.  I appreciated that she recognized creativity as a release (which she labeled as “joy”), whether this be an inner peace, an emotional deep breath, or any other type of understanding that it can bring.

She was quick to note that though creativity is largely internal, it contributes to society around us.  We must be willing to boldly stand about what we feel and accept ourselves fully.  A truly creative person has the confidence to support their work under the eye of any critic. This is not to be confused with the arrogance that their art cannot be made even better.  We must use the world to learn of creativity and share our own in order to grow further and further down into the roots of it.

Sometimes we are under pressure or parameters to be creative, and cannot find the motivation to be creative.  I feel that from talking with Eileen she would simply respond, “look harder.”  If an artist is waiting for creativity to knock at their door, then they are ignoring countless other artists around them: “all knowledge begins in observation” (30).  In a crazy ever-changing world, let’s follow Eileen’s advice and together we can make more good.