Writing About Creativity

Mar 20

I finally wrote my first book about improvisation. I started it about a decade ago, got halfway through writing a first draft, and abandoned the project. My internal critic got the better of me. I was sure the book would have no audience, no market, no use, and would be an embarrassment to not only me but everyone who ever improvised with me. Or taught me. Or knew me.

I did not return to the book until this past summer. Perhaps it was the pandemic. More probably, it was a friend and collaborator who suggested we group together and work through Julia Cameron’s book “The Artist’s Way”. That incredible book about artists and the creative process changed my whole outlook. And I have been a creative person for decades. I had no idea how stuck I was until I absorbed the content of Cameron’s book and invested in the process of creative reinvigoration it manifests.

It was this rewiring of the creative process that showed me the way to write a 250-page book is not to force myself to sit down and write 250 pages. It is to write a single page. Or two or three. And to do that over and over as long as I have something to express. I have a 250-page book because I had a story to tell. And, to paraphrase my brilliant acting mentor Bill Esper, ‘I couldn’t NOT do it.’ So I just began it.

This freeing disconnection from any end result combined with rearranging my valuing metrics for my art allowed my creativity to emerge. It just happened. It felt effortless, even though it was the actual product of hours and days and weeks of diligent effort.

Of course, I want my story to resonate with people. But, once I understood that the critical reception of my work is not the point, anything became possible. And, perhaps the lesson of the book’s completion, for me, is that regardless of how well I ultimately communicated my experience and understanding of improvisation in written form, the simple fact that the book exists at all is testament to the power of the creative process I teach. An imperfect book is a perfect example of what I have learned, and why others could benefit from sharing those lessons.

creativitywritingcreative processimprovisation

Robert Z Grant

ROBERT Z GRANT is a New York-based actor and improviser. He is a founding member and former co-artistic director of The Collective NY. For over a decade, Robert toured the country performing with “Broadway’s Next HIT Musical,” an improvised musical comedy. Robert trained as an actor with Bill Esper at the William Esper Studio. A very physical performer, Robert also studied Dance at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, clowning with Christopher Bayes at The Public and at Juilliard, and improvisation with Ralph Buckley. Robert has been performing and teaching improv for over 20 years. He has taught classes and workshops for high schools, colleges and universities across the U.S., and as far away from home as South Africa, and facilitated corporate training for companies such as Merrill Lynch, IBM, CNN Money, Pfizer, Astra-Zeneca, Swatch and more. He has taught and/or performed at every major New York improv venue (and outlasted several), including UCB, The P.I.T., Caroline’s on Broadway, American Comedy Institute, Improvolution, ComedySportz and The Yes Show, and he performed two seasons of “Spontaneous Broadway” at Freestyle Rep. Robert also collaborated for several years with the Writers’ Improv Studio to develop and create improvised stories and characters for film. The first project was a feature titled “42 Seconds of Happiness,” awarded Best Ensemble at the Harlem International Film Festival. The second feature, “The Rainbow Experiment,” premiered at Slamdance. Robert made regular appearances on all four seasons of “Inside Amy Schumer” on Comedy Central. Robert continues to try to lead an improvised life, and to share his experience and skills to help actors become more confident and free in their craft and in life

http://www.robertzgrant.com

Writing About Creativity

The Journey or the Destination?