How do you learn to value your own creative process in a world so focused on results? Join writer Adam Lesser and director Joshua Townshend as we delve deep into the creative process across the storytelling spectrum--screenwriting, fiction, acting, directing, visual arts, sound design. We offer up tools, inspiration and insights that will transform your creative process.
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Welcome to The Creative Present. This show is about expanding your creative self-expression. And, at the same time getting your projects done. JoshuaTownshend.com We start the work by being present. Present to yourself, your process, your current creative project. The first step is always to be present, so you can do the most potent and impactful work. To do this you will want to deepen the following; yourself, your senses, your inner space, your thoughts, your feelings, and your impeccable ...
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Three Circles of Attention: Navigating the Scene | EP.030
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I developed the Three Circles of Attention framework in my work with actors, writers, and other creatives. This framework is a tool for navigating the myriad possibilities in any given scene, allowing you to consciously choose where to focus your creative energy. First Circle of Attention: The Internal World - This is where everything begins—within…
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Alternative Realities in Every Scene: Expanding Creative Horizons | EP.029
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Today, we’re diving deep into a concept that can transform the way you approach every scene you write or perform: alternative realities. The Nature of Alternative Realities Every scene you write or perform exists within a web of alternative realities. These are not just theoretical possibilities; they are the rich, textured pathways that characters…
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The Thrill of Discovery in the Creative Process | EP.028
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Introduction: Seeking Surprises As creatives, our constant quest is to discover the new and the unexpected. Whether we’re writers, actors, filmmakers, or any kind of storyteller, our work thrives on surprises—both for ourselves and for our audience. We don’t want to create the same old thing; we want to unearth something fresh, something that feels…
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The Two States of Being for the Creative Artist: A Path to Expanding Your Creative Self-Expression | EP.027
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Welcome to The Creative Present, a space I created to support all of us in expanding our creative self-expression while—here’s the kicker—actually getting our projects done. Yes, you can have both! I’m Joshua Townshend, your guide on this wild journey. Now, I’ve been thinking a lot about two very different yet essential states of being that form th…
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Embracing Presence: The Dance of Polarity in Narrative Welcome to the sixth and final episode in our series on presence! Today, we're exploring the law of polarity, the dynamic dance between expansion and contraction, positive and negative, light and dark, masculine and feminine, and more. Understanding and utilizing this polarity is essential for …
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Embracing Presence: Expanding Your Creative Space - Part 5 Working with presence is about opening and filling the space with your entire being. It's about awareness—fully aware allows you to fill the creative space, giving you more resources to draw from in your creative endeavors. Let's dive into how this works and how you can practice it in your …
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The Direction of Focus: Harnessing Creative Impulses with Intention The Power of Focus and Intention in Creativity Focus and intention are key in the realm of creativity. Let's explore how to take a creative impulse and direct it with intention, creating a more impactful and coherent artistic expression. Setting the Baseline of Intention Every crea…
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Embodying Creativity: Thoughts, Feelings, and Sensory Inputs in Your Art Thoughts and Feelings: From a Somatic Experience Point Of View. Let's dive into the fascinating interplay between thoughts and feelings. Imagine your thoughts and feelings as a two-way street, where one influences the other. It's a bit like a dance – sometimes it's a waltz, ot…
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Being More Present: Focus of Attention This is part two of our six-part series about being present and everything that comes with it. Focus of Attention Today, we're zooming in on the focus of attention. To be a true creative force, your focus of attention needs to be on point and accessible. The ability to focus on anything at any time, at your ch…
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Being More Present Part 1 of 6 The Game of Creativity: The Power of Presence In the creative world, the game of creativity begins once you are very present and grounded in the here (hear) and now. Ideally, you are immersed in the moment to work authentically and organically, creatively with your process. Yes, you can have fragmented attention—bits …
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When reading any kind of material for performance - scripts, texts, voice over work etc, we break down have vital it is to get off the "verbal line" and go for depth of entry. And a lot of times I hear people read material to me and I can hear that they're reading material to me, which is not the point of communication, if you're going to be sharin…
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In this episode we go deep into how you keep your audience or reader on the edge of their seat. With suspension and letting go of holding.By Joshua Townshend
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This is for EP.018NAME: Attraction / Distraction Show Notes: Focus of attention is such an important component for any creative artist. In order to get a project done - we must be able to focus - at will - on whatever needs our attention next. At the same time - we need to be open enough in order to see what is in front of us and follow that - wher…
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This is for EP.017NAME: Listen To ... Show Notes: Not all listening is the same. We have casual listening. We have deep listening. We have full body listening. We have all kinds of listening. For the artist / creative - there is so much to be brought forth by this kind of deep listening. We are not supported by our culture to listen at this level. …
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This is for EP.016NAME: Tell Me More Show Notes: Tell me more. Such a simple phrase - and yet it can open up doors on so many levels. We need to have a spirit of inquiry and discovery. Genuine interest in the other - personal, circumstances, hopes and dreams and really take the time to dig for the gold. Turn over every rock. Going into deeper and d…
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This is for EP.015NAME: Perspective & Point Of View Show Notes: We all hold a certain PERSPECTIVE in life. And this perspective will lead us to a certain POINT OF VIEW. This point of view - whatever it is - will lead us to have a certain thought and feeling about all the persons, places and things in our life. And these points of views will then ho…
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EP. 014 NAME: Show & Tell Show & Tell. That is how we are raised. In grade school - we come in to share in front of the whole class. We either love it or hate it - but most of us have fear run up and down our spine. Then later - during notes in creative sessions we get this comment, "Show us, don't just tell us." But does that really mean? In this …
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This is for EP.013NAME: Know Your Phase Show Notes: Knowing the phase of development you are in is a key component to helping yourself succeed. Each phase has its' own unique qualities. In brief: 1st phase is to generate the prime material. 2nd phase is to organize it, edit, shape and reshape it. The 3rd phase is to deliver it. That would look like…
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This is for EP.012NAME: Not all writing is about storytellingShow Notes: Not all writing is about storytelling. Sometimes, when we are writing or creating our projects it is a good idea NOT to write about the story. During different phases of development we will need to dig into our story - with writing that has nothing (apparently) to do with our …
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EP.011NAME: Creative Blocks & Other LiesShow Notes: There is no such things as a “Creative Block” or a “Writer’s Block”. That is right up there with “I am a starving artist ..” and other lies either society has hoisted upon the creative or the lies we unwittingly tell ourselves. In this episode we go into the reality of what is really operating whe…
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EP.010NAME: The Role of RolesShow Notes: Characters are people too. That is first and foremost! And as a character in a narrative these characters will play roles - just like people do in real life. We all play different roles in our lives at different times. It is a vital part of who we are as people in our society. When we are creating these narr…
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EP. #009 . Name: Taking up SPACE Show Notes: Taking up space is a key element for both your characters and for you the creative. How much space do I / my characters take up? Both physically and vocally / emotionally. We are entering the realm of making unconscious choices, conscious. And the creative / writer / actor / storyteller is the one to do …
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NAME: How, Not What It is in the development of HOW your story rolls out is where another level of creativity is available. And while the WHAT of your story is a key component, that will only take you so far. HOW you tell your story, how you put all the elements together, how you reveal certain things and certain times is where the creative spirit …
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Freedom is Death to the Creative ! Freedom is death is a provocation statement - and for the creative / artist it is vital to embrace parameters. It is one thing to say, “I want to travel more”. If you were to say - “Lets go to San Francisco for the weekend”, now a lot of specific and creative ideas begin to emerge. Check out this episode to find h…
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CREATIVE ELEMENT: EARTH This is part 3 of a 4 part series on the Creative Elements. Earth is all about being ground in the physical world - a fully alive and sentient being that loves structure. Connecting to the 5 physical senses, eating, enjoying lovely scents, walking in nature - anything and everything that is grounding is key for Earth Element…
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Fire. This is part 2 of a 4 part series on the Creative Elements. Fire must express itself. What makes Fire unique is that to even exist it must consume two different fuel sources. One is air and the other is a fuel source of their choosing. If you have a fire in the natural world, the fire will burn whatever is in its path and will also need air /…
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Creative Element. WATER. This is part 1 of a 4 part series on the Creative Elements. Water is all about going with the flow and at the same time Water needs to have a container in order to even exist as water Water is also the only element that as the ability to be in 3 different states. Ice / Frozen. Steam / Vapor. And water. Check out this episod…
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Creative Element: AIR AIR ELEMENT. This is part 4 of a 4 part series on the Creative Elements. Check out this episode to find how you can harness your creative element to help you create more. Make sure to take the free Creative Elements Quiz on his website to find out what your Creative Element is and how it can work for you. www.JoshuaTownshend.c…
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Write What You Know … they say.There is an old saying, “Write what you know.” And that is true - kind of. Just don’t take that advice literally. Write to the underlying emotionally life that you know - but feel free to put that emotional truth into any circumstance you wish. We break this down fairly quickly in this super fast podcast episode. Make…
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Awareness is one of the main tools creatives work with - no matter what you are developing. Can be awareness of yourself, the outside world through the 5 physical senses or Self Awareness. This episode has a quick and fun exercise that will help you to grow your awareness on all levels. Make sure to take the free Creative Elements Quiz on his websi…
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Welcome to The Creative Present. This show is about expanding your creative self-expression. And, at the same time getting your projects done.We start the work by being present. Present to yourself, your process, your current creative project. As well as your inner/outer worlds. The first step is always to be present, so you can do the most potent,…
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The six-time bestselling author Laura Davis joins a very special episode of NOYN to discuss her latest book The Burning Light of Two Stars. Laura gets deep into her creative process with Joshua and Adam, and speaks about what it was like to work with Joshua as a coach as she developed her intimate memoir about her complicated relationship with her …
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How do we create boundaries around our commitment to our creative work so that we can thrive and be healthy in that space? In this talk taken from a 2021 Supporting Your Creative Vision class, Adam explains the importance of maintaining healthy boundaries around your creative time as well as where to start looking if that's a challenge for you! ***…
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Is there another way of approaching our creative work that stands in between only working when inspiration hits versus keeping a rigid, structured schedule? With this enlightening talk from our January Creative Vision class, Joshua gets into the third way--how we stay inspired, discover our unique way of working creatively, and yet still maintain c…
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How do we nurture our creativity consistently? What do boundaries, discipline, inspiration and intentions have to do with it? Joshua and Adam have some insights for all of these topics as we step into spring creativity. ------ * Joshua's Guided Meditation for Creativity * Rate us on iTunes!* * Find us on Instagram!* * Join our Facebook Group* * Ema…
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Betty returns with a whole bunch of amazing new material. We discuss how taking notes and integrating them help develop a story as well as how we lay the foundation for cutting later. Plus we learn amazing new details about Betty's family story! NOYN Holiday Story Salon: Sunday, December 13th, 5pm PT Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82449733730 Meet…
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The writer Betty Goldstein brings us a special story about her family's move from Brooklyn to Southern California in the 50's. We give her a round of notes to help her deepen and expand an engaging story! If you've ever wondered how stories get better and develop over drafts, this is a must listen. NOYN Holiday Story Salon: Sunday, December 13th, 5…
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The Creative Process with Kim Murriera
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The master of creative process and biographical practitioner Kim Murriera joins Joshua and Adam all the way from the island of Kauai to discuss everything from how to play in our creative process to how to listen to ourselves and others. An enlightening interview from one very wise woman! Don't Forget! The NOYN 3rd Anniversary Party is this Sunday …
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One Year Later. The writer Hannah Smith from the NOYN special series, "The Hannah Episodes," returns to talk about what she learned from the story development process, and where her life has gone since spending two months developing a personal story with Joshua and Adam. If you missed the incredible four part Hannah Episode series, you can catch th…
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The inimitable Ann Randolph joins Joshua and Adam to talk about starting Happy Cock Church, where love rules the roost! It's an amazing journey into what it means to have the courage to manifest your vision. Take the leap with Ann. *Attend a Happy Cock Service * Learn more about Ann Randolph * Happy Cock on Facebook -------- * Joshua's Guided Medit…
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How do you want to remember this wild time in your life? How do you gently take steps to engage with your creativity? Also join Joshua and Adam for a FREE online movement and writing class this Tuesday, April 21st at 630pm Pacific Time! Details for Zoom Link below. https://zoom.us/j/459630546?pwd=NFF0L2VnaEdqRzM1dml0OTdDakc2QT09 Meeting ID: 459 630…
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Educator, cartoonist and writer Jessica Abel talks to us about creative focus, self-compassion and making strong decisions about what you're committing to. She also talks about the time Ira Glass called her in Mexico City! * Free Online Writing Class This Thursday with Joshua & Adam, April 2nd, 5pm-630pm Pacific TIme. Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/j/5…
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How is your creativity doing during the age of corona? If you're anxious, weary, or unfocused, this THE episode for you! Joshua and Adam talk practically and spiritually about how to make the most of this time and stay connected to your creative self. * Joshua and Adam's free online writing workshop, April 2nd (Thursday), 5pm PST. * Listen to the H…
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How do you take a written story and turn it into a compelling oral story to be told on stage? How do you imbue the words of your story with point of view and emotion? Joshua jumps into full gear to help Hannah as she prepares for her on stage performance. Adam supervises. * If you want to catch up on the Hannah Episodes and see the story from incep…
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By Joshua and Adam
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By Joshua and Adam
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By Joshua and Adam
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By Joshua and Adam
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By Joshua and Adam
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By Joshua and Adam
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