Your one stop shop for creative ideas and inspiration. Sign up for our newsletter HERE. Each week on The Spark File podcast, Susan Blackwell and Laura Camien reach into their spark files and share stories, ideas and fascinations to ignite your imagination. Obsessed with creativity, Blackwell and Camien also talk with artists and makers, movers and shakers who have taken the spark of inspiration and fanned it into a flame. Hear from inspiring creatives like Lin-Manuel Miranda, Sara Bareilles, Eric Stonestreet, Jonathan Groff, Julianne Moore and Bart Freundlich, Zachary Quinto, Leslie Odom Jr, Bobby Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Billy Eichner, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Karen Olivo, Sutton Foster, Michael R. Jackson and many more about their passions and their failures, their inspirations and their aspirations. Refill your creative fish pond with new ideas and fresh perspectives. Listen, then take it and make it! Learn more at thesparkfile.com.
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S6E1 - Lin-Manuel Miranda / The Town Hall Spark Sessions
Season 6 · Episode 1
Wednesday, May 7, 2025 • Duration 23:11
Surprise! We’re back, with some hot, fresh creative sparks for you—and this time, we’re at the Town Hall! In the first episode of The Town Hall Spark Sessions, we’re thrilled to feature a new conversation with Lin-Manuel Miranda about legacy, creativity, and the upcoming Spring Shout at the Town Hall—a benefit performance honoring him! As one of today’s most profound creatives, there is no one more deserving to be honored on the same stage that has hosted the world’s greatest artists and activists. You can learn more about The Town Hall and the Spring Shout benefit on thetownhall.org. Learn more about The Spark File at thesparkfile.com
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Introducing The Town Hall Spark Sessions
Season 6
Wednesday, May 7, 2025 • Duration 04:38
The 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, and meaningful impact.
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Go All The Way There
Season 5 · Episode 13
Wednesday, December 11, 2024 • Duration 36:02
Like many artists, we deeply empathize with the world around us. It can be hard to manage all the tough feelings that come up. A lot is happening in the world—a lot to laugh about, cry about, shout about, and rage about. Sorrow can bring joy, anger can bring calm, and it can all feel impossible to face. And, like it or not, we believe there is one path forward: To get through it all, we’ve got to go all the way there.
This week’s episode of The Spark File podcast examines our long-held belief that moving through big feelings requires mindful action. Join us as we discuss ways to process the hard stuff, following the real-world examples of everyone from curious toddlers to award-winning songwriters. We’ll explore methods for proper care and feeding of your feelings to help you get unstuck and move forward.
The hard truth is that the tough stuff will keep coming. Fear, anger, joy, and the creativity cycle move through us regardless of the world’s events. So, in tenuous moments like these, the best care a creative community can offer—for ourselves and each other—is a developed practice of going all the way there. You can listen to the Spark File podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and directly on our website.
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Makers: Billy Eichner: Man on the Street, Risk Taking + Saying What You Need to Say
Season 2 · Episode 12
Monday, February 1, 2021 • Duration 01:28:35
This week, Susan and Laura have the pleasure of speaking with Billy Eichner about his many creative endeavors, including Man on the Street, Friends from College, and making his singing debut on The James Corden Show. We even get a glimpse into the new gay rom-com he's writing, plus some truly helpful advice -- stand up for yourself, say what you need to say to get the quality of work you envision.
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Creativity Sparks: Burnout + My Octopus Teacher
Season 2 · Episode 11
Monday, January 25, 2021 • Duration 02:19:50
This week on The Spark File -- news you can really use! Two hot sparks of inspiration, starting with the book Burnout by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski, and the ways we can complete the stress cycle to avoid feeling fried. Physical activity, breathing, laughter -- all serve a higher purpose in our overall wellbeing. Next, the documentary My Octopus Teacher illustrates how a man's extraordinary relationship with a cephalopod brings him back from the brink of burnout, restores his energy, his human relationships, and his creative expression.
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Makers: Laura Benanti + Venus Fischer: HBO Max's Homeschool Musical
Season 2 · Episode 10
Monday, January 18, 2021 • Duration 01:03:44
Recorded 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.
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Creativity Sparks: Haiku + Collective Creativity
Season 2 · Episode 9
Monday, January 11, 2021 • Duration 01:49:14
Riding high from the recent Spark File New Year 2021 Creativity KickOff, Susan and Laura discuss the highlights, and share two sparks inspired by the event - the enduring artform of Haiku, and the power we yield when we make things together, such as the work done at quilting bees, crafting bees, raising bees -- also known as collective creativity.
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Makers: Sutton Foster: Say Yes, Trust Your Gut + Get a Hobby
Season 2 · Episode 8
Monday, January 4, 2021 • Duration 01:15:57
What a way to ring in the New Year! This week on The Spark File, Susan and Laura dig in deep with Uber Maker Sutton Foster. In addition to her TONY Award winning career on Broadway, and in film, television, and music, Sutton is a maker extraordinaire -- cross stitching, crocheting, drawing, teaching and writing. Her upcoming book (tentatively called HOOKED: How Crafting Saved My Life) is all about her life seen through the things she has made. Sutton shares with us just how powerful it is to always have something of your own.
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Creativity Sparks: The Intrigue of Austen + Toys
Season 2 · Episode 7
Monday, December 28, 2020 • Duration 02:00:02
This 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!
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Makers: Tiffani Gavin: Creative Producing, the Eugene O'Neill + the Broadway Community Project
Season 2 · Episode 6
Monday, December 21, 2020 • Duration 01:11:16
This week, Tiffani Gavin, the new Executive Director of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, shares her passion for supporting emerging artists, and the desire to educate the world on the scope and impact of the industry overall - with the Broadway Community Project.
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