Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 1998 - 35

Ming Cho Lee
"The problem is the word 'creative.' It's too easy to say one
is creative or not creative, and far too often that is used as
an excuse for failing in teaching. I think creativity has more
to do with how one reacts to things, to one's life experience, and to the world one lives in. It concerns the articulation of one's innermost passion and one's innermost
thoughts. So it is not about teaching "how to be creative,"
but rather to encourage people who are afraid to be in
touch with themselves, to find their own voices and discover a process to express them."

James Moody
". The Art of the Dream come true.
* Random thoughts, realized action.
* Inspiration touches us lightly, reality bites us hard. Through
the tears of pain, we sometimes realize the joy of creati\~ty.
* Billions of ideas, thousands of seeds, quick glimpses of visions equal one percent realized dreams.
* I believe we are bombarded with billions of stimuli that assault our eyes, ears and nose each day. The creative person is
able to coUect and group these micro images/thoughts/sounds
into a cohesive whole. If not naturally gifted at tllis process, I
believe we can train ourselves to sense stimuli and thus become more creative."
(The follOWing is from James Moody's Concert Ligbting:
TeclJllique, Art and Business, Focal Press.)
"What makes a great design is that inner voice that
takes your accumulated knowledge and arranges it into
something uniquely yours."

Ralph Funicello
"I have always believed tllat creative intelligence is tlle developmental trait tllat has enabled our species to donlinate tltis planet. I
tltink tllat we have a need to use our ntinds and senses creatively
and tllat when we live a life tllat fails to make use of tl1ese gifts, we
live a life of fl1lstration and unease. nfortunately, our teclmological advancement has caused our lives and acti~ties to become
more compmtmentalized. Tllis sometimes results in people assigIting tlleir creative choices to otllers. In fact, many people manage to live \~tllout exercising tlleir creative muscles at all. I believe
tllat it is tlle responSibility of teachers in tlle mts
and otller fields tllat m'e based on creative tltinking to stimulate all comers not just tllOse \\~tll
ob\~ous talents. Creative power resides in all of
us and we m'e really fulfilling our role on ealth
when we make fuU use of it.
I have also noticed ml interesting connection in myself between fem' or stress and creative
function. When I aJ11 forced to tlle wall by Cll'
cumstances or deadlines, an adrenaline based
creative power is released in me tllat gets me out
of trouble. It seems completely sinlilm' to tlle
"fight or flight" we nOll1lally associate \~tll
adrenaliI1e. My creative choices become clem',
and mtistic skill levels seem to increase. Also, all
distractions cease and focus shal-pens.
Last of all, I find quite a connection between the creative process and sex. Salvador
oali, 1 believe, said that during a conception
period of a work of art, one should refrain
from sex so that all your creative impulse
goes into the work, but that during the execution phase, one should indulge in sex as often
as possible. It's a wonder that he ever finished
a painting. 1 know a designer who claims his
sex drive does increase in the early formative
stages of a design and returns to normal during t Ie more munc ane p lases suc I as 010 e
making and drafting."

TD& T

WIN

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Theatre Design & Technology - Winter 1998