I am always trying to find inspiration for my
creativity. One, because it keeps life
fun and interesting and two, because I work in marketing. We are constantly
challenged to find creative, new solutions to communications and technology
challenges.
Since I was a kid I have always been inspired by the
soundtracks to Broadway shows. My first experience was in 1976 when my mom and
I watched Chorus Line win the Tony Award for Best Musical. The cast performed the iconic finale number
to “One.” I was ten years old and taking dancing lessons so I was mesmerized by
the number and wanted to know more about the show. Every Saturday after gymnastics we would stop
by the library. I started checking out
the soundtrack album (on vinyl) and listening to it in my room trying to learn
the words and imagining the choreography.
I must have had it checked out for months! I am sure I put on my tap
shoes and danced around the basement pretending I was in the show.
I finally got to see the show for my 11th
birthday and it has remained my favorite show ever since. I should warn you that this is really not a
show for 11 year olds: adult story, theme, language and situations. I am sure much
went over my head but I have probably seen the show more than 10 times! Every
time it give me chills, makes me cheer and cry.
In college my roommate introduced me to two lesser known Broadway
soundtracks “Big River” and “Chess.” We
would blast our three foot speakers and dance and sing around our apartment. It
was many years after college before I had the chance to see either one live but
I had imagined them so many times both were exhilarating.
There is something about live musical theater that you
cannot replicate with just a live concert or a play. It’s hard to explain when I feel chills run
down my arms or I am brought to tears during a happy song or the curtain call. I think it must
trigger different parts of my brain that don’t get exercised as often. And
visually the creativity on the stage through the set and lighting design,
costumes and make-up can push the limits of your imagination. The masks, head-pieces, costumes and puppets
of Lion King take my breath away every time I see the show. I love the scene when they make a giant blue
textile slowly disappear to represent the drought. You don’t even notice it at first. Super
cool! I aspire to have an ounce of Julie
Taymor’s creativity to infuse into my marketing!
Julie originally had a different plot added to the script
that varied from the movie. Her ideas
for the animals in this discarded storyline are what brought her to the
mind-blowing puppet systems you see in the show today. Sometimes you have to go down an odd path
exploring a creative concept that ultimately doesn’t work but along the way you
find the idea that does work. “Sometimes,
she suggests, you have to let your imagination run truly wild to come up with a
compelling piece of art. ‘That’s critical in the process,’ Taymor says.”1
When time allows, I like to give my design team the freedom
to explore the fringe ideas. Very often it is hard for management (or a client)
to tell you what they want in a creative brief but it’s easier for them to tell
you what they don’t want after seeing a few concepts.
The show I am currently obsessed with is Hamilton. I have been going online at random times
searching for a single ticket for the show in New York to no avail. On the
night of the Tony Awards I received a text alert from Ticket Master that new
tickets were released! I immediately logged on and somehow found a single
ticket to a Saturday in November. I honestly don’t remember the process or how
I chose my date because I was so excited and a little freaked out! I booked my flight, my hotel and ordered the
soundtrack so I could start trying to learn the words. I am self-diagnosed as ‘lyric deficient.’ I
am one of those people who always end up singing the wrong words. Thank
goodness the CD came with the words! Because seriously, some of these rap lyrics
fly ridiculously fast, I have no chance!
I am addicted to the soundtrack. You can see me singing and
rapping in my car in my long commute to and from work. I’m sure the other cars think I am crazy with
my wild hand motions and chair dancing but it’s better than a cup of coffee to
get me going and firing different parts of my brain before work. I can’t pick a
favorite song because they are all amazing, powerful, emotional and awesome!
I truly admire the creativity of Lin-Manuel Miranda to put a
potentially boring story line from history to high energy hip-hop and rap lyrics
with a color-blind cast. It gets even better when the show receives overwhelming
acclaim and financial success. It’s another cool example of how extreme
imagination and creative courage can resonant with millions of people, many of
which I would guess don’t typically follow Broadway. To senior management, business people and
marketers, that means revenue! How many uber-creative ideas are never approved
because some key decision maker didn’t have the creative courage?
