Ep 004: How creativity can give you an ‘aliveness’ that ensures you don’t sleepwalk zombie-like through life, with performer Jennifer Blaine

Jennifer Blaine is an actor, comedian, playwright and coach who has worked with comedy greats like Chris Rock, as well as actors like Glenda Jackson, Laura Linney and Paul Newman.

She’s best known for her hilarious one-woman, multi-character shows which delve into serious issues, from bullying to brain surgery, with humour. Yes humour. However, at its core her creativity is not about others; it’s primarily about that all-important connection with herself first.

From nurturing this deep connection, and making time to reflect and know what’s in her mind, she generates the positive energy to go out into the world and communicate her message with confidence, commitment and self-belief; whether that’s performing a one-woman show or parenting her daughter. Her argument that people that nurture their creativity feel more alive and un-zombie-like is perfectly demonstrated by how funny, heartfelt, characterful and connected she is.

(She has some interesting ideas on how to reform the education system, too, which I might just tweet the UK education secretary about… Stayed tuned to my shorter solo podcast for more on this).

Creativity, for her, is enlivening and allows her to process her emotions so she has a richer experience of life. As she says, it’s energising and this energy is contagious. This leads to a conversation about how, if we all tapped our creative energy, we could change the world for the better, and quickly.  At this time in human history, it’s important that as many of us as possible are ‘alive’, so we can engage creatively with the world’s many problems.

If you want to catch her contagious creative spirit, give this episode a listen.

You can find Jennifer:

Facebook: Jennifer Blaine

or www.jenniferblaine.com

References:

‘The Power of Creativity – 30 sparks to inspire & nurture your creative essence’, a book by Jennifer Blaine

‘The Artist’s Way’, a book outlining a 12 week course to unblock creativity, by Julia Cameron

‘The Little Girl Who Gave Zero Fucks’, a book by Amy Kean

‘The Vicissitudes of Travel’, Jennifer’s one woman multi-character show inspired by her brother’s brain surgery

Sir Ken Robinson’s Ted Talk – the most watched Ted talk of all time – called ‘Do schools kill creativity?’

Jennifer’s coaching business can be found at blainecoaching.com

Details of her performances can be found on social media