The Creativity Lab Podcast

Music as Creative Political Protest  RICK MAYOCK & DIANE HUBKA Welcome and thank you for joining us! Each episode we discuss a creative approach to life’s challenges. Today, we’ll listen to musician song writers Rick Mayock and Diane Hubka and discuss the birth of a song, finding work/art balance, music as political protest and constantly evolving.  RICK MAYOCK A prolific songwriter, Rick Mayock has been performing with bands and as a solo artist in the Los Angeles area and on the East Coast since the 1970's. He was an integral part of the Venice Beach music scene of the 70's and 80's. He’s founder and lead vocalist/guitarist of the band East of Lincoln, playing an eclectic blend of original rock, blues, R & B, and urban acoustic music. Originally from Wilkes-Barre PA, he still plays there with the West Side Blues Band with singer/songwriter Don Shappelle, and with legendary blues harmonica player Charlie Singer.  DIANE HUBKA The Appalachian Mountain-bred artist learned violin, trombone and guitar from an early age. Diane she recorded three critically acclaimed CDs, one with legendary sax player Lee Konitz.  In 2005 Diane released three more CD’s and performed at iconic jazz venues in LA and Japan. Her CD: I Like It Here/Live in Tokyo, placed on Japan’s Jazz Disc Award.  In recent years, Diane had picked up her acoustic guitar and, before the shutdown, was performing in L.A.'s Americana/folk music venues The JazzTimes said of her: “No matter the genre, “she wraps her clear-as-mountain-stream sound around the songs with consistently winning results.” Interviewed by podcast creator & host Dr. Katherine Boutry

Welcome and thank you for joining us! Each episode we discuss a creative approach to life’s challenges. Today, co-host DR. STELLA SETKA and I talk to playwright and television writer SOFYA LEVITSKY-WEITZ about humanizing flawed real-life people and turning them into characters, complicated relationships both on and off screen, letting ideas percolate, and the love of revising.  Sofya Levitsky-Weitz is a playwright and TV/film writer who splits her time between Brooklyn and Los Angeles. She’s written for Hulu’s THE DROPOUT, FX’s THE BEAR, and GASLIT for Starz. Her play "This Party Sucks" (on the 2019 Kilroy’s List) will be produced on Broadway next year. Her musical "Nostalgia Night" was produced in Winter 2022. She’s worked on several movies with Michael Showalter including Fox Searchlight’s THE EYES OF TAMMY FAYE My co-host STELLA SETKA is Associate Professor of English at West LA College, and the author of Empathy and the Phantasmic in Ethnic American Trauma Narratives which looks at the way that authors of Black, Jewish, and Indigenous descent employ culturally specific supernatural elements as a way of helping readers connect to historical traumas such as enslavement and genocide. Interviewed by podcast creator & host Dr. Katherine Boutry

JENNIFER ORTIZ | Claiming Space: Racial Equity Welcome and thank you for joining us! Each episode we discuss a creative approach to life’s challenges. Today, we’ll talk to Professor Jennifer Ortiz on being a woman of color in academia, creativity, code switching, consistently being yourself, always speaking up, claiming space, and being racially equity minded.  After working in anti-proliferation and labor movements, Jennifer Ortiz returned to academia, serving two terms as Chair of the English Department at LA Trade Tech. She now teaches at West LA College. Jennifer worked with USC at the Center for Urban Education. She’s an expert practitioner in race conscious equity minded teaching. Interviewed by podcast creator & host, Dr. Katherine Boutry

Do Artists see the world differently? Artist JOSHUA ELIAS Welcome and thank you for joining us! Each episode we discuss creative challenges. Today, I have the honor of talking to acclaimed, Los Angeles-based artist Joshua Elias about creative passion, the birth of a painting, making time and space for your art,  and whether artists see the world differently. An abstract artist, writer, and poet, Joshua has received artists residencies in Spain and France, and his works have been exhibited throughout the world, most recently in Rome and Tokyo. Joshua’s paintings have appeared in multiple publications and have been acquired by many private and public collectors including the RAND Corporation, Viceroy Hotels International, and the President of Iceland. One hangs in the state house outside of Reykjavik. Joshua’s art studio is at the Brewery Complex in Los Angeles. Interviewed by podcast creator & host, Dr. Katherine Boutry

The Importance of Finding a Creative Outlet: Activist and Athlete JT CHESTNUT Welcome and thank you for joining us! Each episode we discuss a creative approach to life’s challenges. Today, we talk to impressive former WLAC student, activist and athlete J.T. Chestnut about the importance of finding a creative outlet. JT explains how running saved his life and helped him to overcome foster homes, abuse, discrimination and addiction. JT is now thriving as a sponsored runner competing in marathons throughout the country as he completes a degree at CAL STATE LA in Marketing. Interviewed by podcast creator & host Dr. Katherine Boutry

Staying True to Your Creative Vision: Architect PETER MITSAKOS Welcome and thank you for joining us! Each episode we discuss creative challenges. Today, I have the privilege of talking to Los Angeles-based architect Peter Mitsakos, about trusting your gut and staying true to your creative vision, while engaging the client in the design process. He’ll also discuss what defines good architecture, as well as his belief that “the most anti-creative thing in the world is fear.” As West Edge Architects’ principal architect, Peter Mitsakos has planned, designed, managed, and overseen construction for an impressive range of projects in the academic, institutional, and private sectors over the past 35 years.  Interviewed by podcast creator & host, Dr. Katherine Boutry

Creative Self-Confidence: Artist LISA DIANE WEDGEWORTH Welcome and thank you for joining us! Each episode we discuss a creative approach to life’s challenges. Today, we talk to acclaimed visual artist Lisa Diane Wedgworth about being an “outsider artist,” overcoming perfectionism and self-judgment, developing creative self-confidence and defining success for yourself. Lisa is an LA-based artist whose work takes form as painting, performance and video art. Her work has been exhibited in Los Angeles, Scotland and Paris; She teaches at Los Angeles City College and Glendale Community College and is the recipient of the Georgia Fee Artist Residency in Paris and the 2020 COLA Individual Artist Fellowship. She produced "Conversations About Abstraction" to share the voices of abstract artists historically excluded from the Western canon and she is the Executive Director of Arts at Blue Roof, an artist-run non-profit organization in South LA offering an artist residency, mentorship and stipend to three underrepresented women artists per year.  Interviewed by podcast creator and host, Dr. Katherine Boutry

MARIO JOSEPH D’ANNA JR. Today, we have the privilege of chatting with Mario J. d'Anna Jr., an animator who has drawn on hundreds of shows, including ANIMANIACS, GI JOE, PINKY & THE BRAIN, SCOOBY DOO, and SPIDERMAN. He was an animator and director for over 80 episodes of the long-running hit show BOB’S BURGERS.  He is currently a director on the shows CENTRAL PARK on Apple Plus and THE GREAT NORTH on FOX, and also worked on the BOB’S BURGERS MOVIE.  Creativity and creative problem solving are literally his job description. He joins us today from his combination high-tech animation studio and bedroom closet! Interviewed by podcast producer & co-host, Keisuke Hoashi

JENNIFER PHANG made her mark as a filmmaker bringing poignant drama to fantastical realities, from independent feature films to prestige television for studios including Disney, Marvel, Amazon, Warner Brothers and Universal. After graduating from the American Film Institute AFI’s MFA Directing Program, Phang’s first feature HALF-LIFE – a magic-real family drama – premiered at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival. Her sophomore feature ADVANTAGEOUS also showed there, winning a Sundance Dramatic Jury Prize before being acquired by Netflix for an exclusive worldwide streaming deal. The sci-fi mother-daughter drama became a cult hit while Phang ventured into television, directing episodes of RIVERDALE, Marvel’s AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D, Amazon’s THE BOYS, DC’s STARGIRL, and the Disney pilot THE SECRET OF SULPHUR SPRINGS which became a hit series in 2021.  Phang later directed episodes of RESIDENT ALIEN for Amblin/UCP, AppleTV's adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s FOUNDATION, and HBOMax’s Emmy nominated THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT.   Jennifer is currently in preproduction for the music- and dance-filled sequel films of Disney's THE DESCENDANTS franchise, tentatively named THE POCKETWATCH. Interviewed by podcast producer & co-host, Keisuke Hoashi  

COLE CABRERA: Facing Your Fears Welcome and thank you for joining us! Each episode we discuss a creative approach to life’s challenges. Today, we talk to former WLAC student and restauranteur Cole Cabrera about facing her fears, hitting rock bottom, and launching a wildly successful pop-up underground restaurant in her loft. Cole Cabrera is Director of Operations and a self-described content creator, therapist, motivator, idea crusher, extra hand in the kitchen, and everything else that comes with being self-employed. She’s also a senior majoring in Sociology at California State University, Los Angeles.  Interviewed by podcast creator & host Dr. Katherine Boutry

JAIME SANDOVAL: The Importance of Creative Community Welcome and thank you for joining us! Each episode we discuss a creative approach to life’s challenges. Today, we’ll talk to LA writer and former WLAC student Jaime Sandoval about the importance of finding your Creative Community. Jaime discusses writing, dreaming scenes, getting back to the page each day and struggling with feelings of isolation—and the importance of, as he puts it, “having grace with yourself.” Jaime graduated from UCLA and is a 2022 Periplus Fellow. His work can be found in Masque & Spectacle.  Interviewed by creator & host Dr. Katherine Boutry

CORINNE JONES: "CREATIVE AGING" Welcome and thank you for joining us! Each episode we discuss a creative approach to life’s challenges. Today, it’s all about Creative Aging. Former WLAC student, Corinne Jones talks about going back to school after 40 years in the workforce and reinventing herself to have a thriving second career in gerontology where she is making an impact on elders’ lives. Corinne is the Site Director and Supervising Care Manager for the Multipurpose Senior Services Program at Community Care Management Corp. While a graduate student in Gerontology at USC, she helped develop the concept of the “Age Friendly University”. Corinne serves as an appointed member of the California Disability and Aging Community Living Advisory Committee and is a member of the Aging and Disability Resource Connection Advisory Committee. She is committed to independence and dignity for elders and teaches us how to age creatively.  Interviewed by creator & host Dr. Katherine Boutry

Helio Vargas: Creative Leadership Welcome and thank you for joining us! Each episode we discuss a creative approach to life’s challenges. Today, it’s all about Creative Leadership and Creative Management. Helio Vargas, a Trader Joe’s Produce Section Lead responsible for opening a new store, overcame impressive obstacles to succeed in his field. He’ll talk about recognizing the strengths of those you manage and positioning them to be successful. Helio is a former WLAC student, and just graduating from CSULB in Business Administration.  Interviewed by creator & host Dr. Katherine Boutry

Today’s guest, Stephanie Economou, is an award-winning composer for film & television. You’ve heard her music on huge films like “The Martian” and “Mulan”, hit TV shows “The Chair”, “Whiskey Cavalier,” and “Jupiter’s Legacy,” and one of the biggest video games of the year, “Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla.” She is widely recognized for her uniquely hybridized compositional voice, in which she pulls from her extensive study of all musical styles —including rock, classical, folk, and experimental music — and synthesizes it all across a rich palette of electronic and acoustic sounds. She is a graduate of the New England Conservatory and USC, and a resident board member for the Alliance for Women Film Composers, where she has been a powerful advocate for female voices in film. Please welcome composer, violinist, and musician Stephanie Economou. Interviewed by producer & co-host Keisuke Hoashi