How to Get Unstuck

What was the most recent experience you had that stirred something inside you, that moved you?

A few weeks ago, I was in Bulgaria at the Summer Scriptwriting Base teaching and posed a variation of these questions to the audience. I could feel the hair raise on the back of my neck as I watched every single person raise their hand, eager to share.

If I could describe the Experience Design Certificate Program without talking at all about any of its particulars, I would talk about that feeling of being moved collectively towards a greater sense of purpose and meaning. The uninhibited explosive joy of inspiration and possibility. The kinetic sense of connection with people who are seekers. Underneath that feeling of being moved by art is, I think, a moment of recognition. A sense of our own purpose, of the potential to change and transform, of feeling ready to take risks.

Rite of Spring, Choreographed by Pina Bausch, Performed by Tanztheater Wuppertal

Whenever I get stuck in my own process creatively, I return to the things that move me. I’ve been working on a novel for the last couple years, and have stalled a few times for long stretches, unsure of what comes next. I have a trick when this happens: I watch the movie Pina by Wim Wenders. Something about this film is hypnotic. The visceral embodied intensity of it resets me–it’s a largely language-less aside from some interviews with the dancers, focused on documenting the transcendent choreography of Pina Bausch.

“This year has been one of significant disruption and liberation, and I believe this program was key to unraveling the world I knew. Thank you for imagining such a generative space where people from a kaleidoscope of lenses could come together and bring ideas to life. This was a joy and a catalyst for so much more to come.”

–Hailey Jordan, EDCP’23 Alumn

Founder of Kings Imagination Co.

The other way out of being stuck is for me to have a long meandering conversation with a friend, on a walk, or over a meal. The key is that these both reconnect me to why I keep making. They re-ignite my curiosity in the world over and over again.

I like to think EDCP is a combination of both these–a web of moving art and conversations with friends. We want to fuel you and inspire you to keep making your best work amidst a community of people with heart. If that sounds like something you’re craving, I sincerely hope you’ll apply.