The Creativity Lab Podcast

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 write...

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...

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 residenc...

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. ...

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 ...

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, pe...

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’...

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 fe...

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 crus...

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...

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 Supervis...

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 b...

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 musica...