How Limitations Can Produce Creative Innovation in Us
“Ultimately, this season of life has opened my eyes to the creative possibilities that can not only be found in limitations, but perhaps even birthed out of them.”
Photo by Janelle Pol
As we pass the one year mark of the world shutting down and New York City becoming a different place, I can’t help but reflect on the change I’ve felt as an artist.
I think everyone would agree that we all went through various phases mentally during quarantine. I found myself on a roller coaster of deep emotions – or lack thereof – with regard to anything creative. I’d go weeks of feeling artistically numb with no desire to do anything but binge Netflix. No desire to sing, write, or even listen to music. No desire to watch recorded productions of live theatre – something that in and of itself felt like an assault on the medium I love most.
And then there were the phases of creative madness. A new song written every day, online playwriting class, gorging myself on books, filming meticulously crafted virtual duets with friends. I took time to work on projects I loved because the external pressure to audition, prepare, and compete for things I wasn’t excited about was nonexistent. While I was mourning the loss of being able to do what I love as my job, there was also freedom in this form of expression no longer having that weight. There was a purity to it.
BEGINNING WITH DAYDREAMING
Eventually, I found a balance, learning that riding the pendulum swing of these two opposite ends was not exactly great for my mental health. Within my year-old production company, my partners and I began daydreaming of different shows we could put on “once the pandemic is over” – that phrase we all continue to use to remind ourselves that “normalcy” will come around again. These daydreams were joyful visions for a short while, but soon began to feel like pipe dreams more than goals. We tried thinking of ways we could broadcast a show or pre-record a performance to put online, but we were broke (in every sense of the word), COVID always posed the question of safety, and, frankly, copyright laws are tricky to navigate and usually (cough cough) expensive to address.
We filled our non-daydreaming time with play readings over Zoom, a way to quench our creative thirst but not fully satiate it. Shakespeare, Moliere, and new playwrights took us on grand adventures each week as we laughed and struggled our way through freezing screens. These events gave us a sense of creative community and served us well for a time, but eventually, we all became tired of the 3-hour Zoom calls and the online readings fizzled out. We felt limited, stir crazy, and trapped.
It wasn’t until my sister called me in September that I started seeing these feelings as a blessing. She told me about an epistolary novel she was reading by Jane Austen called Lady Susan. I had read it back in college for a class and found it hilarious. “Rach,” she said, “I would totally watch this on a Zoom call like the plays your company was hosting.”
Cue my head exploding.
This is just another example of the artistic process, isn’t it? How many ideas did we weed through before one landed? It’s the exact same concept as “for every 20 (or 50, or 100) no’s, you’ll get one yes.” AH, the life of an artist, waiting for that spark!
SEEING POSSIBILITIES OPEN UP
I took the public domain material to my team, knowing I would have to sell the idea. But my heart was thrilled at the potential of something fitting within all of our non-negotiables as a baby production company in COVID times. Suddenly a massive space of possibility was opening up – THIS is the space where unlimited creativity takes place, a challenge for the imagination to generate new and innovative ideas.
The truth is that we all found ourselves getting creative in new ways due to limitations the coronavirus thrust upon us. Perhaps the most globally relatable needs are around money and entertainment – tighter budgets and nothing to go out and do. Here’s a cheap meal I found: a packet of top ramen garnished with a soft boiled egg, scallions, and siracha! (Something about the scallions made it feel fancy and less the domain of a college student.) And I couldn’t begin to list all the activities I invented to play with the kids I care for, but can say that sticks became an essential commodity.
Our production company moved forward with Lady Susan, turning it into an “epistolary episodic” — a web series — where all of our actors worked remotely. Ultimately, this season of life has opened my eyes to the creative possibilities that can not only be found in limitations, but perhaps even birthed out of them. Having to work around limitations challenges us to exercise our imagination, to stretch, grow and explore. It provides brand new opportunities we can welcome into our lives and thank God for. Even though we are working around limitations, God has gifted us with creativity and resourcefulness to move forward in entirely new ways.
In what ways have the limitations of COVID times furthered your creativity?
Rachel Gifford is a creative human residing in NYC. She likes to wear lots of hats - including actor, singer, writer, teacher, and producer. When she’s not in one of these roles, you can find her in her kitchen, at a coffee shop, or sitting in the park with friends trying to convince them to do a crossword puzzle with her.