IDSC211: Creativity and the Arts CREATIVITY PROJECT and FINAL TEST CREATIVITY QUESTION Guidelines

Task Requirements

Write a one-act play in which you explore one of the following themes which, in some form or another, Troilus and Cressida also explores:

• The conflict that arises when one’s professional life interferes with or puts pressure on one’s personal life. (What happens when a person’s professional duties and obligations interfere with his/her private interests? Who or what wins out? Why?)
• The nature of a person’s character under pressure. (When someone experiences pressure, how does this change who he/she is? How does adversity bring out a person’s real character?)
• The stress of academic responsibility on romantic relationships. (Which does a person put first, romantic or academic responsibilities? What happens to romance under the pressure of school or work?)
• Unfulfilled expectations. (What happens to a person when his/her expectations are perpetually thwarted and he or she does not achieve a desired objective?)

Your play should satisfy these requirements

• It should be a minimum of 5-7 pages in length (single-spaced).
• It should be single-spaced, using 12-point Times Roman font.
• It should have one-inch margins all around.
• It should address one of the themes described above.
• It should have at least three speaking characters.
• It should follow the conventions of dramatic writing:
• It should have a title page identifying the characters.
• It should indicate where the play is set.
• It should clearly indicate who is speaking at any moment.
• It should include at least some minimal stage directions.

Rationale

If you are like most people, you take your creativity for granted. Unless you’re forced to examine how you solve problems, you probably never think about the process; therefore, you may not fully understand how it works. In class we discussed how creative problem-solving has four stages:

1. Emersion (learning as much as you can about a problem by gathering information about it and exploring solutions to it)
2. Incubation (allowing your subconscious mind to work out solutions to the problem)
3. Illumination (being alert to solutions to problems when they occur, usually at unpredictable moments like walking, jogging, showering, or driving)
4. Transaction (completing the project by working out the solution you settle on)

We also defined some terms associated with creativity such as the white moment or flow, that moment when the work seems to happen effortlessly because your skills line up exactly with the demands of the task.

Finally, we stressed the importance of taking risks (if you keep one foot on the ground, the rock climber says, you’ll never get to the top of the mountain.)

Suggestions for preparing for the final test question based on your script

While working out your script,

• Keep a log or diary or journal of your creative efforts. You’ll forget ideas if you don’t write them down.
• In your journal jot down answers to questions such as these:
• What sort of problem are you trying to solve in your script?
• What difficulties do you experience as you think your script?
• What approaches to the script do you consider? Which ones seem promising? Which don’t? Why?
• Who do you talk to about your script? Who might be able to help you? How?When does the solution to the problem occur? What were you doing at the time?
• What is the actual process of writing the script like? How does it work? If it works well, why do you think this is so? Why not?

Use the language of creativity (i.e., the terms for the stages of the creative process, etc.) to analyze your own creative process as you write a script for a play.

Evaluation of the final test question based on the script

Your script and accompanying journal will receive an A if, when reading them, I sense that you followed the directions above and you gave them a solid, good-faith effort.

The final test question you answer about your creative activity will be evaluated according to the following guidelines:

An A essay will examine the creative process “creatively.” It will exhibit pleasant surprises in the way it addresses these themes. The writer will provide a thoughtful, well developed analysis of his/her creative writing process using the language of creativity. There will be minimal mechanical distractions.

A B essay will examine the creative process competently. The response will feel adequate but predictable and, though it uses the language of creativity, will occasionally feel undeveloped. There will be minimal mechanical distractions.

A C essay will make an attempt to examine the creative process, but the effort will fall short in some fashion. The response is clearly undeveloped or fails to address the creative process using the language of creativity so that the instructor may be unable to determine the degree to which the student understands the creative process. Mechanical problems may interfere with the instructor’s reading.

A D essay will generally fail to examine the creative process, does not use the language of creativity, or clearly indicates that the student does not understand the creative process. Mechanical problems interfere with reading.

Due dates

You must submit your script and journal at class time on April 26. You’ll receive your journal back at the time of the final exam and you may use it to write your final test question on creativity.