I had another great discussion with Howard Stein this week, and our conversation turned from necessary writing, to the Mozart Syndrome, and then into the realm of imagination as described by the great acting teacher, Stella Adler.
Is there ever a time when stealing is good?
Yes, the inspired stealing of imagination should always be encouraged.
There is no unoriginal theft left.
Some call stealing inspiration, but if you see or experience something and then change or employ those experiences in your life — you have effectively borrowed and stolen the thoughts of others and I wholly encourage that effort.
I am not condoning plagiarism, but I am supporting the opportunity to consider and use ideas that are not your own because there are no original thoughts left in the world.
We are ignited by the shared memories of others and we must honor the covenant of those tendrilous relationships.
The theft confirms the collective genius.
If you are 23 years or younger you may be vaguely insulted by this post perhaps without really realizing its point because, through no fault of your own, modern media have mollycoddled you into a false, safe space where, in order to survive, you only need to agree with what has come before.
Continue reading → Ruination of Imagination
After 38 years of university teaching and administrating, Howard Stein retired from Columbia University in 1992. His career included 11 years at the Yale School of Drama, where he was Associate Dean and Supervisor of the Playwriting Program; seven years at the University of Iowa, where he supervised the Playwriting Program; and 10 years at Columbia University where he was appointed the first permanent Chairman of the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies and Supervisor of the Playwriting Program.
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