1. Finding your
Creative Self
Applied Drama Conference
Buenos Aires Players
February 2011
Susan Hillyard B.Ed. (Hons)

2. Nonsense or Creativity?
It was midnight in November,
One October last July.
The moon was shining brightly
And the sun was in the sky.
The flowers were gently singing
And the birds were in full bloom,
When I went up to the cellar
To sweep the attic room

3. Box Problem
Without taking your pen off the paper join the dots
by using only 4 straight lines without going over
any dot twice.

4. Solution

6. Let’s do Some!

7. Handouts
Exercise 1
What is Creativity?
Ref: Fisher and de Bono

8. Right Brain Input
Analysis Synthesis
L R
Language Form
Math formula Pattern
Logic Spatial
Numbers Rhythm
Sequence Music
Linearity Images
Analysis Imagination
Words of songs Daydreaming
Dimension
Tune of a song
PART WHOLE

9. Who is Creative?
Make a list of famous people who you think
are creative. Stand up and tell everybody!

10. The Most Creative of them ALL

11. I remember……..
Remember when you were really young, say
four or five, and write a list of the things you
used to play at. Read your list to yourself
and put a C next to any items you see as
being creative.

12. Definitions
The definition of creativity used here is
‘imaginative activity fashioned so as to produce outcomes
that are both original and of value’ (NACCCE 1999: 30).
It usually entails taking an existing concept and
synthesising it with other concepts. This, in turn, is
followed by an emergent process for creativity which
can be considered as the ability to think of something
new by extending conceptual boundaries. The term for
this in cognitive psychology is
‘creative conceptual expansion’.

13. Creativity in its higher manifestation is the unique
ability of individuals and the undiscovered
mystery of the brain.
However, if we define creativity as the ability of the
individual to generate ‘novel unusual ideas, to avoid
stereotypic schemes in thinking, and to rapidly resolve
problem situations’ … then it is reasonable to think that
manifestations are encountered more frequently.
(Bekhtereva et al. 2001: 390)

14. Recent Evidence (2009)
Creativity and innovation have been a key focus of
attention across the globe in recent years. This is partly
due to the need to further develop human capital.
Human capital includes those competences such as
innovation and possessing knowledge which contribute
to economic performance and social cohesion.
Innovation and knowledge have been recognised as the
driving forces for sustainable growth in the
framework of the Lisbon strategy for the future of
Europe.
Creativity is central to innovation.
(EC 2009)

15. Compendium Part One
Multilingualism and Creativity: Towards an
Evidence-base
Public Services Contract n°
EACEA/2007/3995/2
16 July 2009
www.europublic.com

16. Say “I CAN” not “I can’t”
• related to I.Q.
• only found in some subjects
• unrelated to critical thinking
• the opposite to logical thinking
• only for the few who were born with it
• unrealistic and impractical
• a waste of valuable time

17. Learn to be Creative!
Fluency Flexibility
(think of lots of…) (alter your approach
to…)
Originality Elaboration
(think of something rare, (add to… draw, model)
mad, new, visualize)

18. “How to Think like Leonardo
DaVinci”
 Curiosity
 A willingness to learn
 Refinement of sensations
 A willingness to embrace ambiguity
 Whole brain thinking
 The cultivation of grace
 Systems thinking
[1] Gelb, M.J. (1999) How to Think like Leonardo Da
Vinci, USA, Dell.

19. Kim’s Game

৮
 

৮
৮
৮
৮
৮


20. What could they be?
㋡
 ⊗

21. Rodger Von Oech
“A Kick in the Seat of the Pants”
The explorer
The artist
The judge
The warrior

22. Julia Cameron - “The Artists Way”
 recovering a sense of safety
 identity
 power
 integrity
 possibility
 abundance
 connection
 strength
 compassion
 self protection
 autonomy
 faith

23. Finding a Model
Dilts Fisher
Stimulus:
Constant questioning,
problems, challenges
The Dreamer:
The visionary, sees the Exploration:
whole, believes anything is Divergent thinking,
possible deferring judgement,
extending effort, time for
incubation , play
The Realist:
Plans and acts, takes steps, Planning:
keeps goal in focus, action defining the task, gathering
orientated information, making
thinking VISIBLE
The Critic: Activity:
Logical, anticipates Realizing the product
problems, looks for
inadequacies. Review:
Evaluation, assessment
suggestions

24. Csikszentmihalyi in
“Finding Flow.
The Psychology of Engagement
with Everyday Life”
 We are out of touch with our emotional lives
We bounce between stress in our work lives
due to pressure and
 Boredom in our leisure time where we feel we
have to “relax” but where we do not challenge
ourselves sufficiently to engage with real life.

25. Strategies by Michael Michalko
 Destroy your FUDS
 Make Affirmations: Self and Creative
 Set an Idea quota/mind workout
 Getting tone/pay detailed attention
 Dukes of Habit/ get out of the rut
 Feed your head
 Do a content analysis/talk to the young
 Make a brainbank/journal/idea log
 Capture Idea Birds/write your dreams
 Make Lists

27. Find the word
 Find a well known English word by
removing six letters
SBXREATNTSAENLIA
Do it in Spanish and try it out on your
friends and family.

28. Brainstorm and think of as many
ways to use a pin, a scarf, a pen

29. Read this message. Then try writing one of your own
I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was
rdanieg.
The phaonmneal pweor of the hmuan mnid.!
Aoccdrnig to rrseeach at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't
mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny
iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit
pclae.
The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a
porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey
lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.
Amzanig huh? Yaeh, and I awlyas thought slpeling was
ipmorantt

30. Find ten ways to improve a
telephone, a chair

31. Be creative by rewriting words in new ways
Before B4
Be seeing you BCNU
Bye bye for now BB4N
Date D8
Easy EZ
Excellent XLNT
For your information FYI
Please call me PCM
See you later CU L8R
Thanks THX
Today 2DAY
Tomorrow 2MORO
Tonight 2NITE
Want to 12
Why Y

32. What’s the Missing Digit?
Find the missing digit from this
sequence.
5, 8, 2, 1, ?, 3, 8
( Can you do it in Spanish? )

33. Coin Puzzle
Move only one coin so there are 4 coins
vertically and horizontally.

34. More Hidden Meanings
Explain the meaning of each box.
GIs M E
ccc A L
TIJUSTME HOUR
GROUND
MAC FT
FT
FT
FT
FT
FT

35. ban ana MOMANON
wear


long
 

1
L



 L A

36. How Many?
Are you good at counting?
If so how many triangles are there in this figure?
Count them all.

37. Child to Teacher by Trevor Dickinson HMI
There is no hand My flowers, however wild,
In all the world like mine, Irregular their hues,
No fingers move in time Must be my flowers, my choice,
To mine, Not yours. My goats may have
Or weave the things I weave, Three horns, or none at all.
No voice can sing my song, The clay I pinch, and pull,
No eyes can see the shapes And mould, and glaze and fire,
I see in wood, or clay, Needs to be bright with me
Or stone. My miracle And all that’s mine, not you
Is me. And yours. I need to know
What you can richly teach.
You need to know and keep
The eachness of us each.