We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Thomas Misuraca a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Thomas , so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.
Keeping creativity alive has become a greater challenge in these days of numerous distractions. Though I am fortunate to have multiple ideas either in the forefront or back burner of my creative side, the trick is actually sitting down and making those ideas become some type of reality.
The most important thing is to set aside some time every day to be creative. I am fortunate that my “day job” is freelance so I can set my own hours. I like taking on my creative tasks in the morning because my head isn’t yet filled with too many other things. But when I worked 9-5, I still carved out some time in the evening to create.
To make my creative time more productive, I keep my phone in another room, or at least out of immediate reach. I close all the browsers on my computer (unless I’m doing research, then I’ll keep one open). That isn’t to say I always win the battle of distraction, especially with internet “rabbit holes” but this usually gives me a good head start against distractions.
Another trick I’ve learned, while working on a longer project, is try to stop somewhere in the middle. Cut off in the middle of a scene, paragraph or even a line. That way it’s (hopefully) a little easier to jump back in when I’m next able to write.
Any author or playwright will tell you the biggest part of writing is re-writing. Motivating yourself to do that can be another challenge. For this, too, I try to set aside a specific time. And more importantly, I edit in a different location than I create. To me, that makes it feel like it’s a completely separate part of the process. Back in the day, I printed out pages and sat in a coffee shop with a red pen at the ready. These days, I edit on my iPad at home, but make sure I sit in a room different from where I write.
At those times when the creativity is not flowing, I do my best to keep this routine. In the morning, I’ll do some free writing. Maybe an idea will form out of that, but I never try to force anything. I have faith that the spark will return. During my editing time, I’ll either take a look back at something I wrote that hasn’t been produced or published and see if I can revise that. Or, more importantly, I read.
That’s the biggest piece of advice I can give during a creativity drought. Read. It’s too easy to get lost in social media or binge watch a new TV show when you’re not creating. But I try to resist those urges and find a quiet place to read. I’ll read the things I wish I wrote. The things that inspire me.
Like many, I’m probably tougher on myself than other people. But I do have to remind myself that when it comes to creativity you have your productive days and days when you barely knock out a sentence. But as long as you keep at it, it won’t be long before you have a finished project.
Now go rewrite it!
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I’ve wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember. Even before I could write I was telling stories through drawings. And from elementary school thru high school, I scribbled stories whenever I could.
I studied writing, publishing and literature at Emerson College in Boston (only a few train stops over from my hometown of Revere). Though at that time, my focus was on prose, I did study theatrical literature which would come to serve me in the future. As was a class in Desktop Publishing that my advisor, children’s author, Jack Gantos, suggests I take my senior year in high school. Little did I realize learning the early versions of design software would turn into my “day job” while I write on the side.
Six months after graduation, I moved to Los Angeles. I dabbled in the film and music industry for a short time, but quickly realized they weren’t for me. I secured a few jobs in marketing and graphic design. Those paid the bills so I could focus on being creative in my free time.
My first short story, IF YOU LOOK AT IT, YOU WILL DIE, was published in Emerson’s Hyena Magazine. Within a few years, I had over 80 short stories published in literary magazines such as Byline, Thema and Art Times. I wrote and ghost wrote three original novels based on comic book characters from Image Comics. Then my vampire parody novel, LIFESTYLES OF THE DAMNED, was published by James A. Rock in 2009.
With the book not quite doing what I’d hoped for my career, I wasn’t too eager to start on what would be another multiple year endeavor to write a new one. Instead, I focused on a play I’d been working on and wanted to see where that took me. I researched development theater companies in Los Angeles and came across First Stage. They’ve been running a writing workshop since 1983. The more I explored the world of drama, the more my work seemed like a perfect fit for it.
My short plays began being stage read around Los Angeles. I was submitting to calls around the county and in June 2009, my ten-minute play, RAY PHILLIP PRIVATE DICK, was produced at Queer Shorts 4 in Madison, WI. A quote from my play was even used as a headline for a favorable review. From that, the short play productions were up and running. Over 150 of my short plays have since been produced and stage read in almost every major city in the US as well as the UK, Canada, South Korea, Japan, England and Ireland. I’ve won multiple judge and audience favorite awards. I already have short plays scheduled to be produced in NYC and Ireland in 2024.
My first full-length production was my musical, GEEKS!, based on the San Diego Comic Con. It was produced twice in LA, once in San Diego and both Off-Off-Broadway and Off-Broadway in 2019. Within the span of ten years, I’ve had thirteen original full-lengths plays produced across the country.
I’ve won the Las Vegas Little Theatre New Works three times (2014, 2019, 2022). My middle win, FIGMENTS, was recently produced by Force of Nature Productions. The reviews and audience feedback were some of the best I received in my life. Having worked with Force of Nature since their inception, I feel I can trust them to bring the best out in my work. As they did in 2019 with my play, MASTERS OF THE DARK REALM, which was recently published by Next Stage Press
My superhero nursing home play, GOLDEN AGE, has won numerous awards, including the Robert J. Pickering/J.R. Colbeck Award for Playwriting Excellence. In 2023, my play, IN DOGS WE TRUST, placed second in the contest. And GOLDEN AGE is being prepared for production at a nursing home in Florida.
I’ve been fortunate to have great working relationships with LA-based theater companies like Write Act, EST and Actor’s Workout Studio. As well as Tehachapi Community Theater and some San Diego based companies like Scripps Ranch Theatre and Clairemont Act One (now the Underground Performance Syndicate, who are planning something special with my work in early 2024).
I am a member of the Dramatist Guild, the Los Angeles Alliance of Playwrights, Force of Nature Productions and First Stage L.A., where I served as President of the Board for four years.
I am writer-in-residence for Roaring Epiphany Production Company in NYC. They are dedicated to educate, promote, and cast those who would normally be a minority in the theatrical community, with a focus on neurodiversity.
I have also been working with The Decameron Project, who have been turning many of my short plays and stories into short films. In 2023, we produced our first, of what we hope will be many, one-minute play festival at the Victory Theatre in Burbank. Next stop, Japan!
Meanwhile, my graphics/marketing company, Ink & Pixels studios, continues to flourish. We currently maintain websites for a local fabric for framing seller Frank’s Fabrics, the Pasadena Apple Premier Partner Di-No Computers, and film distributors Picturehouse. I also create marketing materials for comic book variant cover artist Mike Mayhew.
CVS Specialty® Pharmacy, for whom I write comic books for kids with hemophilia and sickle cell disease. It’s exciting to fuse my two callings with this one client.
It’s been a long road, but I’m happy to finally have the perfect work/creativity balance.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Certainly the knowledge of graphic design and design programs has helped in all aspects of my life. Not only is it the basis of my “day job” in marketing, but it also helps me create promotional materials for my writing and creative endeavors.
I encourage all creatives to study marketing and design. So much of art is self-promoting. And if you’re able to create elements that are more eye-catching, it will help your work stand out.
I also feel an important skill, especially in theater, is networking. To go to events: plays, mixers, group meetings. Talk and listen to other people. But don’t try to push your work on them. Just create connections and friendships, and I’ve found that more often than not, that leads to collaborating on projects.
I am always telling young people I meet, who are interested in stage craft, to come out to shows. We’re always excited to meet others who share our passions. And it is true that much of success is just showing up.
And probably the most important skill is a sense of humor. And patience. Whenever things get stressful in either business or art, I do my best to remain calm and keep things lighthearted. No, I’m not mocking anybody, just using humor to keep the tension at bay. Yes, this is easier said than done, but as we get more experienced in life, we learn that most everything that goes wrong can be fixed, so no point in getting overexcited about it. And hey, if you do, don’t be too hard on yourself. Just try again tomorrow.
Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
I hate to admit this, but the most impactful thing my parents did for me was to tell me that I always had to have a “real job” while doing my creative endeavors on the side. There is nothing more painful to an artist than to hear their parents refer to their calling as a “hobby”. And though they may have never understood the art life, it’s fair, in hindsight to say their keeping on me to have a career helped me find the life balance I feel I’ve achieved today.
Back when I was working 9 to 5, I had to carve out a specific time to write. And during that time, I was amazingly productive. I knew it was either then or never, so I made the most of that time. I’d write for a couple of hours every night, and often proofread on my lunch hours.
I do applaud those who are able to be starving artists. But those few times I was unemployed and hoped to write more, I found it difficult to focus when I was worried if I’d be able to pay the rent. In a perfect world, we’d be able to live off our art immediately, but when I was starting out, it was much easier to create with a clear mind when I knew my bills would be paid.
Once I was ready to leave the 9 to 5 world and go freelance, the structure I learned from the corporate world helped me structure my day. And finally give the creative work priority.
I doubt younger me would believe it, but I’m at least glad he (begrudgingly) listened to his parents on this one.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.tommiz.com
- Instagram: @tmisuraca
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tom.misuraca/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tommisuraca/
- Twitter: @GeeksMusical
Image Credits
All images by Ervin Fang
