We were lucky to catch up with Monica McCarthy recently and have shared our conversation below.
Monica, 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.
Creativity is born from inspiration. And I’m a bit of an inspiration junkie. My “happy place” is daydreaming— usually on a walk or in the shower, or on a train; often while listening to music. Of course going to see art or getting out into nature or traveling to a new city gets the creative muses going as well. Inspiration is everywhere and the more I pay attention to it, the more I want to be part of creating something myself, even if I don’t know what that thing is at that moment. Then I start following the clues. Was it the song lyric, or the time of day, or the movement of paint that resonated and gave me goosebumps? I think of chasing the muse as being like a detective on the case and I don’t let go until the mystery is solved.
Then, once I feel like the pain of not creating something based on the clues is greater than my desire to keep searching, I’ll start trying to wrap my head around what the creative project might be. Most days for me, the creativity comes in the form of writing because I get antsy if I go too many days without doing it. But my greatest joy comes from acting and directing. No matter the creative endeavor, the resistance stage sets in because I struggle with the middle stage of a project because by this point I’m already on the scent of another creation. So I’ve learned that deadlines (in the form of residencies, grants, etc) and finding trustworthy collaborators are absolutely imperative for me. The other element to keeping my creativity alive is paying attention to my energy and focusing on quality over quantity of time spent creating. My creative energy changes throughout the day (I’m far more productive in the morning for solo output, with afternoons best for meetings and exercise, and evenings being ideal for research or seeing art). Having spent twenty years in NYC and now residing in rural Ireland, I’ve also become aware of how much the seasons affect my creativity so I’m trying to listen to those whisperings as well.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Like a lot of folks in the creative industries, I have my hands in a variety of artistic pursuits. Most days I’m writing and researching because that’s something I can do on my own time. Speaking of time, my daily life has recently changed dramatically from living in LA/NYC/London to a small coastal village in Northwest Ireland. But I’m really enjoying getting to know a whole new creative community near me and around this gorgeous country. I’ve been greeted with a good deal of support and enthusiasm from which has been really wonderful.
At the moment I’m knee-deep in finishing a few scripts and prepping for upcoming workshops that I’ll be teaching on the topics of acting, Shakespeare, and artist archetypes. And then I’m looking forward to developing my next filming project because it’s just so dang magical in Ireland that I can’t imagine not directing something here! My first short film was shot in NYC just as the lockdown was lifting, so I’m eager to try my hand at something totally different.
My professional background is as an actress and I’ve had the good fortune to work on Broadway and television and I’m excited about expanding my thespian community this side of the pond.
I’m also passionate about philosophy and psychology and the questions around morality and ambiguity. I explore this both in my “other ” professional life as a creative thinking strategist and facilitator for leaders across global organizations ,and I’m excited about transferring those skills to helping creative communities and artists. I think a lot of folks underestimate how solitary the experience of creating art can be. Tuning out the noise– especially in the world we live in now– is a huge part of the process. I’ve got a mantra I often tell myself: “You have to curate to make space to create.” We need rooms of our own AND we need supportive comrades.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Tenacity I’m 99% sure that “tenacious” was the word I used to describe myself for my college admissions essay. If I really want something, I go for it. The challenge, I’m discovering, is that I have A LOT of dreams I want to make happen. Being tenacious goes hand in hand with being goal-oriented… sometimes too much so in my case, but overall I think that drive is what has helped me to take creative risks. The reality is that I really just can’t stand the idea of saying I want to do something and then not taking steps to make that thing happen. My acting teacher (Tony Greco) has a great litmus test for goal setting: Everytime you say “I want to [fill in the blank]” try saying “I won’t [fill in the blank]” and see how that feels. If the “want” is stronger than “won’t” then by all means, go after your dreams. Otherwise, move on. Something else will arrive!
Pattern Recognition
I never would have thought of pattern recognition as a strength of mine because it sounds more like something that a clinician would be good at than an artist. But I’ve come to learn that I get particularly thrilled when I see the forest through the trees, as they say. For example, I’m writing a play and screenplay about Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein because in my research I stumbled across multiple synchronicities and commonalities that I personally believe have been largely overlooked. My short film “Survival Job” is about a Method actress who gets mistaken for an undercover spy and has to act her way out of it. The idea came when reading the Nina monologue at the end of Checkov’s “The Seagull” about being an actress, and the monologue is actually performed in the short. Pattern recognition also comes in handy for learning languages and dialects as well as writing dialogue. In regards to spotting patterns and synchronicities in my own life, my more “woowoo” friends would say that I’m strong at “manifesting” and perhaps that’s true, though I tend to see it more as I’m someone who is constantly attempting to “read the room” and understand the various dynamics in it. I guess what I’m saying is that observation is hugely important for pattern recognition in the first place. I’m sure this skill was cultivated in me at a young age who spent her summers and after-school hours meeting other kids and partaking in a multitude of activities. If I wanted to make friends quickly, I had to adapt to their way of existing. So my advice for anyone wanting to cultivate the skill of pattern recognition is to pay attention to that instinctive voice that tells you “this reminds me of that” and not dismiss it as irrelevant.
Imagination
This was another skill that was cultivated from an early age from being an only child. And it wasn’t until a few years ago that I realized that not everyone embraces their own inner worlds. I have friends who say they feel like their imaginations frighten them or that they go completely blank when they try to daydream. And while there are real trauma responses that can affect our ability to listen to our imaginations, for most of us, the reason for the fear of allowing their imaginations to run free is because they simply haven’t practiced it. We resist the unknown. Growing up as an only child of two working parents, I spent countless hours on my own playing with my toys, reading books, watching Disney films, and listening to musical theater soundtracks. This was before smartphones and the technology we have today so it really was a lot of time in my own brain. Nowadays it’s so much harder to hear ourselves think, let alone imagine. My advice for anyone who has a hard time letting their minds run amuck is to start with going for a walk and listening to instrumental music. What image or images come to mind? Start there and don’t censor or judge yourself. Imagination offers limitless freedom.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
Given the world we live in, I don’t understand how anyone could not feel overwhelmed on a regular basis. For me personally, the sensation of overwhelm feels like I’m spinning in circles. I wish I could say I then meditate, journal, and drink a gallon of water. But the reality for me is that I need to just stop trying to do anything. Like, I literally sit on the floor. Maybe I’ll go for a walk. But in the spinning moments I have to just stop thinking there’s something I “should” be doing because I know from experience that nothing good comes from panicking or self-flagellation. The next thing I do is ask myself “what is the highest priority right now?” The key here (again, I continue to learn this the hard way) is to try to avoid prioritizing what other people think or what society says I should prioritize, and focus on the thing that is most aligned with my own values or sense of purpose. That might sound narcissistic, and I’m not saying that we shouldn’t follow through on commitments (I’m actually a huge stickler for trying to do what I say I’m going to do), but rather that it can be helpful, if not imperative, to take stock of why I’ve made those commitments in the first place. More often than not, I realize that some tasks can be taken off my plate completely, while others can be delegated or delayed. And for heaven’s sake, when feeling overwhelmed, do not doom scroll on social media! (She repeatedly whispers to herself.)
Contact Info:
- Website: MonicaMcCarthy.net
- Instagram: @MissMMcCarthy
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/missmmccarthy/
