A discussion with Penelope Brackett, Elizabeth Diggs, Dian Killian and Debbie Millman.

Synopsis

Progress is subjective. It depends on where we stand to perceive where we’ve been. How do you measure your successes and failures? What triggers your self-doubt and how do you talk back to your inner critic? Is it ever so strong that you’re not sure how to move forward? Learn how to harness your inner critic so that it’s you who puts the critic in a box. Come spend an evening listening to experts discuss how we can better take things in stride on our way to further our dreams.

Sample Q’s
What are some of the common triggers of the inner critic? How does this relate to the mindset we have?
How do you define personal success? What do you celebrate?
What are the healthiest and unhealthiest responses to failure?
How might an inner critic be of use to us?
How do you talk back to your inner critic?

Panelist Bios

Penelope Brackett- Master Coach/Founder; The Creative Seed Career Coaching; Performers RoadMap

Penelope Brackett is a nationally recognized veteran in the field of career coaching specializing in working with creative artists andcompanies including acting, music, dance, publishing and design.  An excellent speaker, trainer, program designer and author, Penelope Brackett is known for her dynamic, accessible and unflagging support in guiding individuals and organizations to creativebreakthrough. Her national practice helps artists create successful careers in the context of a joyful life by: creating a successful career strategy builtaround passion,  strengths and style, attending to health and well-being, maintaining craft and presentationexcellence, setting priorities and managing time, and developing skilled marketing and networking. She offers private and group coaching, as well as specific skill-building classes.

Penelope has been featured in The New York Times, The TodayShow, Child Magazine, and radio shows: The Reading Hour and The Coaching Hour. She has received the highest designation of Master Certified Coach from the International Federation of Coaching. Previous to becoming a coach, Penelopeworked in the entertainment industry as an actor, director, and producer. She holds a master's degree in drama from Brandeis University. She is the coauthor of “Seven Keys to Success without Struggle”, a performers’ guide to thriving inwork and life, with Lester Thomas Shane. www.performersroadmap.com 201-693-1586

Presentations include Circle in the Square Theatre, BrandeisUniversity, 36th Street Studios, Rutgers University, New Actors Workshop,Actors Connection, Dreamcatcher Theater, Elizabeth Browning Studio, Donna ReedTheater Festival, and Atlantic Theater. More info: 201-693-1586 pb@thecreativeseed.comhttp://www.thcreativeseed.com

Elizabeth Diggs - Moderator

Elizabeth Diggs’s plays include GRANT & TWAIN, NIGHTINGALE, CLOSE TIES, GOODBYE FREDDY, AMERICAN BEEF, DUMPING GROUND, PRICELESS, HOW TO PLANT A ROSE and CUSTER’S LUCK. They have been produced at the Vineyard Theatre and Ensemble Studio Theatre in New York, and regionally at SouthCoast Rep, the Long Wharf, Victory Gardens, the Alley theatre, Capital Rep, Salt Lake Acting Company and others, as well as in the UK and Europe.

Her plays are published by Dramatists Play Service and Smith and Kraus. She is the book writer for the musical MIRETTE (with Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt), developed at the Sundance Playwrights’ Lab, which premiered at the Goodspeed Opera House
and has been produced at many regional theatres. She was awarded a Guggenheim grant in playwriting, an N.E.A. developmental grant, and a commission from SouthCoast Rep. Prizes include the Los Angeles DramaLogue award for playwriting, the CBS/FDG prize, the Kennedy Center - Fund for New American Plays grant, a grant from the Egerton Foundation for new American plays and runner-up for the Susan Smith Blackburn prize. Liz wrote for the groundbreaking TV drama, “St. Elsewhere.” Liz is Professor of Dramatic Writing in the Goldberg Department of Dramatic Writing, Tisch School of the Arts, New York University. She is a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre, the Dramatists Guild and PEN. Her daughter, Jenny Mackenzie is a documentary filmmaker. She grew up in Tulsa, is a graduate of Brown, and lives in Manhattan and Chatham, N.Y.

Dian Killian, PhD, is a Certified Trainer with the international Center for Nonviolent Communication, a certified life coach and faculty member with the distance learning Coaching for Transformation program, and author of two books, Urban Empathy: True Life Adventures of Compassion on the Streets of NY, and Connecting across Differences: How to Connect with Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere (now in its third edition). Founder and former director of the Center for Collaborative Communication, she now offers coaching and training via WorkCollaboratively.com to diverse organizations from small and large NGOs to multinational and Fortune 100 companies. She also leads the annual East Coast Women’s Retreat and regularly offers programming at Kripalu, the 92nd St Y, Omega, the NY Open Center, and in Europe.

Debbie Millman
For the past twenty years, Debbie has been President of Sterling Brands, where she has worked on the redesign of over 200 global brands, including projects with P&G, Colgate, Nestle, Kraft and Pepsi. In 2014, she was named President, Chief Marketing Officer of the firm. In 2013, Debbie was named one of the most influential designers working today by GDUSA. Debbie is the founder and host of Design Matters, the world’s first podcast about design, which has garnered over one million downloads and a Cooper Hewitt National Design Award. In the nine years since its inception, Millman has interviewed more than 250 design luminaries and cultural commentators, including Massimo Vignelli, Milton Glaser, Malcolm Gladwell, Dan Pink, Barbara Kruger, Seth Godin and more.

Debbie is the author of six books, including two collections of interviews that have extended the ethos and editorial vision of Design Matters to the printed page: How to Think Like a Great Graphic Designer and Brand Thinking and Other Noble Pursuits. Both books have been published in over 10 languages. In 2009 Debbie co-founded with Steven Heller the world’s first graduate program in branding at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. Now in its fifth year, the program has achieved international acclaim. The inaugural class wrote and designed the Rockport book Brand Bible: The Complete Guide to Building, Designing and Sustaining Brands and in 2013 the students created branding for the Museum of Modern Art’s retail program, Destination: New York.

Debbie’s written and visual essays have appeared in Print Magazine, Design Observer and Fast Company, and she is the author of two books of illustrated essays. Her work has been exhibited at the Chicago Design Museum, Anderson University, School of Visual Arts, Long Island University and The Wolfsonion Museum. She has been artist-in-residence at Cranbrook University, Old Dominion University and Notre Dame University, and has conducted visual storytelling workshops at Academy of Art University in San Francisco, the University of Utah, Hartford University and the High School of Art and Design in New York. She has designed wrapping paper and beach towels for One Kings Lane, greeting cards for Mohawk and Card-To-Art, playing cards for DeckStarter and sketchbooks for Shutterstock.

Debbie is President Emeritus of AIGA, one of four women to hold the position in the organization’s 100-year history. She is also a past board member and treasurer of the New York Chapter. She is a frequent speaker on design and branding and has moderated Design Yatra in India, presented keynote lectures at Rotman School of Management, Princeton University, Michigan Modern, the Melbourne Writers Festival in Australia, Design Thinkers in Toronto, the Festival of Art and Design in Barcelona, and many more.