The Creativity of Connecting with an Audience

with singer/songwriter Emily Scott Robinson

“An audience most wants to see your human self, not your shiny self … those are when they feel most connected to you. They will remember that forever.” —Emily Scott Robinson

Preview: Episode 88 Emily Scott Robinson on Creativity in Performance

“Everything that happens on stage is part of the creative process,” says Emily Scott Robinson. “It’s almost like the real creativity happens when something goes wrong—it takes you out of your ego and out of your plan.” That creative openness to the moment is at the heart of our conversation in this next episode of Emerging Form. Emily talks about how to make the audience members feel seen—and why that is so important. We touch on how to show up with authenticity, ways to keep the same material fresh for ourselves, how to handle hecklers, how change strange energy, and ways to turn “mistakes” into moments that create a bond with you and your audience. It’s a warm-hearted, laughter-full, vulnerable and feel-good episode. “It’s all about connection,” Emily says, “being willing to be seen, and seeing.”

With a quarter million miles under her belt and counting, North Carolina native Emily Scott Robinson travels the dusty highways of America's wild country, capturing the stories of the people she meets and expertly crafting them into songs. Robinson received critical acclaim for her debut album Traveling Mercies. Rolling Stone named it one of the “40 Best Country and Americana Albums of 2019.” In 2021, Robinson signed with Oh Boy records, the label founded by the legendary John Prine, and released her follow-up album American Siren. It made numerous “Best of 2021” lists including NPR, Rolling Stone, American Songwriter, and No Depression. In 2022, Robinson released a collaboration for theater called Built on Bones, a song cycle written for the Witches of Shakespeare's Macbeth, featuring artists Alisa Amador and Violet Bell.

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What We’re Reading and Listening to:

Rosemerry:

• Though I have had Meditations in my reading stack for years, and I do pick it up from time to time, I have found I am enjoying reading the Stoic philosopher and Roman general Marcus Aurelius more online … and you can access this translation by Gregory Hays free right here. It is so wise, so practical, and so spot on.

• You know how some children’s books are really made for adults? I feel like that with Remember, by past US Poet Laureate Joy Harjo, illustrated by Micahela Goade. A friend sent it to me recently, and I love this invitation to wonder, to play close attention. Good for kids, too—;)

Christie:

• I just finished Paul Harding’s new novel, This Other Eden. I immediately fell in love with Harding’s lyrical prose. The heart-breaking and unforgettable novel is based on the true story of Malaga Island, a remote island off the coast of Maine that was once a racially integrated community in a nation that was anything but. Harding brings to life a fascinating cast of racially diverse characters who make a home on what he calls Apple Island, and breaks your heart when a well-intentioned teacher brings the place down.

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Sometimes When We Least Expect It

Sometimes the only thing we see
when we look at each other

is the other’s eyes—not so much
their color, nor their shape,

but the way they soften, the way
they seem to say, “I see you, I see

all of you, and there is no reason
for you to hide.” And for us who have

spent so much time hiding,
it can be shocking to be seen.

In our dreams, perhaps, we
allow it. But to be seen awake,

to be seen when we are messy
and messier than that, to be seen

when we are tired and hurt
and not sure where we stand?

In that moment, to be seen
by eyes that say without a blink,

“Here I am,” that seeing is a window we
can climb right through and land

in a field of light. This is what
the soul remembers—how to love

without judgment, how to love without
should, how to live with the defenses

down. This is the gift we can
give to each other. This softening.

This tenderness. This allowing
each other to stop looking for a cure

for being who we are and to simply be
ourselves, masks off no matter what,

to know ourselves as love.

—Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer

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A Note About Paid Subscriptions:

First, we want to thank ALL our subscribers! We are so grateful you join us in this conversation about what it is to engage with yourself, the world and others in a creative way. And a BIG thank you to our paid subscribers. You make this podcast possible. Starting this month, only our paid subscribers will receive our bonus episodes as a thank you for their financial support.

This week, Emily talks about taking a song for a walk, the benefits of stepping away from the work for a bit, procrastination and how she knows a song is finished. If you are not yet a paid subscriber, you can go now to our website, EmergingForm.substack.com, or by clicking the button below. Thank you!

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Two Questions:

(share your answers with us here on Substack or in our FB group)

1. What’s a big creative risk you took in a performance?

2. What’s one way you consciously connect with your audience?

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