American Masters: Creative Spark

Novelist Ling Ma doesn’t shy away from taking risks with her writing. Her 2018 debut novel, “Severance,” is an apocalyptic satire that won the Kirkus Prize for Fiction and squarely put her on the map as an exciting, off-beat new writer. With her newest collection, “Bliss Montage,” Ma has turned her attention to the short story format. The collection is described as “eight wildly different tales of people making their way through the madness and reality of our collective delusions: love and loneliness, connection and possession, friendship, motherhood, the idea of home.” In this episode, Ling Ma breaks down her creative process and inspiration behind “Peking Duck,” a short story from the collection. She details how she attempted to complicate and “implode” the immigrant narrative through her unique approach to this mother-daughter story. After listening to the episode, you can read “Peking Duck” here: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/07/11/peking-duck

Wethink you’ll really enjoy this podcast from our friends over at Young and Indigenous, which amplifies indigenous knowledge, storytelling and history. In this episode of Young and Indigenous, Washington State Poet Laureate and award-winning author Rena Priest explores the beauty of childhood and the nurturing element of culture. Priest also recites some of her poems! Rena Priest encourages future writers, especially fellow Lummi Nation members, to take the creative leap. In her words, “the world needs your voice, needs your story. You never know who is going to encounter it and whose life [your story] is going to change.” Learn more about Young and Indigenous here: https://settingsunproductions.org/young-and-indigenous-podcast

It’s been announced! Writer Viet Thanh Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel “The Sympathizer” (2015) is now getting the prestige TV treatment on HBO’s newly rebranded Max streaming service. To celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we revisit our interview with Nguyen. In it, he talks about not just “The Sympathizer,” but about growing up in the U.S. as a refugee from Vietnam, and how writing and reading helped him cope with its many challenges. He breaks down how his work takes on issues of cultural representation in American pop culture and literature. “The Sympathizer” stars Hoa Xuande (“Cowboy Bebop”) as a spy for North Vietnam who becomes embedded in L.A.’s refugee community. The miniseries adaptation is described as “an espionage thriller and cross-culture satire about the struggles of a half-French, half-Vietnamese communist spy during the final days of the Vietnam War and his resulting exile in the United States.” The cast includes executive producer Robert Downey, Jr., Fred Nguyen Khan, Toan Le, Vy Le, Alan Trong, Vy Le, Ky Duyen and Sandra Oh.

Actor Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is one of the busiest people in Hollywood. His recent films include “Aquaman,” “The Matrix Resurrections,” “Ambulance,” and “Candyman.” But most recently, he made his Broadway debut in "Topdog/Underdog." In this episode, Abdul-Mateen II gives a masterclass on his acting process. The graduate of the Yale School of Drama describes how he prepared for his critically acclaimed performance in Suzan-Lori Parks’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play. He reveals the physical and mental challenges of this work, which are ultimately in service of his pursuit of “absolute truth.”

In her eighth feature film, “Showing Up,” Kelly Reichardt takes pleasure in thinking about “life on the level outside of commerce.” Her films often explore working-class characters living life on the margins. Movies like “First Cow,” “Certain Women,” “Wendy and Lucy,” and “Old Joy” have established Reichardt as one of the most fiercely independent filmmakers working today. In this episode, Reichardt discusses how inherently collaborative filmmaking can be, the pleasure she takes in documenting processes, the importance of art schools, and just how frequently André 3000 was playing the flute during production. She also shares some surprising thoughts about where her next film might take place (and it isn’t the Pacific Northwest). “Showing Up” is in theaters this Friday, April 7th.

A compelling novel can transport us into worlds unknown. Novelist Jennifer Egan has mastered this inventiveness of fiction with her Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, "A Visit from the Goon Squad," and in her newest book,"The Candy House." In this episode, Egan breaks down her writing process behind "Lulu the Spy, 2032," a chapter from "The Candy House." She pulls from life experiences to deftly forge playful and imaginative stories that bend the formal limits of the novel. Ultimately, she reminds us why writing still matters, maybe more than ever before.

“Top Gun: Maverick” is filled with booming jet engines and layered sonic storytelling. Since this publication, it won the award for Best Sound at the Oscars, largely due to the work of Al Nelson, sound designer and supervising sound editor at Skywalker Sound. Hear how he and his team spent time on aircraft carriers to capture the film’s iconic sounds. Al Nelson may be known affectionately by some as the “dinosaurs and jets” guy for his work on “Jurassic World” and “Top Gun: Maverick,” but his 27-year body of work has touched all genres, including films like “Knives Out,” “Toy Story 2,” “20 Feet From Stardom,” “How to Train Your Dragon” and more. We visit Al Nelson at George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch to hear how he makes his art. Nelson discusses the influence of past sound designers on his creative process and the journey he has taken climbing the ranks at Skywalker Sound. He gives insight into the meticulous choices that are made in the edit room, choices that play a critical role in the storytelling process.

K-pop is a genre full of catchy music and elaborate choreography. It’s a natural fit for the Broadway stage. As a lifelong fan of K-pop, writer Jason Kim (“Girls,” “Barry,” and “Divorce”) was interested in the personal lives of the global superstars from Korean pop bands like BTS and BLACKPINK. How do these artists deal with the pressure of making music that represents not just your industry but your entire country? In this episode, Jason Kim breaks down the creative process behind “KPOP The Musical.” He explains how he went from wearing out his K-pop cassette tapes as a kid growing up in St. Louis, Missouri, to staging the very first Broadway musical that tells a Korean story made by Korean American creators.

What does it mean to create futuristic costumes from the past? Oscar-winning costume designer Ruth E. Carter’s Afrofuturistic designs imagine the fictional African nation of Wakanda without the influence of colonialism. In “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever,” she takes this theory to another imagined world that draws on Mesoamerican history. In this episode, Carter breaks down the creative process behind her unique approach to costume design. Ruth E. Carter has been nominated for Best Costume Design at the 95th Academy Awards for her work on “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” Watch and listen to more from American Masters.

John Waters loves to break the rules and make you laugh along the way. The iconoclast has been doing just that over the past six decades with provocative and perverse films like “Pink Flamingos,” “Hairspray,” and “Female Trouble.” Now enshrined as the king of transgressive cinema, Waters is taking on new challenges with his talents. In this episode, he breaks down the creative process behind his first novel, “Liarmouth: A Feel-Bad Romance.” Watch and listen to more from American Masters. This episode includes derogatory epithets used in an artistic context. Listener discretion advised.