OVERVIEW PAGE
You do not have to be an artist to benefit from a Creative Life Practice
OTOA Creative Life Practice (CLP)™ is a Course of Study
Offering the practice and principles for creative, personal & professional actualization
All workshops are led
by OTOA Founder & Master Teacher
Gia Forakis
"Creativity is not a talent. It is a way of being.” - John Cleese
The aim of OTOA CLP is to enrich our lives by reinvigorating our capacity for possibility, clarifying goals, and strengthening our encounters for growth and transformation.
Curriculum is built upon CLP's SIX ASPECTS FOR CREATIVE INFLUENCE, as it is applied through the OTOA technique's application of incremental thought and action.
"You could say that OTOA CLP is a course of study for creative actualization.
What I have found in my own practice is that CLP is like a light switch for Enrichment & Joy."
- Gia Forakis
The 6 Aspects of Creative Influence ™
Gratitude / Generosity
Nature / Purpose
Observation / Receptivity
Vision / Quest
Technique / Discipline
Time / Space
The 6 Aspects of Creative Influence are the tools employed in the visionary endeavors of every creative process.
The 6 Aspects are built around a single motivating principle, the Core Principle: Connection
WHAT TO EXPECT
FROM AN OTOA CLP
Seminar, Class, Intensive or Workshop?
Class participation includes individual and group exercises and observation. Exercises are followed by class discussion and exchange. Participants will be asked to prepare a creative pre-class assignment before each class and/or on the evenings between contiguous workshop dates.
It is advised that you set aside at least 30-60 minutes (per class) for these assignments. Some physical movement will be encouraged, but nothing strenuous or beyond the capacity of the participant’s abilities or level of comfort.
The study of Creative Life Practice is the search for synthesis and an avenue for enriching your daily life by clarifying goals, and finding a more engaging sense of purpose.
The focus of OTOA CLP teaching is to remove the seemingly intangible and mystical characteristics that are associated with "creativity" and recognizing its practical application in the transformation and actualization of all areas of our life.
OTOA CLP is based on the principles of the OTOA Technique and intended to bring a richer engagement with the present as a path for a building a more rewarding and worthwhile future.
Creativity is something we employ in the manifestation of all our endeavors.
You do NOT have to be an artist to benefit from OTOA Creative Life Practice
" Gia's [Creative Life Practice] classes have been more helpful and enlightening than I could have even imagined, and I find myself using the tools and thoughts you shared with us, daily" ~ Karissa Lang, Artist, Healer, Brooklyn, NY
***VIDEO: Sharahn LaRue - Actor & Writer
Thank You SharahnTESTIMONIAL by OTOA CLP PARTICIPANT
IF YOU HAVE PROBLEMS VIEWING THIS VIDEO CLICK HERE“It's the caliber of our questions, followed by the dedication of our inquiry, that chart our path through life”
- Gia Forakis
OTOA CLP Curriculum Formats
OTOA CLP WORKSHOPS
The CLP Workshop Series provide participants with scheduling flexibility, as well as the opportunity for a more in-depth investigation of CLP's 6 Aspects for Creative Influence & The Core Principle. Each class is uniquely designed to focus on building a deeper connection with one single aspect through writing, dialogue, ritual, and the principles of One-Thought-One-Action (OTOA). Participants can attend one or more classes in any order of the series. CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION & REGISTRATION
OTOA CLP FIRST MONDAYS
The focus of the First Monday's series will center upon an investigation on the PRINCIPLES of CONNECTION CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION & REGISTRATION
OTOA THEATER AS CREATIVE LIFE PRACTICE
This workshop focuses on the life practice of the theater artists off of the stage and outside of the rehearsal room. In traditional acting classes and theater training programs, the primary and necessary focus is on the craft of the actor and the business of the performing arts. What is not often addressed is how to live a fulfilling creative life before, during, and after each project. With or without a production, the individual theater artist requires on-going enrichment of their creative life that brings a quality of fulfillment no matter what theater project they are doing and no matter what job they are doing to earn a living. CLICK HERE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
OTOA CLP PRIVATE COACHING
After participating in one of the other CLP forums for study, you may discover that you want to go further with a more individual focus to address a specific topic, private concerns, or that you would be more comfortable working one-on-one to address professional roadblocks, obstacles within a single project or personal concerns, or that you are looking for support to make comprehensive changes in more than one area of your life. Even, if you have not participated in one of the group CLP offerings, these are all good ways to make use of Private CLP Coaching, which can be tailored to address your, needs, goals, schedule and budget. CLICK HERE FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
BRINGING A CLP SEMINAR TO YOU
You may want to consider bringing an OTOA Creative Life Practice Seminar to your company, institution, classroom, community, business, or private gathering. This option can be tailored to address your, needs, goals, schedule and budget. Proposals for scheduling your own seminar should be submitted 4-8 weeks in advance of your intended date. To explore this option contact: Darya Gauthier, OTOA Managing Director at GIAFORAKISANDCO@GMAIL.COM. Please be sure to put "OTOA" in the subject of your email.
THE OTOA CLP 6-WEEK CLASS
This format, which meets on one evening each week, for 4 hours, over 6 consecutive weeks, is intended for a deeper investigation into CLP's 6 Aspects for Creative Influence, through weekly creative assignments that engage the participant in an investigation and application of one Aspect of Creative Influence each week. NOTHING SCHEDULED AT THIS TIME
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“OTOA is for every human being that needs to get in greater touch with the 'silent' parts of themselves and be fearless to explore life to its fullest, moment to moment.” - Tony Naumovski, Actor
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CLICK HERE Workshop Schedules & Registration Information
CLICK HERE: An Interview with Gia Forakis
In the international journal The Theatre Time
Gia explains the origins of OTOA Creative Life Practice...
How did OTOA grow from a performance technique into a curriculum for a creative life practice?
During the last 15 years that I have been continuing to develop, teach and practice One-Thought-One-Action (OTOA) as a performance technique, it became clear to me that the same OTOA-principles that bring clarity and enrichment to the staged event are equally as meaningful when applied to individual growth.
By applying these same principles that I was teaching to my daily practice in my own life, I discovered personal, professional and creative benefits with wide ranging results.
Essentially, what I was doing was creating my life as if it were any other art or theater project. And it was through studying my own process, that I saw the benefits of how I could bring OTOA into a wider range of teaching that would benefit both artists and NON-artists alike.
So it was with this intention that I developed the curriculum of OTOA Creative Life Practice (CLP).
What OTOA Creative Life Practice offers is an approach for untangling professional, personal or creative roadblocks. It offers a set of tools for clarifying goals & objectives while it also outlines a practice for expanding our vision & our realms of possibility. It’s a basic support system designed to chart a more unified and fulfilling path forward in every field and for any endeavor
- Gia Forakis,
OTOA Founder & Master Teacher
Brooklyn, 2018