Asia’s creative guru Stan Lai has written one of the unique works of our time, explaining that the mysterious act of creativity is actually a traceable function of mind, and there is a path to learn creativity through un-learning many of our habits picked up in life. Through his extensive experience, the greatest living Asian playwright shows us how to cultivate a ‘creative app’ that works within us.

This book is a rewrite by the author of his best-selling work in Chinese that has become the most prominent work on creativity in China, used by artists as well as schools and corporations. Stan Lai is uniquely qualified to write on creativity, because he not only has four decades of creative experience, widely acclaimed as the greatest playwright in the Chinese language, but also over two decades of teaching experience in the performing arts.

Can creativity be taught? Most of the books and training in this area deal with skills for jumpstarting alternative thinking, brainstorming and other exercises, but do not deal with creativity itself. They don’t tackle the obvious question: What is creativity and how can I get it? Lai explains that the reason we don’t think creativity can be taught is that we don’t really understand what happens in the mysterious process. By slowing down the moment of inspiration, Lai lets us see exactly the elements involved in this complex process that lasts only an instant. Then he shows you how to prepare for this moment, through his unique Map of Creativity. This is a whole path of training in creativity, which he explains clearly and humour and compassion, and tailor-made exercises.

Creativitry is a milestone in understanding and learning the creative act. Born in America, raised in Taiwan, with a career spanning the Chinese diaspora, Lai believes that we are all born creative, but the source to creativity has been blocked, by life. How to take down the barriers that are blocking the source from us is a task of un-learning many things that have become habits and put us into a so-called non-creative mode. Taking his cue from his Buddhist training that wisdom and method are both needed for success in any endeavour, he explains how ‘wisdom’ has mysteriously vanished from education systems all over. Most teaching in creativity focuses on method, which one learns in one’s art. But we need another type of training, more urgently, the training for wisdom, which can only happen in the domain of life. To do, you must first be. To discover your creativity, you must first discover yourself.

Stan Lai is ‘The major contemporary Asian playwright of his time, perhaps of all time’ (Robert Brustein), ‘The best Chinese language playwright and director in the world’ (BBC) and ‘top theatre director’ (Asiaweek). Lai is a cultural icon, considered the greatest living playwright in the Chinese world, some say the world, also a noted educator and creativity guru.

Anthem Studies in Theatre and Performance