We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Allison and Cinnamon a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Allison and Cinnamon, thanks for joining us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

Our parents inspired all three of their daughters to follow our hearts into the Arts. Growing up in Connecticut, our parents were freelance illustrators for magazines and publications based in New York City. And all of their friends were also artists, so we were surrounded by cartoonists, children’s book illustrators, oil painters, and ornament designers, who were all chasing their dreams, and making a living, in a competitive art world. But we also had a peek behind the curtain, of all the ups and down; successes and heartbreaks. We witnessed our parents pitching themselves to new clients; or trying out a new agent; working long hours in their studios to meet deadlines; or anxiously awaiting notes on something they’d just turned in. And during lulls in their industry, they’d host all their artist friends for pot-luck dinners, and we’d hear the stories from the New York art world. Who was thriving; who had left and found a “real job.” Living in Fairfield County, most of our classmates’ parents were CEOs with corner offices and maids, but when you’re a freelance artist, some months you’re the CEO and some months you’re the maid. It’s an unpredictable life. Which is probably why all three of us daughters originally pursued careers that offered much more stability: set hours, contracted salaries, and daily routines. It wasn’t until later in life that we three switched paths, and all became full-time freelance artists ourselves. Because the creative calling is stronger than the need for stability. And we learned from our parents that, though the creative life is unpredictable, it’s also fulfilling in ways that are deeper than any salary or daily routines.

The Allison and Cinnamon, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

For eighteen years, as identical twins, we chose to nurture our own individuality and live in separate cities, often separate states, and occasionally separate countries, as we each taught Writing abroad and in the States. But in 2019, we did something we had never tried before: we collaborated. Our resulting show, #Twinning, was a hit on the Comedy Central stage and was inspired by our personal experiences. This led to our next show, Twinship: Cruise Adventures, which inspired the co-writing of two TV pilots that were quickly picked up by a Literary Manager. But in 2020, when the pandemic put our writing projects on hold, we moved together to a cabin in the mountains as a temporary writing retreat, and started posting live Instagram interviews with favorite TV survivalists, to spread some positivity during a challenging time. From there, we began chatting with Hallmark Channel favorites for a “Count Down to the Count Down to Christmas,” in October 2021. And today, from our shared mountain cabin, we host The (Pretend) Morning Show almost daily, to help start the day in a lighthearted, sometimes chaotic, way. When we’re not bickering.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

You can’t wait for people’s permission to follow your dreams. You realize when you are in a creative industry that there are a lot of gatekeepers, and so in the early days, we thought the answer was to “find the way in.” To find the secret password or the handshake, or to pursue the Yes’s or wait for the invitations. But now, we realize, you have to create your own path. Don’t wait for permission. Don’t wait for the invitations. Just do it. You want to be in a play? Write the play. Make it happen. You want to perform comedy on stage? Form an improv group and do it. You want to write for TV? Write a script and film it or send it out. You want to have a Morning Show? Set up a camera and post it on YouTube. Because we’re living in a creative “Wild West” where there are so many platforms and options to create your own content. Don’t wait for the invitation. Just do it. It’s really that easy.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

The Artitst’s Way is a really helpful workbook for someone looking to reconnect to their creative side, and gives you “assignments” that help foster self-confidence.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sparksofcomedy.com
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• Youtube: sparksofcomedy
• Other: The (Pretend) Morning Show features original episodes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday on their YouTube channel, @sparksofcomedy.