0116 with Curtis L. Harnagel - Same Room, Different Angles: Creative Direction, Communication, and Deep Listening

Curtis L. Harnagel is a creative polymath - a director, consultant, and producer whose career moves fluidly between live entertainment, multimedia, dance, art, and nonprofit worlds. A true pop-culture savant, Curtis carries decades of music knowledge, behind-the-scenes reasoning, and pedagogical wisdom from his perspective that apply across every industry. I first met Curtis on-site at a stunning fashion show fundraiser. I was hired as the shows Live-DJ while Curtis was the shows Music and Staging Director. After a few days of working with Curtis, I knew this was someone who sees a room from different angles. I asked him to join our collection of outlier teachers here on The Junkyard Love Podcast, we had nothing short of an excellent conversation. Armed with a degree in Radio, Television, and Film, Curtis’s path has been a mosaic of lighting grand productions like Phantom of the Opera, sculpting award-winning dance performances, staging massive live events, and mentoring creative teams to greatness. He coined GESAMTCURTISWERK (“Total Work of Curtis”) to describe his craft. It's a philosophy that threads art, logistics, and human connection into something greater than the sum of its parts - a way of thinking that refuses to split art from logistics, communication from creation, or teaching from doing; it’s all one interconnected, ever-evolving work: Curtis lives it. To top it off, his tagline? - "Turning Dreams Into Entertainment." In this episode, Curtis and I pull back the curtain on what it takes to knead, bake, and present large-scale creative projects with a true human touch. We talk about perception, the unspoken layers of communication, and how one thoughtful phrase can redirect an entire production. Curtis shares stories from the unpredictable trenches of live events - moments of tension, flashes of brilliance, and hail-mary's that knealed to the 'The show must go on'. We unravel wisdom passed down from influential teachers, explore the psychology of feedback and leadership, and examine how different minds approach creativity and problem-solving. We talk about the invisible threads that hold collaboration together, and how communication and listening can shape art, teams, and even lives. “GESAMTCURTISWERK  [guh-zahmt-kur-tis-verk]  noun, German.  1.  "Total Work of Curtis"     A.  Gesamt - adj; total, overall  (German)     B.  Curtis - noun; English proper name of Anglo-Norman origin derived from the word courteous.     C.  Werk - verb; to work  (German)  2.  Derived from: Gesamtkunstwerk  [guh-zahmt-koo nst-verk]  noun, German     A.  German for "Total Work of Art" or "Synthesis of the Arts “ Resources / Links:Website: www.gesamtcurtiswerk.comInstagram: @gesamtcurtiswerkYouTube: GESAMTCURTISWERKBold Journey Interview - https://boldjourney.com/meet-curtis-l-harnagel/Voyage Dallas Interview - https://voyagedallas.com/interview/conversations-with-curtis-l-harnagel/Canvas Rebel Interview - https://canvasrebel.com/meet-curtis-l-harnagel/DIFFA - 2025 theme trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gugNT39gHjwDIFFA website: https://www.diffadallas.org/hodDIFFA Instagram: @diffadallastx Checkout Curtis's official music playlist for Ep: 0116 Junkyard Love: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/06CsHwodO7jxWav75ieiX6?si=BI8KIR9qR5SbSsxODd3eeg&pi=lUYZBKGITUmCj Quotes:“Listening is the cornerstone of communication. Most people hear - you have to actually listen.”“Kindness is not niceness. Kindness and goodness have one thing in common: benevolence.”“Observation itself is a form of communication.”“Every move is a signature... make it count.”“Your emergency is not my emergency. Take a beat, be polite.” If you enjoyed the episode, hit subscribe. We'll see ya for 0117 in a few weeks!