Artist Soapbox * Audio fiction + Creative Process

Interview with the podcast co-producers June Guralnick and Tamara Kissane. THE WRITE TO HEAL: SOLDIERS DEEP DIVE INTO STORYTELLING In this new, limited six-episode audio series, Artist Soapbox speaks with life-changers – people who champion creative writing as a catalyst for soldiers’ healing, as well as soldiers whose lives have been radically transformed through story. The interviews are conducted by Tamara Kissane, Artist Soapbox producer and 2020 Piedmont Laureate, with June Guralnick, 2022 Raleigh Medal of Arts recipient and creative writing teacher for veterans. GUEST BIOS JUNE GURALNICK (Co-Producer) has created plays, performance projects, and large-scale community cultural projects for more than four decades. A native New Yorker, June’s plays have been performed at venues including the Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.), Abrons Arts Centre/Henry Street Settlement (N.Y.), Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre (N.C.), Equity Library Theatre (N.Y.), and the North Carolina Museum of Art. Awards include the Silver Medal-Pinter Drama Review Prize, North Carolina Arts Council Literature Fellowship, Southern Appalachian Repertory New Plays winner, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Writing Fellows, Hambidge Center for the Arts Writer-in-Residence, Sewanee Writers’ Conference Tennessee Williams Scholar (University of the South), Second Place winner for the Judith Royer Award in Playwriting Excellence, 2022 Raleigh Medal of Arts recipient, and most recently the 2023 United Arts Council of Raleigh & Wake County Artist Support Grant. Since 2020, June has taught creative writing to active duty soldiers, veterans and family members through The Joel Fund’s Operation Art Program, as well as with the Arts & Health Program at Walter Reed Hospital. For more info, visit www.juneguralnick.com. TAMARA KISSANE (Co-Producer) is a playwright, parent, and podcaster based in Pittsboro, N.C. She was the 2020 Piedmont Laureate and received Outstanding Contribution to the Arts from Chatham Life & Style. Her plays and monologues have been presented throughout the Triangle and Triad areas of North Carolina. Through her podcast and production studio, Artist Soapbox, Tamara has produced, written, and directed a variety of audio dramas from anthologies to full-length series, most recently the nine episode audio series, JESUS PANCAKE. EPISODE LINKS Check out June’s digital story, What I Didn’t See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McF3GY1Xpeg Transcript CREDITS WHEN I WRITE I FEEL… CONTRIBUTORS For more information, see artistsoapbox.org and

Interview with Captain Moira G. McGuire, former Chief of the Arts in Health Program at the National Intrepid Center of Excellence, and Sarah Moore, Community Specialist for Arts and Health at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. THE WRITE TO HEAL: SOLDIERS DEEP DIVE INTO STORYTELLING In this new, limited six-episode audio series, Artist Soapbox speaks with life-changers – people who champion creative writing as a catalyst for soldiers’ healing, as well as soldiers whose lives have been radically transformed through story. The interviews are conducted by Tamara Kissane, Artist Soapbox producer and 2020 Piedmont Laureate, with June Guralnick, 2022 Raleigh Medal of Arts recipient and creative writing teacher for veterans. GUEST BIOS CAPT (RET) MOIRA G. MCGUIRE was a nurse officer with the U.S. Public Health Service and former Chief of the Arts in Health Program at the National Intrepid Center of Excellence. She has worked extensively with vulnerable populations in behavioral health and oncology settings, and in 2010 was hand selected to establish the Sea Services Warrior Clinic at National Naval Medical Center where she used her skills and experience to craft and enhance the care of our country’s wounded, ill, and injured service members as the Program Manager. The focus of her professional work lies in the belief that creativity and expression are not only essential elements in the treatment of illness and injury, but in the prevention of them as well. SARAH MOORE is the Community Specialist for Arts and Health at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. After earning her Masters’ degree at Columbia College, she worked as a dance/movement therapist with trauma survivors and refugees. Utilizing her Bachelor’s in Peace-Building, she facilitated dance-based conflict resolution in Bosnia for five years followed by one year of teaching dance to immigrant students in Portugal. She conducted her master’s thesis in Nairobi and returns annually as part of the collaborative leadership team supporting therapeutic arts training with Global Alliance for Africa. The through-line of Sarah’s work is expanding ethical and equitable access to health and well-being through the arts. EPISODE LINKS The National Intrepid Center for Excellence Our Country’s Keepers: Stories of Active Duty Veterans and Those Who Care For Them (Stuart Pimsler Dance & Theater) Transcript CREDITS WHEN I WRITE I FEEL… CONTRIBUTORS For more information, see artistsoapbox.org and juneguralnick.com.

Interview with Gail Ashby Bryant (Army veteran 1975-1981), Mark Bartholomew (Iraq Combat Medic veteran), and Bill Dixon (Vietnam veteran and Board Chair of Vets to Vets). THE WRITE TO HEAL: SOLDIERS DEEP DIVE INTO STORYTELLING In this new, limited six-episode audio series, Artist Soapbox speaks with life-changers – people who champion creative writing as a catalyst for soldiers’ healing, as well as soldiers whose lives have been radically transformed through story. The interviews are conducted by Tamara Kissane, Artist Soapbox producer and 2020 Piedmont Laureate, with June Guralnick, 2022 Raleigh Medal of Arts recipient and creative writing teacher for veterans. GUEST BIOS GAIL ASHBY BRYANT was born and raised in Harlem, New York (the middle child of seven children). She attended Pace University for teaching but upon graduation, enlisted in the Army instead. From 1975-1981 she was a cook and Mess Sergeant. After her service in the army, she graduated from Orange County Community College with a degree in Police Science and State University of New York at New Paltz with a degree in Social Work. She was Director of Social Services for nursing homes for more than 25 years before retiring to North Carolina. Writing is her first love! MARK BARTHOLOMEW grew up in eastern North Carolina. He served in the Army Reserves from 2000-08, deploying to Iraq from 2003-04 with the 351st Military Police Company Combat Support (as a Combat Medic). After coming home, he struggled with PTSD and a traumatic brain injury. It has been a long road but now he happily fills his days as a husband to an amazing wife, a stay-at-home dad to four wonderful boys, while enjoying nature, art, and writing. BILL DIXON, Spec 5 U.S. Army, Vietnam 1967 currently serves as Board Chair for Vets to Vets United, placing rescued dogs with veterans (at no cost) as well as a Board member of Vietnam Veterans of America, North Carolina Council. He is a life member of VFW, Commander of American Legion Post, a member of VET-Rep. Working for VA, and a representative to Wake County Veterans Council and North Carolina Veterans Council. EPISODE LINKS Transcript CREDITS WHEN I WRITE I FEEL… CONTRIBUTORS For more information, see artistsoapbox.org and juneguralnick.com.

Interview with Brooke Dickhart, Executive Director of The Joel Fund and Linda Giles, retired social worker with the Department of Social Work at Womack Army Medical Center. THE WRITE TO HEAL: SOLDIERS DEEP DIVE INTO STORYTELLING In this new, limited six-episode audio series, Artist Soapbox speaks with life-changers – people who champion creative writing as a catalyst for soldiers’ healing, as well as soldiers whose lives have been radically transformed through story. The interviews are conducted by Tamara Kissane, Artist Soapbox producer and 2020 Piedmont Laureate, with June Guralnick, 2022 Raleigh Medal of Arts recipient and creative writing teacher for veterans. GUEST BIOS BROOKE DICKHART is the Executive Director and Founder of The Joel Fund, a nonprofit in Wake Forest, N.C. that provides support services to veterans and their families. Brooke started The Joel Fund in honor of her dad who served as a Navy SEAL for almost twenty years. Brooke graduated from Virginia Tech and owned and operated an embroidery business, and from 2009-2012 was co-owner of a café and gift shop in downtown Wake Forest. Brooke lives in Raleigh with her husband and three children. For more info about The Joel Fund, visit: https://www.thejoelfund.org/. LINDA GILES is a social worker and certified Gestalt therapist, and retired in June of 2013 from the Department of Social Work at Womack Army Medical Center, Fort Liberty, N.C. Linda’s background working with the trauma of abuse made her acutely aware of the trauma of war and the impact of PTSD on veterans' lives. Linda's extensive work history started in 1964, when she began as a caseworker for Abused and Neglected Children in Pennsylvania. She eventually taught parent education and became active in women’s issues and the impact of domestic violence on the family. EPISODE LINKS Brooke’s Digital Story The Joel Fund Transcript CREDITS WHEN I WRITE I FEEL… CONTRIBUTORS For more information, see artistsoapbox.org and juneguralnick.com.

Interview with Barbara Aragon, social worker with Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration’s Tribal Training and TA Center, and Pedro Reyes, Iraq veteran and Native American digital storyteller. THE WRITE TO HEAL: SOLDIERS DEEP DIVE INTO STORYTELLING In this new, limited six-episode audio series, Artist Soapbox speaks with life-changers – people who champion creative writing as a catalyst for soldiers’ healing, as well as soldiers whose lives have been radically transformed through story. The interviews are conducted by Tamara Kissane, Artist Soapbox producer and 2020 Piedmont Laureate, with June Guralnick, 2022 Raleigh Medal of Arts recipient and creative writing teacher for veterans. GUEST BIOS BARBARA ARAGON (Laguna Pueblo/Crow) is an experienced storyteller, facilitator, and curriculum developer with decades of experience working with indigenous communities and organizations across the U.S. and the Pacific Basin. She is passionate about reviving the healing power of storytelling by teaching digital storytelling to diverse populations in indigenous communities. She enjoys flash vacations with her three adult children and lives in Sacramento with Wilson, her rescue Labrador. PEDRO REYES (Laguna Pueblo/Crow) is a veteran, poet, facilitator, editor, scholar, and voice-over professional. He has been called the indigenous Morgan Freeman. He graduated with a degree in English Literature from Stanford University and earned an MBA from the University of Minnesota. He is a skilled digital storytelling facilitator and enjoys the NFT world. EPISODE LINKS Talas Gifts Big Gunz Small Bullets Transcript CREDITS WHEN I WRITE I FEEL… CONTRIBUTORS For more information, see artistsoapbox.org and juneguralnick.com.

Interview with Joseph Bathanti, former North Carolina Poet Laureate and Dr. Bruce Kelly, retired Assistant Chief of Primary Care at the Charles George VA Medical Center. THE WRITE TO HEAL: SOLDIERS DEEP DIVE INTO STORYTELLING In this limited six-episode audio series, Artist Soapbox speaks with life-changers – people who champion creative writing as a catalyst for soldiers’ healing, as well as soldiers whose lives have been radically transformed through story. The interviews are conducted by Tamara Kissane, Artist Soapbox producer and 2020 Piedmont Laureate, with June Guralnick, 2022 Raleigh Medal of Arts recipient and creative writing teacher for veterans. GUEST BIOS JOSEPH BATHANTI, former Poet Laureate of North Carolina (2012-14) and recipient of the North Carolina Award in Literature, is the author of nineteen books, most recently Light at the Seam from LSU Press in 2022. Bathanti is the McFarlane Family Distinguished Professor of Interdisciplinary Education at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. He served as the 2016 Charles George VA Medical Center Writer-in-Residence in Asheville, N.C., and is the co-founder of the Medical Center’s Creative Writing Program. The Act of Contrition & Other Stories, winner of the EastOver Prize for Fiction, is forthcoming from EastOver Press in fall of 2023. For more information on Bathanti’s work, visit: https://english.appstate.edu/faculty-staff/directory/joseph-bathanti. BRUCE KELLY, MD is retired Assistant Chief of Primary Care at the Charles George VA Medical Center in Asheville, N.C. In 2014, along with former North Carolina Poet Laureate Joseph Bathanti, he co-founded a creative writing program for Vietnam veterans with PTSD as the central feature of a broader Medical Humanities program. He has been witness to the truth of this quote by poet Muriel Rukeyser: "The universe is not made up of atoms, it's made up of stories." KENNETH EDWARD FAUSTMAN (1946-2023) served in the US Army during the Vietnam War. He was awarded a military merit from South Vietnam in honor of exceptional service. He was a proud veteran who participated in the Honor flight that took him to the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C. in 2022. After his service he obtained his bachelor’s degree as an Industrial Engineer from the University of Wisconsin, Platteville. He used his degree to improve the world he lived in, as a teacher and construction manager. EPISODE LINKS Brothers Like These Transcript CREDITS WHEN I WRITE I FEEL… CONTRIBUTORS For more information, see

Enjoy this recording of two original audio dramas performed (LIVE) in front of an audience in the spring of 2023. Capital Arts Theater Guild partnered with Artist Soapbox to present ASBX LIVE: Bringing the Outside Inside. ASBX LIVE was an evening of theatrical fun, featuring LIVE presentations of two original audio dramas, written by North Carolina writers with additional performances by local musicians, improvisers, and an MC! The main attractions of the evening were the two 20 minute audio dramas, Domed by Ryan Vasconcellos, and Lizard Licked by Judy Dove. Both scripts were inspired by the writing prompt: Bringing the Outside Inside and were written to be performed with live sound effects. ASBX LIVE had one performance only on March 4, 2023 at 7pm, at Theatre Raleigh Arts Center’s, Lobby Cabaret Theatre. Yes, we are doing this again! For information about ASBX LIVE 2024 - Home Sweet Home, go to https://artistsoapbox.org/work-with-us/asbx-live/ *** ASBX LIVE 2023 Playbill Co-producers: Charlie Brady and Tamara Kissane Director: David Henderson Stage Manager: LaNeisha Brown Farrar Cast of Domed: Sarah Koop, Bonnie Webster, Kenny Ortiz, Liam Yates Cast of Lizard Licked: Thaddaeus Edwards, Ali Evarts, David Henderson, Sierra Smith Foley Consultant: Rowell Gorman Foley Artists: Griffin James and Tamara Kissane Master of Ceremonies: Brian Yandle Accompanist: Michael Kennedy Recording and post-production: Parker Gagnier Sponsors: Manbites Dog Theater Fund, Joan Neder at The Real Brokerage, Capital Arts Theater Guild, Artist Soapbox, and the individuals who donated to the ASBX LIVE Indiegogo campaign.

How can we use writing as a refuge during our journey thru grief? Can we evolve rather than dissolve as we act as caregiver for a loved one? In this episode, Julia Freifeld delves into her creative process as author and artist, and details the personal journey that led to her book: In Each Other’s Bones: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Living. In Each Other’s Bones and Julia Freifeld: Julia and Mark had carefully constructed a life together. Their vision for themselves, their marriage, and their children had always been in sync. Then, life took a terrible turn. Mark was diagnosed with a fatal degenerative neurological disease with no hope for a cure. They would endure ten years of daily discussions about disease, doctors, medicines, and dying. Drawing upon therapy, painting, sacred rituals, and writing, Julia found the strength to remain at peace and not fall to pieces as she worked to keep her marriage strong and prepare for life on her own. A classically trained fine artist, Julia Freifeld earned her degree from Boston University in painting and printmaking. After studying in Paris, she worked as a scenic artist for Disney Studios in Los Angeles. She now lives in Raleigh, NC. In Each Other’s Bones is available on Amazon. Learn more at juliafreifeld.com. *Transcript for this episode is coming. Please check back.* LISTEN TO ASBX AUDIO DRAMAS: Jesus Pancake Master Builder The New Colossus Declaration of Love audio anthology Food for Thought ASBX Shorts CONNECT AND FOLLOW: Artist Soapbox on social media: Twitter: @artist_soapbox Instagram: @artistsoapbox Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artistsoapboxpodcast/ CONTRIBUTE: Soapboxers are the official patrons of the Artist Soapbox podcast. Get on the Soapbox with us at Patreon or make a one-time donation via Ko-fi at https://ko-fi.com/artistsoapbox or via PayPal at PayPal.Me/artistsoapbox. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation, please consider our non-profit Soapbox Audio Collective.

How do we create trans inclusive spaces? What is a gender consultant? How do theatre companies support best intentions with best practices? If you are committed to creating an inclusive space, this episode with Griffin James and Shira Helena Gitlin, is a must listen. Big thanks to Griffin for initiating this important and timely conversation with Shira. *Transcript for this episode is coming. Please check back.* BIO: Shira Helena Gitlin (they/them) is a trans nonbinary director, dramaturg, gender consultant, and musical theatre enthusiast. They have held Trans Inclusion workshops for Dramatists Guild, National Women’s Theatre Festival, Directors Lab North, and various theatres and institutions across the United States. They are also a member of the Gender Explosion Initiative. They are currently the gender consultant on multiple shows including two new musicals, Psyche and Millennials are Killing Musicals. For more information, please visit shirahelenagitlin.com. MENTIONED: Shira's website: shirahelenagitlin.com Episode with Teal Lepley on Artist Soapbox: (https://artistsoapbox.org/asbx-episodes/157-creating-new-and-accessible-theatre-with-teal-lepley-performer-and-playwright/) *The trans community is being vilified politically through a series of proposed bills and bans which would limit access to medical care, censor performances and literature and would out trans children to their parents. One thing you can do to help the trans community is to register to vote and to contact your local representatives to communicate the harm this will enact. List of representatives (https://www.house.gov/representatives) Register to vote (https://vote.gov/) LISTEN TO ASBX AUDIO DRAMAS: Jesus Pancake Master Builder The New Colossus Declaration of Love audio anthology Food for Thought ASBX Shorts CONNECT AND FOLLOW: Artist Soapbox on social media: Twitter: @artist_soapbox Instagram: @artistsoapbox Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artistsoapboxpodcast/ CONTRIBUTE: Soapboxers are the official patrons of the Artist Soapbox podcast. Get on the Soapbox with us at Patreon or make a one-time donation via Ko-fi at https://ko-fi.com/artistsoapbox or via PayPal at

Let's open our 2023 season with a conversation with writer, Marjorie Hudson, about her beautiful novel, Indigo Field. Indigo Field is being described as "among the best of contemporary Southern fiction". Marjorie Hudson is a longtime writer of fiction and non-fiction, a committed educator and community member, advocate and activist. Throughout this conversation, Marjorie describes her creative process, dropping helpful gems about craft as well as offering thoughts about ‘writing while living’ --the connection between what we write and our values, our interests, and our lives. Marjorie reads 3 selections from Indigo Field at the end of our discussion. If you are a person who likes your dessert first, then skip to about 7 minutes from the end, listen to the excerpts from Indigo Field and then start again from the top. Marjorie's website marjoriehudson.com. Enjoy! *Transcript for this episode is coming. Please check back.* *** BIO: Marjorie Hudson was born in a small town in Illinois and raised in Washington, D.C., where she graduated from American University with a degree in Journalism and Women’s Studies. After serving as features editor of National Parks Magazine, she moved to rural North Carolina, working as a freelance writer with a column interviewing nature photographers and publishing articles in Garden & Gun, American Land Forum, Wildlife in North Carolina, Our State Magazine, and North Carolina Literary Review. As copyediting chief for Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, she encountered the work of contemporary Southern writers such as Jill McCorkle, Kaye Gibbons, and Clyde Edgerton for the first time. Inspired, she turned her hand to fiction writing, and her first story won a statewide award judged by Shannon Ravenel. She earned an MFA from Warren Wilson College. She lives with her husband, Sam, and feisty small terrier DJ, on a century farm in North Carolina, where she mentors writers and reads poetry to trees. LISTEN TO ASBX AUDIO DRAMAS: Jesus Pancake Master Builder The New Colossus Declaration of Love audio anthology Food for Thought ASBX Shorts CONNECT AND FOLLOW: Artist Soapbox on social media: Twitter: @artist_soapbox Instagram: @artistsoapbox Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artistsoapboxpodcast/ CONTRIBUTE: Soapboxers are the official patrons of the Artist Soapbox podcast. Get on the Soapbox with us at Patreon or make a one-time donation via Ko-fi at https://ko-fi.com/artistsoapbox or via PayPal at

Tamara drops in to open the 2023 Season of the Artist Soapbox podcast, to touch base with you about the exciting episodes that will be coming to your ears, and to talk about the future of Artist Soapbox. [Spoiler Alert: This season includes: 3 interview episodes, 2 radio plays, and a 6 episode limited series. Then, a hiatus of indefinite length.] *Transcript for this episode is coming. Please check back.* Mentioned: ASBX LIVE Patreon TheatreFest Away Home Tix VO Demos (Tamara Kissane) LISTEN TO ASBX AUDIO DRAMAS: Jesus Pancake Master Builder The New Colossus Declaration of Love audio anthology Food for Thought ASBX Shorts CONNECT AND FOLLOW: Artist Soapbox on social media: Twitter: @artist_soapbox Instagram: @artistsoapbox Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artistsoapboxpodcast/ CONTRIBUTE: Soapboxers are the official patrons of the Artist Soapbox podcast. Get on the Soapbox with us at Patreon or make a one-time donation via Ko-fi at https://ko-fi.com/artistsoapbox or via PayPal at PayPal.Me/artistsoapbox. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation, please consider our non-profit Soapbox Audio Collective.

Microwaves, family secrets, and the Potential of a Pancake converge in this zany dark comedy about a middle-aged woman reckoning with her power for the first time. Jesus Pancake is a new scripted audio fiction series from Artist Soapbox and the Soapbox Audio Collective. Nine episodes of Season One will be released FALL 2022. Subscribe via your favorite podcast app. For more information, see www.artistsoapbox.org.

It’s Tamara here with a season 2022 wrap-up. In this short little episode, you'll hear a hodgepodge of season-related thoughts and recap, some numbers, what’s next for Artist Soapbox, recommendations, etc. It’s a little formless jumble of gratitude in audio form! Mentioned in this episode: ASBX Live Madame Magenta: Sonos Mystica Midnight Burger Allison Kirkland Writing Workshops LISTEN TO ASBX AUDIO DRAMAS: Master Builder The New Colossus Declaration of Love audio anthology ASBX Shorts CONNECT AND FOLLOW: Artist Soapbox on social media: Twitter: @artist_soapbox Instagram: @artistsoapbox Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artistsoapboxpodcast/ CONTRIBUTE: Soapboxers are the official patrons of the Artist Soapbox podcast. Get on the Soapbox with us at Patreon or make a one-time donation via Ko-fi at https://ko-fi.com/artistsoapbox or via PayPal at PayPal.Me/artistsoapbox. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation, please consider our non-profit Soapbox Audio Collective.

If you are seeking encouragement, wisdom, and positivity, then this episode delivers! Brian Perry is a singer/songwriter, clarity coach, copywriter, author, speaker, and amazing person. Enjoy his conversation with host, Juliana Finch, about navigating the creative process, finding joy, and measuring success. *** BRIAN PERRY: Singer/Songwriter, Clarity Coach, Copywriter, Author, and Speaker (and that guy who writes on the back of his car!) www.yesbrianperry.com @yesbrianperry on FB, IG, & LI MENTIONED: www.thinkingoutsidetheblocks.com LISTEN TO ASBX AUDIO DRAMAS: Master Builder The New Colossus Declaration of Love audio anthology ASBX Shorts CONNECT AND FOLLOW: Artist Soapbox on social media: Twitter: @artist_soapbox Instagram: @artistsoapbox Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artistsoapboxpodcast/ CONTRIBUTE: Soapboxers are the official patrons of the Artist Soapbox podcast. Get on the Soapbox with us at Patreon or make a one-time donation via Ko-fi at https://ko-fi.com/artistsoapbox or via PayPal at PayPal.Me/artistsoapbox. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation, please consider our non-profit Soapbox Audio Collective.

How about a special summer treat? This episode is a short audio play for middle-school kids created by the Curious Theatre Collective. *** Founded in 2016, Curious Theatre Collective creates original, interdisciplinary educational theater programming that inspires audiences to follow their curiosity, persevere through challenges, and believe in the power of their imagination. Curious Theatre Collective is excited to share the next installment of audio plays for young audiences: Chinese Girl Wants Vote. Written by Jinna Kim, Chinese Girl Wants Vote presents the life and work of Dr. Mabel Ping-Hua Lee. Dr. Lee’s work for women’s rights and the Chinese American community are gifts we are thrilled to share with our audience (specifically grades 4-8). Chinese Girl Wants Vote: Trailblazer Mabel Lee features Rachel Kanakanui and Pimpila Violette. This audio play was funded thanks to grant support from the Orange County Arts Commission. Curious Theatre Collective is Emma Nadeau, Jessica Flemming, Tamara Kissane, and Julie Kaplan. Read along with the script Watch on YouTube For more info, cast bios, and resources: CTC Audio Plays ASBX Interview with Jinna Kim ASBX 145: Creekside with Winona: an audio play for young audiences *** LISTEN TO ASBX AUDIO DRAMAS: Master Builder The New Colossus Declaration of Love audio anthology ASBX Shorts CONNECT AND FOLLOW: Artist Soapbox on social media: Twitter: @artist_soapbox Instagram: @artistsoapbox Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artistsoapboxpodcast/ CONTRIBUTE: Soapboxers are the official patrons of the Artist Soapbox podcast. Get on the Soapbox with us at Patreon or make a one-time donation via Ko-fi at https://ko-fi.com/artistsoapbox or via PayPal at PayPal.Me/artistsoapbox. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation, please consider our non-profit Soapbox Audio Collective.

Isabel O'Hara Walsh leads writing workshops through the Redbud Writing Project. Redbud offers classes virtually and around the Triangle on topics like Writing the Novel, Experimental Fiction, and one that Isabel and I talk about, Joyful Creation – how to get your writing juices flowing when staring at that blank page. Isabel shares about their experience incorporating anti-racist practices into the workshop and feedback processes. An important resource in helping to shape this framework is the book The Anti-Racist Writer’s Workshop: How to Decolonize the Creative Classroom by Felicia Rose Chavez. Chavez’s book challenges, in her words, “art’s politics of power and privilege” and lays bare the ways that traditional – read: white-supremacist – methods of running workshops work to silence the voices of writers of color and writers with other marginalized identities. Isabel and Mara Thomas also discuss another Artist Soapbox favorite when it comes to rethinking the feedback process: Liz Lerman’s Critical Response Process. Lerman’s work helps tailor the feedback process to help the creator retain agency over their work and create an environment where they get the feedback they’re actually looking for rather than an onslaught of unfiltered opinions. BIO: Isabel O’Hara Walsh (she/they) is a writer, teacher, and practicing witch. A graduate of the MFA program in fiction at North Carolina State University, Isabel teaches fiction writing at the Redbud Writing Project, has published short stories in Pastel Pastoral and The Metaworker, and is at work on her second novel. Through her business EdgeWise Witch, Isabel offers transformative 1-1 and group work sessions that incorporate Tarot, writing, and other ritual to clarify the right path forward for her clients. SOCIAL MEDIA: IG: @isabeloharawalsh Website: redbudwriting.org | www.edgewisewitch.com MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE: The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop: How to Decolonize the Creative Classroom by Felicia Rose Chavez Critical Response Process by Liz Lerman LISTEN TO ASBX AUDIO DRAMAS: Master Builder The New Colossus Declaration of Love audio anthology ASBX Shorts CONNECT AND FOLLOW: Artist Soapbox on social media: Twitter: @artist_soapbox Instagram: @artistsoapbox Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artistsoapboxpodcast/ CONTRIBUTE: Soapboxers are the official patrons of the Artist Soapbox podcast. Get on the Soapbox with us at Patreon or make a one-time donation via Ko-fi at https://ko-fi.com/artistsoapbox or via PayPal at

It's Juliana Finch and Jess Klein! Jess Klein is an incredible songwriter-singer-performer, who has toured the world with her unbelievable music. She's been in the game long enough to know that creative cycles are normal and natural, and she approaches her process with a kind of ease that can inspire us all. Jess just finished producing an album that's coming out in the fall titled In the Arms of a Song. Do what you can to find Jess Klein and listen and have a good cry. In the meantime, enjoy this episode. Jess Klein Website Instagram: @msjessklein BIO: Over a career that spans two decades and has won her a devoted worldwide fan base, Jess Klein—who possesses what Mojo magazine calls “one of those voices you want to crawl up close to the speakers to listen to” has pursued a remarkable creative evolution that’s seen her dig ever deeper for resonant emotional insights, while continuing to refine her eloquently melodic, effortlessly accessible songcraft. The Rochester, NY native began writing songs as a college student in Kingston, Jamaica. Jess spent eight years soaking up the live music culture of Austin, TX. Bootleg (2015) Jess’s live, full band album captures the dynamism of Jess onstage, backed by some of Austin’s top players. Jess was named a 2015 Finalist in the highly regarded Kerrville New Folk Competition. In 2016, Jess and her husband, songwriter Mike June moved to tiny but vibrant Hillsborough, North Carolina where she recorded 2019's Back to My Green. Klein has performed to rapt audiences at the Newport Folk Festival, Winnipeg Folk Festival, Fuji Rock Festival in Japanand packed houses in notable listening rooms like Joe’s Pub, NYC, The Borderline in London, Club Passim in Boston and Fogartyville in Sarasota, FL. She has appeared on Good Morning America and NPR’s All Things Consideredand toured across the US, Europe and Japan on her own and with such artists as Arlo Guthrie, John Fullbright and Carlene Carter. Jess's new album is currently in production and due out shortly. LISTEN TO ASBX AUDIO DRAMAS: Master Builder The New Colossus Declaration of Love audio anthology ASBX Shorts CONNECT AND FOLLOW: Artist Soapbox on social media: Twitter: @artist_soapbox Instagram: @artistsoapbox Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artistsoapboxpodcast/ CONTRIBUTE: Soapboxers are the official patrons of the Artist Soapbox podcast. Get on the Soapbox with us at Patreon or make a one-time donation via Ko-fi at https://ko-fi.com/artistsoapbox or via PayPal at

Griffin James speaks with theatre-maker and law student, Aysia Slade about her original play STATIC, creating art without causing harm to the artist, her writing process, Black theater and more. Aysia is a multi-talented artist who has such a thoughtful and nuanced approach to creating new work in theater. Enjoy this episode! BIO: Aysia Slade is a lover of stories and the art of theater making. She is a 2021 graduate of North Carolina State University where she majored in psychology with minors in philosophy, theater and political science. While at her alma mater she participated in over a dozen shows on and off stage, and founded the Black Artist Coalition which created a space for fellowship and advocacy for black artists in every discipline. She is currently attending Duke University School of Law. Her most recent project Static won the Creative Artist Award for playwriting at NC State. LINKS: Static: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CO8s3Gtnj4 Listen to Aysia on ASBX: Guess What Happened to Me Last Night (ASBX Shorts episode 2) for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf by Ntozake Shange LISTEN TO ASBX AUDIO DRAMAS: Master Builder The New Colossus Declaration of Love audio anthology ASBX Shorts CONNECT AND FOLLOW: Artist Soapbox on social media: Twitter: @artist_soapbox Instagram: @artistsoapbox Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artistsoapboxpodcast/ CONTRIBUTE: Soapboxers are the official patrons of the Artist Soapbox podcast. Get on the Soapbox with us at Patreon or make a one-time donation via Ko-fi at https://ko-fi.com/artistsoapbox or via PayPal at PayPal.Me/artistsoapbox. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation, please consider our non-profit Soapbox Audio Collective.

This conversation is teeming with content, strategies, and tips, so prepare to take notes! Jeff A.R. Jones and Lormarev Jones discuss the concept of care of Community and Company through the lens of Intimacy Direction, a growing field in both the theatre and film//television industries. BIO: Jeff A.R. Jones has staged fights and/or intimacy for over 175 shows in theatre, opera, and ballet. His fights have received rave reviews in The Washington Post and The New York Times. He is a Fight Director, Certified Teacher, and Theatrical Firearms Instructor with the Society of American Fight Directors and a Certified Intimacy Director with Intimacy Directors and Coordinators. He is on faculty at Elon and William Peace University. Jeff is currently in the process of starting Triangle Intimacy Lab, a space to practice the craft of staged intimacy without the pressures or timeline of a production. *** Since this recording, host Lormarev Jones was accepted into the Level 3 Certification Program with Intimacy Directors and Coordinators, which Jeff refers to as IDC in this interview. That work continues to be a life-affirming and career-affirming educational experience for her. Content warning: there are mentions of staging scenes containing sexual assault. Nothing in detail, but it is mentioned a couple of times. IDC Website: https://www.idcprofessionals.com *** LISTEN TO ASBX AUDIO DRAMAS: Master Builder The New Colossus Declaration of Love audio anthology ASBX Shorts CONNECT AND FOLLOW: Artist Soapbox on social media: Twitter: @artist_soapbox Instagram: @artistsoapbox Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artistsoapboxpodcast/ CONTRIBUTE: Soapboxers are the official patrons of the Artist Soapbox podcast. Get on the Soapbox with us at Patreon or make a one-time donation via Ko-fi at https://ko-fi.com/artistsoapbox or via PayPal at PayPal.Me/artistsoapbox. If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation, please consider our non-profit Soapbox Audio Collective.

Mara Thomas got to know poet and educator Zoe Tuck through the School of the Alternative in Black Mountain, North Carolina where Zoe taught a class called “Book Magic.” “Book Magic” started from the premise that there is a grain of truth to the magic we remember from children's books and other fantastical literature. And if those books contained a grain of truth, how might participants nurture that grain and write their own magical systems into being? Enjoy this conversation about the mystical and intuitive parts of the creative process, ranging from friendship to trance poetics and patterned breath to the potency of shared creative spaces. Check out the show notes below for links to many of the books, writers, and resources referenced in this episode. BIO: Zoe Tuck (she/her) was born in Texas, became a person in California, and now lives in Massachusetts. She is the author of Terror Matrix (Timeless, Infinite Light) and the chapbooks "Vape Cloud of Unknowing" (Belladonna*) and "The Book of Bella" (DoubleCross Press), the latter of which is bound in a dos-a-dos edition with Emily Hunerwadel's "Peach Woman." In addition to teaching creative writing and literature classes, Zoe is the co-host of The But Also reading series with Britt Billmeyer-Finn and the co-editor of Hot Pink Magazine with Emily Brown. SOCIAL MEDIA: IG: @zoe.tuck Website: zoetuck.com MENTIONED IN THE EPISODE: School of the Alternative Eliza Swann - Golden Dome, Alchemical Imagination Julia Cameron - The Artist’s Way Automatic Writing Jack Spicer - San Francisco Renaissance Poet Svetlana Boym - Scenography of Friendship Renee Gladman - Adjacent Alterities Troubling the Line - first ever collection of poetry by trans & genderqueer poets Cento Poetry Practice KPrevallet - Trance Poetics, Ecosomatic Poetics James Nestor - Breath LISTEN TO ASBX AUDIO DRAMAS: Master Builder The New Colossus Declaration of Love audio anthology ASBX Shorts CONNECT AND FOLLOW: Artist Soapbox on social media: Twitter: @artist_soapbox Instagram: @artistsoapbox Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artistsoapboxpodcast/ CONTRIBUTE: Soapboxers are the official patrons of the Artist Soapbox podcast.