Because Creativity Heals

In this weeks episode, we return to the studio with some of the participants of the Music Showcase and talk about their reactions.

In May the members of Artreach along with a host of community volunteer musicians put on their annual Music Showcase known as the Come Together Coffee House. These music productions bring local volunteer musicians and vocalists with the members of Artreach to make an evening of music entertainment.   When the project first started in the 90s, the music event had a very coffee house vibe. We’d set up card tables in a church basement and play songs that we had rehearsed for months. We had a concession stand and because the church had a kitchen, we had a ‘build your own taco bar.   Over the two and a half decades of the annual show, the performer base has grown. Music Director Dick Pape brings in some local outstanding musicians to work in one of two full bands. Participants rehearse for several months, learning lyrics, timings, and sometimes filling in background vocals or harmonies with other singers in their rehearsal group.   This year the music showcase was performed in Norwich at The Chestnut Street Playhouse, a local venue in a converted Victorian fire house. It’s a great way to bring members of the public to the project, and for family members to share the music.   We decided to set up our recording equipment in the theater lobby to get people to know more about our new podcast by sitting down, putting on the headphones, and speaking with us about why they came to the show.   Some of these people are family members or friends of the performers, and some are performers or musicians themselves.   We then took some time a few days after the show to speak with Artreach members about their experiences as performers in the music showcase.  We have split these interviews into two parts. This episode features the recordings we made in the lobby before the show and during intermission. Next week we will post part two featuring post show interviews with some of the Artreach members who sang in the coffee house.          

In this episode of Because Creativity Heals, Kato speaks with the Executive Director of Artreach, Inc., Becca Atkins. They discuss both what Artreach currently is as well as the roots from which it has grown over the years.    Rebecca Atkins is a CT Licensed Professional Counselor, a Creativity Coach and Executive Director of Artreach, Inc. She enjoys singing, songwriting and playing bass, and has written and performed sketch and stand up comedy about mental health issues since 1993. Becca is passionate about helping humans connect with themselves and with others through the arts.   You can find Artreach, Inc.  as well as its various projects online:   http://www.creativityishealing.org/ http://secondstepplayers.org/   And be sure to follow us on social media!   https://www.facebook.com/artreachheals/   https://twitter.com/ArtreachHeals https://twitter.com/BCHPodcast   To Subscribe:    For Mobile listeners – Download the Podbean app (free) and search for “Because Creativity Heals”  Or, if you have already downloaded a podcasting client, follow the directions in the next sentence. For podcast enthusiasts – If you already listen to podcasts and have a podcatcher that you prefer, the feed you’ll need to add is https://becausecreativityheals.podbean.com/feed/   For those who don’t have a mobile device – You can always listen to the show by clicking the audio file at the top of this page.  

Hello fans of Artreach, Inc, home of The Second Step Players, Comic Alchemy, the Come Together Coffeehouse, and the many other arts and health related projects of Artreach.   This is a preview of our brand new podcast – Because Creativity Heals: an Arts and Health Podcast   Because Creativity Heals: an Arts and Health Podcast comes to you from Artreach, Incorporated a non-profit arts agency based in Norwich, CT providing opportunities for people who have been diagnosed with mental illnesses alongside our local community artists in Southeastern Connecticut and beyond.   Our first couple of episodes will involve speaking with the members of Artreach and exploring their stories.  After that we hope to speak with local artists about how creativity has shaped and inspired their work especially through times of adversity.   We invite Connecticut and Rhode Island based artists and community members to be in touch with show ideas and to lend a hand: creativityhealspodcast@gmail.comTo Subscribe:  For Mobile listeners – Download the Podbean app (free) and search for “Because Creativity Heals”  Or, if you have already downloaded a podcasting client, follow the directions in the next sentence. For podcast enthusiasts – If you already listen to podcasts and have a podcatcher that you prefer, the feed you’ll need to add is https://becausecreativityheals.podbean.com/feed/ For those who don’t have a mobile device – You can always listen to the show by clicking the audio file at the top of this page.