The Recess Life with Louise Wo

Holy moly, where has the year gone? I jump on the mic to say hello and share a quick life update. I talk about what I am learning in this season of life and what this might mean for the future of the podcast. (Hint: the topics of lifelong play and creativity isn't going anywhere!) Have an amazing end of 2021 and happy new year! For the shownotes from this episode visit http://louisepanwo.com/s4e9. You can also follow us on Instagram @therecesslife. If you enjoyed this episode please share this with a friend and give us a review on iTunes! 

We are starting 2021 with more tensions than ever. What is it going to take to bring us together from all across the different spectrums? Could play be the answer? In this episode I speak with Jeff Harry, positive psychology coach, speaker, workshop facilitator and my favorite person to collaborate with on TikTok! We discuss the choice between understanding and being right and the power of play to heal our divisions. We talk about what Jeff has learned about how play can change the world through everything from consulting for companies like Google and Facebook to being a black man.  In this episode we talk about: Why the lack of shared humanity has contributed to the divisions we see in our world today How play can help us to see each other's shared humanity What you need to do before engaging with someone who shares different beliefs than you. Examples of how play has healed relationships and divisions in our world For more on Jeff and the shownotes from this episode visit http://louisepanwo.com/s4e8. You can also follow us on Instagram @therecesslife. If you enjoyed this episode please share this with a friend and give us a review on iTunes!  *Content Warning: This episode contains a slur word that refers to black people that is shared in the context of a story from Jeff's past (46:50 - 47:15).

  When Shawnrey Notto describes embodiment, it sounds like it has a lot in common with play: engaging the senses, feeling fully alive, savoring every moment. Yet most of us understand play as a concept way more than embodiment.  In this episode,  I speak with Shawnrey, a sex and intimacy coach and dancer about how embodiment and play are interconnected and how both are key to feeling fully alive. How can we feel good when a lot of our worldly pleasures have been stripped away from the pandemic? Embodiment might just be the answer.  In this episode we talk about: The definition of embodiment and how it relates to play How Shawnrey came to discover embodiment through trauma How to feel embodied when we are isolated during a pandemic The challenges that come with culture's conflation of sensuality and sexuality For more on Shawnrey and this episode's shownotes visit louisepanwo.com/s4e7. You can also follow us on Instagram @therecesslife. If you enjoyed this episode please share this with a friend and give us a review on iTunes! 

Thanksgiving is upon us and some of us are having trouble finding gratitude this year. I don't blame you AT ALL. It would be easy to brush off finding gratitude as a silly tradition and one that is unnecessary this year but I want to offer a different perspective.  In this episode I share some science and studies on the importance of gratitude and a different way to approach it than your daily "5 Things to be Grateful for" list. I help you to think of gratitude as a fun playful activity and where to find the opportunities in our constraints this holiday season.  For shownotes: louisepanwo.com/s4e6

Right now it's easy to look around and wonder if our country can get to a place of collective joy. In this expansive conversation with Emmy award-winning creative director, author and speaker, Gwen Gordon, we talk about how play and joy is the foundation for the world we want to create. The transformation starts with a belief of safety, love and connection. Get ready for a heart-warming and beautifully challenging episode. In this conversation We talk about why safety is at the core of transformation how play is possible no matter our life circumstances why play doesn't need to be a part of the mainstream conversation how we can talk about play in a world that is filled with uncertainty For more on Gwen visit louisepanwo.com/s4e5. You can also follow us on Instagram @therecesslife. If you enjoyed this episode please share this with a friend and give us a review on iTunes! 

  In 2004, William Hung was thrust into the limelight with the American Idol audition heard around the world. His famous rendition of "She Bangs" by Ricky Martin received attention that ranged from praise to ridicule. I talked to William about his journey from his American Idol audition and beyond and how he has maintained a positive playful spirit in the process. We discuss embracing the uncertainty of following your curiosity and his current transition to move back in to the public spotlight. In this conversation We talk about his journey to get on American Idol how he dealt with the attention of becoming an overnight sensation what it felt like to quit his day job and decide to follow his heart back out into the public spotlight how he handles the negative criticism he gets with a playful positive attitude **** Follow The Recess Life on Instagram @therecesslife. If you enjoyed this episode share it with a friend and leave us a 5 star review!  

Falls are the leading cause of death for seniors aged 65+. Of those seniors that survive a fall a majority of them will never live independently. That is a scary statistic that Stephen Jepson decided he would do something about. Stephen is the creator of Never Leave the Playground, where he teaches his philosophy of lifetime activity and play. At 80 years old he can juggle, tight rope walk and ride a unicycle. That's just scratching the surface of what he can do! He believes these activities will change everyone's lives, not just seniors, to live a long, healthy and playful life. In this conversation we talk about how Stephen discovered his love of play and movement how his training helped him recover from a traumatic injury some of the simple activities and exercises that we can all do to start our own journey with movement and play why these kinds of activities strengthen both the body and the brain.

As an immigrant and refugee the last thing on your mind would likely be anything creative and playful. For Chinese-Vietnamese immigrants Paul and Millie Cao, this was their story until a few years ago. The documentary short Walk Run Cha Cha explores their story of fleeing Vietnam and how they are reinventing themselves now through ballroom dance. In this episode, I spoke with Laura Nix, the Oscar-nominated director of Walk Run Cha Cha about her process in creating the film and the themes she explored around dance, immigration and reinvention in middle-age.  We talked about how creating the film changed Laura as a person and filmmaker, the motivation behind a creative pursuit, why the freedom to be playful and creative is not a given for everyone and the reality of a career in the arts. I also talked about how Paul and Mille's story relates to my parents' story of being immigrants and refugees. Follow @therecesslife and subscribe to the newsletter at louisepanwo.com/subscribe

You are born to dance. Yes, you. Think about it. As babies we wiggle about and giggle when we hear music that piques our curiosity. No one teaches us how to do that - we just know! So why do we grow up and become balls of anxiety when we see a dance floor? Dr. Peter Lovatt's work in dance and psychology explores that question. He is a former professional dancer, psychologist, author and keynote speaker who is leading the way for us to look at dance differently in our culture. We had a wonderful conversation that expanded beyond dance and into the way creativity and the arts are valued in education and our society. If I ever feel guilty for having a solo dance party in my room I will listen to this conversation to remind myself again that I am just doing what I was born to do. In this conversation We talk about dance as innate and natural in all of us teaching himself how to read in his 20's and how dance helped him with that. how the education system did not nurture him as a creative person and dancer the fear of judgment from others that holds us back the stories we tell about ourselves that keep us stuck

We are back with part two of the conversation with Alison Calhoun. In this episode we tackle our perspectives on coronavirus and break down her Facebook post: "When you stand up for something you believe in and people don't like it you've officially detached yourself from the chains of approval. Feels darn good. Keeping abortion clinics open as an essential business during a pandemic that threatens the lives of the vulnerable is the biggest double standard on the face of this planet. Please don't tell me this shutdown is a good idea because it saves lives and then fund the killing of unborn babies (Yes I realize you can't "catch" an abortion but you darn well can support it...making it a pandemic) You've lost my trust. You've lost credibility. You've raised many eyebrows as to what the agenda is behind this virus. This is why I have not and will not trust your numbers and the rigging of them. Good day! (Insert an image of me skipping away)"  In this conversation We talk about How we both have approached understanding COVID-19 How Alison's Christian beliefs informs her understanding of COVID-19 What freedom means to both of us The conspiracy theories that Alison believes to be a possibility  Why Alison doesn't believe we should have social distanced At the end of the episode I reflect on my own learnings from the conversation and share my tips for what you can do if you choose to have a conversation like this. I share how I think this conversation relates to play. Use what I've learned to your advantage to have more polarizing and challenging conversations. 

A few weeks ago I came across a Facebook post that shook me. It was written by my former high school bible study leader and it stated the following: "When you stand up for something you believe in and people don't like it you've officially detached yourself from the chains of approval. Feels darn good. Keeping abortion clinics open as an essential business during a pandemic that threatens the lives of the vulnerable is the biggest double standard on the face of this planet. Please don't tell me this shutdown is a good idea because it saves lives and then fund the killing of unborn babies (Yes I realize you can't "catch" an abortion but you darn well can support it...making it a pandemic) You've lost my trust. You've lost credibility. You've raised many eyebrows as to what the agenda is behind this virus. This is why I have not and will not trust your numbers and the rigging of them. Good day! (Insert an image of me skipping away)" Long story short: I decided to reach out to her and propose that we have a conversation in the spirit of understanding...and that we do some play-based activities to start us off on the right foot. This is part one of that conversation. We talked about: our shared past, what our lives look like today, Christianity and how we have changed since we knew each other 20 years ago. Stay tuned for next week's episode when we get into our thoughts and beliefs around COVID-19! For full shownotes: http://louisepanwo.com/s3e7

SPECIAL SERIES INSPIRED BY THE COVID-19 CRISIS: Play and Creativity in Uncertain Times We are in a time where it's really hard to think about play and creativity in the conventional ways. Performance venues, movie theaters, events, TV and movie productions are all shut down. We can't take creative classes or laugh with our friends in real life. I have struggled to talk about play in my typical way so I turned to the creative people in my world to learn how they are dealing with time. How has this crisis affected their creativity? How are they rethinking play during this time? What have they learned about themselves that can be relevant to us? In this conversation I chat with a dear friend and repeat guest, Krista Stryker. She is the creator of 12 Minute Athlete, a fitness brand, app and book. She is one of the most ambitious hustlers I know so I was so curious to learn how she was dealing with this pandemic. Her book launched a few weeks ago in the midst of all this and she has had to shift a number of goals she was working on. How does a badass athlete deal with circumstances beyond her control? Let's find out!

SPECIAL SERIES INSPIRED BY THE COVID-19 CRISIS: Play and Creativity in Uncertain Times We are in a time where it's really hard to think about play and creativity in the conventional ways. Performance venues, movie theaters, events, TV and movie productions are all shut down. We can't take creative classes or laugh with our friends in real life. I have struggled to talk about play in my typical way so I turned to the creative people in my world to learn how they are dealing with time. How has this crisis affected their creativity? How are they rethinking play during this time? What have they learned about themselves that can be relevant to us? In this conversation In this episode I chat with my friend and playologist, Kirsten Anderson, the founder of Integrate Play Solutions. We talk about how her work has been impacted, the importance of virtual teams taking the time to authentically connect and finding our play personalities as a way to cope.   

SPECIAL SERIES INSPIRED BY THE COVID-19 CRISIS: Play and Creativity in Uncertain Times ************* We are in a time where it's really hard to think about play and creativity in the conventional ways. Performance venues, movie theaters, events, TV and movie productions are all shut down. We can't take creative classes or laugh with our friends in real life. I have struggled to talk about play in my typical way so I turned to the creative people in my world to learn how they are dealing with time. How has this crisis affected their creativity? How are they rethinking play during this time? What have they learned about themselves that can be relevant to us? In this conversation I chat with my friend, Chris Luecke, the host of two podcasts: Manufacturing Happy Hour and Pubcast Worldwide. We talk about how he has chosen to step up as a connector for the manufacturing community and how he is playfully using his qualities as an extrovert for good. We even get a surprise performance with him dressed up in character! For shownotes: https://louisepanwo.com/s3e4/

SPECIAL SERIES INSPIRED BY THE COVID-19 CRISIS: Play and Creativity in Uncertain Times We are in a time where it's really hard to think about play and creativity in the conventional ways. Performance venues, movie theaters, events, TV and movie productions are all shut down. We can't take creative classes or laugh with our friends in real life. I have struggled to talk about play in my typical way so I turned to the creative people in my world to learn how they are dealing with time. How has this crisis affected their creativity? How are they rethinking play during this time? What have they learned about themselves that can be relevant to us? In this conversation In this conversation I chat with a new creative friend, Toan Lam. Toan is a talk show host, a motivational speaker and the founder of Go Inspire Go.  Toan shared his experience of delaying the debut of his talk show, The Toan Lam Show, and how he is allowing himself to let go and not resist the reality of the situation. We talked about creativity as an outlet, the opportunity to get back to the basics with creating and being open to what the Universe is giving you. Our conversation felt like a spiritual experience!  

**SPECIAL SERIES INSPIRED BY THE COVID-19 CRISIS*** Play and Creativity in Uncertain Times: We are in a time where it's really hard to think about play and creativity in the conventional ways. Performance venues, movie theaters, events, TV and movie productions are all shut down. We can't take creative classes or laugh with our friends in real life. I have struggled to talk about play in my typical way so I turned to the creative people in my world to learn how they are dealing with time. How has this crisis affected their creativity? How are they rethinking play during this time? What have they learned about themselves that can be relevant to us? ******** In this conversation I chat with my dear friend and dance teacher, Dexandro Montalvo. Dexandro is an award-winning choreographer and dance teacher in the Bay Area. He shared the perspective of how this crisis is affecting artists, particularly dancers who depend on contracts with dance companies to make a living. We talked about how this crisis is affecting the arts, finding ways to not quit, how urgent situations can help in affirming your purpose and much more. For more information on Dexandro: https://instagram.com/D_montalvo http://dexandromontalvo.com/

**SPECIAL SERIES INSPIRED BY THE COVID-19 CRISIS*** Play and Creativity in Uncertain Times: We are in a time where it's really hard to think about play and creativity in the conventional ways. Performance venues, movie theaters, events, TV and movie productions are all shut down. We can't take creative classes or laugh with our friends in real life. I have struggled to talk about play in my typical way so I turned to the creative people in my world to learn how they are dealing with time. How has this crisis affected their creativity? How are they rethinking play during this time? What have they learned about themselves that can be relevant to us? ******** In this conversation I chat with my good friend Sheree Trask. Sheree is a storyteller, writer, book coach to spiritual leaders and the creator of The Storyteller's System. How is she dealing with clients putting their books on pause? How does she think about storytelling in this unprecedented time? What is this creative soul doing with this pause? For more information on Sheree: https://instagram.com/shereetrask https://shereetrask.com/

When you get to be in your mid-50's what do you imagine your life will look like? Will you be excited to be closer to retirement so that you can finally sit around and watch re-runs of The Office? Will you look back and regret not having followed your heart and lived the life that you truly desire? 57-year old Paula Ayotte is not doing any of those things. A few months ago she quit her job as a marine scientist and moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a dancer (after not training for 20+ years). She has since appeared on The Ellen Show, The Kelly Clarkson Show and booked a number of modeling and commercial gigs. She is working harder than she ever has but is joyfully living a life of play.  If you have ever said that you are too old to follow your dreams, try that hobby, put yourself out there or PLAY in any way. this episode is for you!  We talk about: What it was like to take the big leap of leaving her wonderful life in Hawaii as a marine scientist to pursue her dream Why it's vital to be MORE comfortable with discomfort as you age What she says to anyone that feels they are too old to pursue their calling How her age is a unique advantage in the world of dance and how we can see our "disadvantages" the same way.

A few years ago, Charlie Hoehn had achieved his biggest career milestone: organizing best-selling author Tim Ferris' Opening the Kimono book seminar. He had a dream job of being Tim's righthand man. His life should have been perfect...yet something was clearly wrong. Upon completion of Opening the Kimono, Charlie woke up and couldn't breathe or think straight; his hands were shaking and he felt like he was on the verge of a heart attack. What followed was months of anxiety and debilitating stress that led him to leave his job working for Tim. Statistics around burnout and exhaustion are becoming more alarming by the day. The World Health Organization now includes burnout in the 11th Revision of the International Classification as of Diseases as an occupational phenomenon. To say Charlie was burned out is an understatement. Charlie set out on a journey to heal his anxiety and get back to himself. Meditation. Psychedelics. Therapy. Courses. Volunteering. Nothing worked except for one thing. Play.

Antoine Joyce grew up poor in Brooklyn, New York and much of what he knew about life was within a five radius block. He was smart and outgoing but once he was placed in a predominantly white school, he felt insecure and started failing classes. One day he stumbled upon his cousins practicing a dance for a talent show. Jokingly he said, "Oh, I can do that too" and he imitated their movements. Before he knew it he was performing at an All Stars Project talent show. A few years later he was flying first-class around the world producing DJ Grandmaster Flash's shows. These days Antoine is the city leader for the Dallas chapter of the All Stars Project, the organization that helped him see that a life was possible beyonds the five block radius in Brooklyn. The All Stars Project uses performance and play-based programs to transform the lives of youth in poor communities. He is helping next generation of poor youth to see bigger possibilities for themselves. We talk about: How discovering play and performance opened up Antoine's world beyond the one he knew of poverty How Antoine went from being an outgoing kid to shy and introverted once he was placed in a predominantly white school How the education system contributes to the decline of exploration of our identities Humans as natural born performers

What would you do if you sucked at the thing you loved the most? Would you stop doing it? Would you shame yourself for not being sucky at it?  Karen Rinaldi, author of (It's Great to) Suck at Something has something to say about doing that thing you simultaneously love and suck at: you should embrace and do more of it! Karen sucks at surfing, yet she can't NOT do it. It is her ultimate form of play. She has shaped her life to be able to do as much of it as possible.  Why should you resist the idea that you should only do the things you are good at? How did embracing surfing suckitude help Karen deal with breast cancer? Why is it important to not only do things that are transactional in nature? Tune into this episode to explore all these questions and more! 

Bossanova. Classical Piano. Guitar. Old school R&B music. Theater. Comedy. All of these things and more have been a part of Morgan Jay's creative journey and have influenced his eclectic career. These days Morgan is on the rise as a comedian and musician, recently appearing on NBC's Bring the Funny as a semifinalist. All these different experiments helped him eventually arrive at his unique style of performance that he has today. And throughout his career, Morgan has experienced people not understanding him and trying to fit him in a box.  If you are also a creative, playful person you may experience people trying to fit you into a mold and categorize you. You may even experience people (gasp) not liking you! How do you deal with these dynamics as your career rises as an entertainer or creative? We talk about: Exploring lots of different creative outlets to find the craft that feels most authentic to you. Taking time to play without an agenda. Dealing with critics that want to put you in a box. Practicing play and creativity when you feel the pressures of success Doing creative work step by step

  Play and learning is seen as being at odds with each other in our society. In school there is play/recess time and then there is be-quiet-and-sit-in-your-seats learning time. Since the 1950's there has been a decline in play for kids at school and at home and one might think that this is a good thing. Dr. Peter Gray sees it a different way. In his book Free to Learn he talks about the conditions in which kids need to learn and this one is my favorite: unlimited time to play and explore. He talks about his own experience taking his son out of the traditional schooling system and a concept called self-directed education. After watching his Tedx talk and reading Free to Learn I knew I had to have Dr. Gray on to to talk more about play and learning. We talk about: The conditions kids need in order to learn best Why self- directed learning is the best way that kids learn Why screens and devices should NOT be looked upon negatively or taken away from kids The consequences of a society where play continues to be on the decline Why it's important to always do what you love  

As civilized as we think we are, at the end of the day, we are animals. Yes, "evolved" animals but animals nonetheless. No matter how advanced we get in our modern technology we will always have certain biological instincts that will never go away. Isabel Behncke wanted to understand human behavior better before modern society took over by studying our closest relative on earth: the bonobo. Isabel spent three years in the jungles of Congo studying bonobos - yes, that is as dangerous and crazy as it sounds! She noticed something unusual: bonobos love to play including the adults! She started to unravel why this was. Don't wild animals have better things to do than frivolous play? What she discovered is that play is not frivolous at all and it isn't for us humans either! In this episode of The Recess Life we talk about: *How similar we are to bonobos and what we can learn through them about human behavior *Play as evolution's gift *Play dating back to ancient times BEFORE cities and civilizations were formed *How discovering play has changed Isabel from being a self-proclaimed "serious nerd" *Why events like Burning Man and festivals exist Shownotes at http://bit.ly/TRLs2e2

Do you remember when you were a kid and being fascinated by everything in the world? Barely, right? Somewhere in between playing make believe and taking standardized tests we grew up and the world stopped being magical. Andrew Evans is one of those rare people that lives life like it is magic everyday because, well, he's a magician! From the time Andrew was a kid he has lived with a sense of wonder and curiosity that has not left him as an adult. A few years ago Andrew started doing magic shows in the backyard of his apartment in San Francisco. He grew a dedicated following and aptly named his show and the space The Magic Patio. Andrew has since moved The Magic Patio to a dedicated space and is hosting regular sold out shows. Andrew and I had our conversation right in the new Magic Patio space. We chatted about how living playfully has led him down his many twists and turns of life, how he deals with setbacks as a performer and what we can do to see the world as more magical.

Kai Dickens thought he has his dream job of running a children's summer camp. After taking a few bereavement days off for his father's unexpected death he came to a boss that expected him to jump right back into work. He realized that he couldn't work in an environment that cared more about the work than their employee's happiness and wellbeing. Since then Kai has made it his mission to create better workplace cultures within companies using play as a tool with his company Playology (currently going through a revamp). He speaks, trains and consults on the topic of play and coming home to your inner child. We talk about Figuring out your own "play personality" to better connect with yourself and your colleagues How to incorporate more play into work whether you are a manager or individual contributor The importance of playing offense and not defense with your life

Back when I was a kid playing Nintendo Mario, if you would've told me that video games could be used as a tool for positive change I would have looked at you very confused. There's no doubt that video games and immersive digital technologies like VR and AR can entertain and take us to another world but our guest today believes they can also make positive change in people and within organizations. Susanna Pollock is the President of Games for Change, the leading games advocate for the power of games as drivers for social impact. She works with organizations to further their mission and make a bigger impact through digital games. We got into a great conversation about games and its potential to make meaningful change at every level. We talked about how she would respond to criticism that video games have a negative impact on society and how we can think of games differently to make change in our OWN life. We talk about Susanna's story of realizing her passion for storytelling and media early on in her life (and not ever giving up on it!). The potential of video games and immersive technologies to: transfer knowledge, teach empathy, build awareness and  build cognitive development How we can all use games to improve our lives or reach a goal

JC Caoile moved to the Bay Area when he was 18 years old from the Philippines for the "American Dream." Yet, he found himself flipping burgers at a job he hated. He dabbled in dance as a kid so to escape from the dread of his job he joined some hip-hop dance groups. Little did he know that dance would bring him on a journey where he would start his own dance group, Str8jacket, and eventually performing on two NBC network shows. Str8jacket is now known as one of the most creative and innovative hip-hop dance groups in the Bay Area and is making waves all across the country.The journey was anything but easy and JC almost gave up on dance many times. Once he made a decision to be "all in" it changed everything. We talk about The gritty early days of starting a hip-hop dance group - it wasn't always smooth sailing! Resistance during the creative journey Recognizing when you need to be "all in" on a creative path Staying focused on producing work and not chasing opportunities

Krista Stryker is an athlete, entrepreneur, author and the founder of 12 Minute Athlete. At 12 Minute Athlete she shares short, efficient HIIT (high intensity interval training) workouts through her blog and app and encourages her followers to find a love of fitness and movement for themselves. But things weren't always this way. Growing up, Krista never saw herself as a fit or athletic person. In fact, she was barely able to do three pushups when she started her fitness journey. Through play and exploration she found her love of movement and  We talked about: the importance of finding YOUR style of movement through play and exploration (and why it doesn't have to look like anyone else's), adopting a "growth" mindset to improve and learn and dealing with challenges as you go through your fitness journey.

As I dive into these conversations with artists and entrepreneurs about play and creativity I will come on to do solo episodes once in a while. They will usually be inspired by something I've noticed with our guests or concepts within play that are interesting. I hope you'll come along for the ride!   Today I want to talk about being an explorer in your life - a theme that I've seen with some of The Recess Life guests so far. Exploring is trying on different skills, interests, occupations, activities etc. for the purpose of discovering oneself.   Nailah Blades Wylie went from working in a corporate career to a life coach to the head of her own marketing agency and now runs Color Outside, a company that takes women of color on outdoor nature adventures.   Jenny Feinberg had a 10 year career in politics, then started a coworking community business with hundreds of San Francisco creatives and is now a watercolor artist.   Nailah and Jenny's stories are not unusual for other people that have found fulfilling work. They explored who they really are before landing at where they are at today. Does the idea of being exploratory feel like permission to try lots of things or does it make you feel like you are indecisive and flaky?   In today's episode I talk about why: playing and having an exploratory period with different interests can help you find fulfilling work there is no such thing as “being behind” if you delay choosing a specialty in life. Our cultural narratives make it so challenging to have a playful exploratory approach to life exploring different interests does not make you flaky or indecisive   Mentioned in this episode and resources on being an explorer in your life. Range by David Epstein Puttylike- a website about how to navigate life as a multipotentialite (someone with many interests and creative pursuits) Refuse to Choose by Barbara Sher Google any of these terms: polymath, multipotentialite, scanner and generalist TEDx Talk: Why Some Of Us Don't Have One True Calling - Emilie Wapnick I hope this episode encourages you to play and explore more with different interests and paths. I promise it can only help you to learn more about yourself.

When Adam Rosendahl was 13 years old he attended a youth camp that changed his life. The camp was called The Power of Hope. His heart was blown wide open by the experience of connecting to 75 other young people of all backgrounds through the arts. He was particularly impacted by the power of the camp facilitators to use creativity to equalize and create connection with his fellow participants. This experience would be the guiding light that would eventually shape his business, Late Nite Art. Late Nite Art is a 90 minute experience that uses the arts, facilitated discussions and play to help teams within organizations meaningfully connect. Whether the participants are probation officers, quantum physicists or employees of a tech company the Late Nite Art experience allows for all individuals to come out from behind their labels and meaningfully connect.

A few years ago, Jenny Feinberg (@jennyfeinberg) found herself at the crux of an unexpected turning point in her life. The coworking business and community she had built of hundreds of San Francisco creatives was closing. Prior to starting the business, her 10 year career in politics, which included working for the Biden and Clinton Senate offices, ended abruptly. When her career in politics ended she made a promise to herself that she was going to live a life of inquiry - which meant that, no matter how crazy, she would follow the inner whispers of her heart. So...she turned to watercolor painting to cope with the loss of the coworking business. She didn't know where painting was going to take her but something told her that this was going to be her new path. These days, Jenny is a full-time watercolor painter who exhibits and sells art primarily through getting the word out through her Instagram account. And she is only just at the beginning! In this conversation we talk about why we all have a responsibility to live a life of inquiry, why she lets herself make “bad art” and how she deals with snags in the creative process.

Imagine feeling like you don't belong in the very place that we should all feel welcome to play: the great outdoors. Nailah Blades Wylie created Color Outside to give women of color the safe space to experience outdoor adventures.  After feeling disconnected from herself when she moved to Salt Lake City and stuck in the business she created, Nailah decided to reconnect to herself by exploring the abundance of natural beauty in her backyard. Before she knew it she was leading other women of color on adventures and a new business was born. I had such a blast talking with Nailah about her journey, the power of playing outside and the importance of women of color feeling welcome in the outdoors.

Who else has a nightmare of standing in front of an audience with no script or preparation? Well, improvisers like Gary Hirsch get excited by that idea! Inprovisers take uncertain situations and ask themselves "What is the opportunity here?" And couldn't we all stand to be more competent in uncertain situations? For over 20 years Gary has been bringing the principles of improv theater to organizations to help them with their business objectives. He is the co-founder of On Your Feet, the creator of Botjoy, an accomplished artist and the proud father of two artistic kids that are confused about what he does for a living. Gary is one of the most joyful humans I know and I hope you will be inspired by this conversation to live life more like an improviser. We talk about Gary's winding career path that started with a discussion about a t-shirt to the co-founding of On Your Feet. How accidentally walking into an improv rehearsal in graduate school led to finding one of his passions The voice of doubt that never goes away even when you are an accomplished entrepreneur and artist. Improv as a way of life that helps us to be more competent at uncertainty How improv helps us deal with something unexpected by asking "What is the opportunity?" Why we should keep our imaginary friends for life Mentioned in this episode and Resources On Your Feet, the company that Gary co-founded which takes improv-theater based workshops into organizations   Botjoy, Gary's project that  World Domination Summit, the conference where Gary presented and I first learned of his work Gary's World Domination Summit talk Gary's Instagram NYTimes: When School Gets Real: Teachers Connect Classroom Lessons to Current Events Bloomberg: Improv Training Is Making Management Throw Away the Script Delight: Co-creating with Improv, Monsters & Robots Subscribe and listen iTunes Spotify YouTube  

Welcome to our first episode! In this introductory episode I share the inspiration behind starting a podcast about play and what you can expect by joining us on this journey.