Podcast appearances and mentions of Mary Overlie

Apply for the Terry Knickerbocker Studio's Summer Intensive by June 7th and receive a special discount when you mention the podcast. Apply HERE About Terry Knickerbocker: Terry is a graduate of The Experimental Theatre Wing in the Drama Dept. at New York University. After graduating from NYU, Terry trained as an actor and a teacher with William Esper.  He taught at The William Esper Studio for 25 years, and continues as part of the core faculty at the Experimental Theatre Wing at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. He has also taught directing at Playwrights Horizons Theatre School and Yale University.  Other essential teacher/mentors include Maggie Flanigan, Rina Yerushalmi, Steve Wangh, Terry Hayden, Nikos Psacharopoulos, Jackie Brookes, Mary Overlie, Ryszard Cieslak, Jerzy Grotowski, Pierre Lefèvre, Moshe Feldenkrais, Dr. Louis Ormont, and Dr. Harry Fogarty. He has coached actors on over 300 films, television and theater projects, both on and off-Broadway and regionally. He also consulted with playwrights and screenwriters on their scripts.  Some of the actors he has worked with and trained include Sam Rockwell, Chris Messina, Boyd Holbrook, Natasha Lyonne, Leslie Bibb, Emmy Rossum, Yul Vasquez, Jordana Spiro, Gillian Alexy, Gretchen Mol and many others. A past recipient of the Drama League of New York's directing award/fellowship for emerging directors, Terry is also a former member of Circle Rep's LAB. His directing credits include many new works as well as contemporary and classical plays such as Measure for Measure, Tartuffe, The Normal Heart, Candida, All My Sons, and David Rabe's In the Boom Boom Room.

Have you ever wondered what impression people have of you?  What would you think of  someone just like you?   In this maniacal and sometimes tangential episode, me and Tiff cover a lot of ground.  Speaking of which, we discuss everything from the ankle-foot complex, (no we don't have a foot fetish) and how it attenuates forces when your foot hits the ground, to why Nostradamus may be a bit overrated.   We discussed some of the critical keys to learning and development, as well as some common barriers.  What do all human beings have in common?  And, why you don't need to agree with someone to love and acknowledge them.   Finally, who is Angie Miller?  So as Tiffanee put it, enjoy our meander through insight and meaningless banter. P.S. We briefly discussed coaching and connection.  I referred to Mary Overlie and “The Six Viewpoints.  However, I accidentally called her Mary Ordway.  Mary Ordway is my friend's mother.  I don't know why I said that.  But the creator of the Six Viewpoints is not actually my friend's mom (although very cool in her own right).  It's Mary Overlie.  www.rollwiththepunches.com.au www.theselfhelpantidote.com 

Mary Overlie and Geoff Taylor, two cousins who form the group "Augmeanted" are debuting their album release, "Life, Twice," in a concert tomorrow evening at the Historic Carnegie. The concert is part of a series organized by Headwaters Music and Arts as they celebrate their 30th anniversary.

Mary Overlie and Geoffrey Taylor have different types of musical backgrounds, but their family connection brings them together. Theirs is a mix of lyric songs and instrumental playing that defies categorization, yet does not seem far out. The duet is called Augmeanted, and it performs this Saturday at 7PM at Studio Z in Saint Paul. When Mary talked to Phil Nusbaum, she talked about how Augmeanted formed.

Dr. Scott Lyons is a Clinical Psychologist, Osteopath, and Mind-Body Medicine practitioner who specializes in therapies for infants, youth, and adults. Scott is the creator of The Embody Lab — a hub for embodied education, self-discovery and healing— and developer of Somatic Stress Release™ — a processes of restoring our biological adaptation system. Scott has had the privilege of teaching Embodied Flow™, Somatic Stress Release™, and Body-Mind Centering® workshops and trainings throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia. Scott is the director of the online 100-hour Somatic Stress Release™ Certificate training program, and co-director of the 60-hour Integrative Somatic Trauma Therapy Certificate Program. He was an adjunct professor at New York University from 2007-2010 where he co-taught the Viewpoints Studio with Mary Overlie. As an artist, Scott's work has been performed at BAM, Symphony Space, Dance New Amsterdam as well as theaters throughout the United States and Europe. Foundational to Scott's teaching is the principle that we can, through intention, expand our capacity to meet and be met. In this way, we can offer the profound gift to our self, others, and the environment of being heard, seen, and feeling felt at a cellular level. Connect with Scott via Instagram https://instagram.com/drscottlyons and The Embody Lab https://instagram.com/theembodylab and his website https://www.drscottlyons.com/

Scott Lyons is the creator of The Embody Lab — a hub forembodied education, self-discovery and healing— and developer of Somatic Stress Release™ — a process of restoring our biological adaptation system. Scott has had the privilege of teaching Embodied Flow™, Somatic Stress Release™, and Body-Mind Centering® workshops and trainings throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia. Scott is the director of the online 100-hour Somatic Stress Release™ Certificate training program, and co-director of the 60-hour Integrative Somatic Trauma Therapy Certificate Program. He was an adjunct professor at New York University from 2007-2010 where he co-taught the Viewpoints Studio with Mary Overlie. As an artist, Scott's work has been performed at BAM, Symphony Space, Dance New Amsterdam as well as theaters throughout the United States and Europe.In This Episode The Embody LabSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-trauma-therapist-podcast-with-guy-macpherson-phd-inspiring-interviews-with-thought-leaders-in-the-field-of-trauma/exclusive-contentThis show is part of the Spreaker Prime Network, if you are interested in advertising on this podcast, contact us at https://www.spreaker.com/show/5739761/advertisement

Brendan McCall. movement artist and educator, talks with J about parallels between contemporary dance and yoga. Brendan and J went to college and made collaborative performance art together. They discuss the experimental performance training they received, conditions that enable creatives to discover and grow, experiential anatomy and Allan Wayne work, Jean Hamilton Floor Barre and Mary Overlie's Six Viewpoints, and the spirit of somatic inquiry and purpose that inspired wonder in them both. This episode is sponsored by Moonclerk.   To subscribe and support the show… GET PREMIUM.   Check out J's other podcast… J. BROWN YOGA THOUGHTS.  

"If you want a body of work that at the end of your life you'll be proud of then training is your best investment." Terry Knickerbocker is founder and studio director of the Terry Knickerbocker Studio, the renowned New York City-based acting school. He teaches the Meisner technique and is part of a direct lineage of Sanford Meisner, having spent over 30 years training and teaching with William Esper, one of Sandy’s most respected protégés. Terry is a graduate of The Experimental Theatre Wing in the Drama Dept. at New York University. He has also taught directing at Playwrights Horizons Theatre School and Yale University. Other essential teacher/mentors include Maggie Flanigan, Rina Yerushalmi, Steve Wangh, Terry Hayden, Nikos Psacharopoulos, Jackie Brookes, Mary Overlie, Ryszard Cieslak, Jerzy Grotowski, Pierre Lefèvre, Moshe Feldenkrais, Dr. Louis Ormont, and Dr. Harry Fogarty. Terry Knickerbocker brings his history and service to Wednesday Wisdom! Terry has coached such well-known actors as Sacha Baron Cohen, Sam Rockwell, Michelle Williams, Emmy Rossum, Josh Charles, Abbie Cornish, Boyd Holbrook, John Leguizamo, Jonathan Majors, Gretchen Mol, Brian Michael Smith, and Yul Vasquez, among others. Terry has coached actors on performances that earned an Academy Award, Golden Globe Awards, and Screen Actors Guild Awards. Show Links: THE NEW TRIPLE THREAT: A Membership for Today's Savvy Actor COACHING: Click here for acting coaching from Alyshia CONSULTING: Click here to get consulting from Alyshia INSTAGRAM: @alyshiaochse INSTAGRAM: @thatoneaudition WEBSITE: AlyshiaOchse.com ITUNES: Subscribe to That One Audition on iTunes SPOTIFY: Subscribe to That One Audition on Spotify STITCHER: Subscribe to That One Audition on Stitcher Credits: WRITER: Alyshia Ochse SOUND DESIGN: Zachary Jameson WEBSITE & GRAPHICS: Chase Jennings ASSISTANT: Elle Powell SOCIAL OUTREACH: Bebe Katsenes

In today's episode, I welcome Darnell Benjamin! His interview was so good that we ended up spending twice the time talking than my guests and I normally do. We've broken up his interview into two segments. Enjoy his experience as a professional actor, dancer, and artist today and next week. Get in touch with Darnell Benjamin: www.13thandrepublic.com | https://www.facebook.com/darnell.p.benjamin | www.instagram.com/darnell.p.benjaminSupport Artfully Told: www.paypal.me/elevateartArtfully Told links: www.facebook.com/artfullytold | www.artfullytold.podbean.com | elevateartskc@gmail.comGet a free audiobook through Audible!  http://www.audibletrial.com/ArtfullyToldSchedule your interview with Artfully Told! https://calendly.com/artfullytold/podcast-interview Episode 040 - Darnell BenjaminLindsey Dinneen: Hello, and welcome to Artfully Told, where we share true stories about meaningful encounters with art.[00:00:06] Krista: I think artists help people have different perspectives on every aspect of life.[00:00:12] Roman: All I can do is put my part in to the world.[00:00:15] Elizabeth: It doesn't have to be perfect the first time. It doesn't have to be perfect ever really. I mean, as long as you, and you're enjoying doing it and you're trying your best, that can be good enough.[00:00:23] Elna: Art is something that you can experience with your senses and that you just experiences as so beautiful.[00:00:31]Lindsey Dinneen: Hi, Artfully Told listeners, it's Lindsey here. Hey, I just want to quickly let you know something before our episode begins and that is that this interview was awesome. I had so much fun talking with my guest today. And I know you are absolutely going to love Darnell as well. And hey, we had so many good things to talk about, and the interview lasted a lot longer than is typical for Artfully Told listeners. So I just wanted to give you a heads up to let you know that I've actually broken this into two parts. So you're going to get part one today and then part two next week. And I just want you to know that ahead of time before we dive in, and I cannot wait to share Darnell with you. And I know you're just going to absolutely love everything has to say as well. Thank you so much.[00:01:26] Hello, and welcome back to another episode of Artfully Told. I'm your host Lindsey, and I am so very excited to have as my guest today, Darnell Pierre Benjamin. He is a performing artist. Thank you so much for being here.[00:01:43] Darnell Benjamin: Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for having me.[00:01:46] Lindsey Dinneen: Of course. And I know that performing artist barely scratches the surface of all the different things that you do. So I would love if you would just share a little bit about maybe who you are and your background and kind of all the different things you're doing now.[00:02:01] Darnell Benjamin: Sure. And you know, and I'll say all the things I try to do, I'll definitely say I'm originally from a Southern Louisiana small town by the name of St. Martinville. And I started dancing at around 14, mainly because I came from a family that was already very big into music and dancing. And the short version is that it was actually in therapy that I basically got coached by my therapist to explore some movement things. We were just playing with movement. And that's when I learned that for some reason, movement became a, a sort of balancing act for me, a centering place. And so I started out doing some modern dance and that got me into playing with some ballet.[00:02:44] And fast forward to high school, start playing with the speech and debate team, and helping with the plays and then on a whim-- like no joke, it was very much at the last minute-- two weeks before starting college, I decided to change my major from what was going to be aiming towards criminal psychology to theater. And I changed it to theater. And while in the program, I was realizing that I was getting just as many dance credits as I was getting theater credits. So that's when I just realized, "Oh, I'm going to just be a performing arts major," because I was bouncing around between the two of those. And that's when I started getting in love with also Shakespeare and language and words and how they words dance in their own way as well. So, that's when I got into Shakespeare. I ended up going to grad school at University of Houston, got my MFA.[00:03:39] And the program particularly looks at the world through the lens of classical theater, specifically Shakespeare we focused on a lot, and it's a movement-oriented program. So it was perfect for me. And now, I mean, I just kind of right now, I just juggle between acting, dancing, choreographing, directing and teaching. So you know, I, I got a bit of advice many, many years ago from a professor who told me to broaden the brand, whatever you want to do, do it. Who's stopping you? And that really stuck with me. And so now I just like to pretend my way through things.[00:04:14]Lindsey Dinneen: I love it. Yes. Well, and obviously you're not just pretending your way through things. You've been very successful, which is fantastic, but we all have to start somewhere. So there you go.[00:04:26] Darnell Benjamin: Yeah, exactly, and that's what I mean by pretend is that, you know, it's--I remember the first time I started to choreograph. When I really started in the beginning, because as a dancer, you know, have your, you have your awareness of your body and your body and what your body can do, but you don't necessarily think about other people's bodies. You do when you're working with them, but how to create movement for other people's bodies. And that became a whole learning curve for me. And I caught on pretty quickly and I realized that, "Okay." Cause I think I have my strength in choreography is that I think I have a good eye, and I think I'm not afraid to lean into storytelling. I'm very inspired by like, for example, there's that dance group, Polobolus , who is like one of my top, one of my favorite dance companies. I love the type of work that they do because they don't just look at the technical aspect of dancing. They also look at the storytelling. They look at what does this one angle of the body mean versus another. So I'm very inspired by that kind of work.[00:05:28] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. So you started as a dancer and it was in your teens, and so you had mentioned doing modern and ballet. And so did you continue to explore those two or have you also branched into some other dance styles as well?[00:05:45] Darnell Benjamin: Oh, definitely. Yeah. A little bit of both. So I started out in those two and I always struggled with ballet and yeah, no, I was told early on, " Yeah, just don't have the feet." And so it's still that kind of got in my head for a long time, but then I noticed I had a a facility and comfort with modern dance and contemporary world. And that opened the door to me, even playing with some jazz. And that's really where I probably think my personal movement style sits the best. And that opened also to some tap. I'm pretty decent at tap. And then I started playing with some ballroom dance and I did well at that. And when I say--well, keep in mind, I am , I would say that I think I'm a better freestyle dancer than I am like, don't get me wrong--choreo that sits in a world of modern jazz, I am ready to go. Even some hip hop, I'm ready to go---but ballet is it, it's really hard for me. And, and I, I've been trying over the years to figure out what is the wall. And some of that, I think it's a mental block because I have in my head from that one person who told me, "Ya just don't have the feet."[00:06:59]Lindsey Dinneen: Oh man![00:07:02] Darnell Benjamin: Yeah. And so now it's the one that I'm afraid of the most to be perfectly honest is ballet. Terrified.[00:07:07] Lindsey Dinneen: Oh, well that is so funny you say that because ballet is my forte. I absolutely love it. I think it's absolutely wonderful, but I'm, I'm the opposite of somebody who's like, "Here's this really abstract, modern piece or, or even worse, here's this hip hop piece." I'll be like, "Mmm, I don't think you want me."[00:07:28] Darnell Benjamin: And that's, you know, I totally like, I guess, you know, on the opposite end I can relate. Because I think what is so amazing, I love watching ballet mainly because I love watching something so technical that's done so freely. When it's done well, you know, when somebody really is just breathing in it. For me, I found that I was having a hard time with allowing myself to breathe. I get very tense with ballet work, and we all know that type of tension is not going to be useful for that type of work. So that was always my issue, but the freedom or what I'm perceiving rather as being freedom in, for example, modern dance , I think what, why I gravitate towards that is because I'm so story-oriented. So, and in contorting my body and moving it in , you know, anything from like, for example, a flexed foot is exciting to me because I'm like, "Oh, what does that mean?" And so I find myself digging into the story of modern dance. And it's not that by the way, please don't--I don't want to make this sound like I'm saying there aren't stories with ballet because there are absolutely some fantastic stories--it's just that I have a hard time allowing my brain to turn off when I'm doing ballet. I really do have a hard time with it.[00:08:49] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, that makes complete sense. I think it's easy in whatever genre that, that doesn't come as naturally or as easily or whatever to you, to have that in your head aspect of, "Oh my goodness. I'm just trying to focus on the technical aspects and remember my choreography." So I think that's like completely normal for any dancer, for sure. And for a lot of artists who are dabbling in, you know, trying to like expand a little bit. If you're out of your element, you don't feel as free just in general, I think.[00:09:22] Darnell Benjamin: Yeah. And also the other side of that is, you know, to be absolutely real, I'm 37 and we all know what the body--like ballet at 37, it's a very different thing, especially if you've been away from it for so long. But I keep saying one of these days, I am definitely going to get back into a class because I would love to just go back to the basics. I don't know about you. I love barre work. I love just being there in the classroom and just doing the work. That's what, I'm not thinking as much. It's when I'm performing it that I get in my head.[00:09:53] Lindsey Dinneen: Fair enough. Yes. I absolutely love barre work as well. It's like, there's something so--just exciting, but also safe or, which is kind of a funny way to put it, but it's just this like, feeling of home. It's like, "Okay, we're going to start back in the barre. Every time we're going to start with our plies." It's like having this, this predictable really well-thought-through formula.[00:10:22] Darnell Benjamin: Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. When you're in that work session, it's really all about you. You just get to focus on your body. I mean, for example, I'm right now teaching at Northern Kentucky University, and I'm teaching a Movement for the Actor class and the students were working on some Tadashi Suzuki technique and it's a very focused technique. It is very--actually I would compare it to ballet in the sense of it's all about being very specific in getting to the shape, what is the shape, the specific shape--but where it's a little different is that one, and it may not be that different really , is that it's all about getting there faster, sooner, better. And it's about being able to train your body to know where that shape is without having to think about it. So that way you can just sit into it. And so working on that with my students right now, it's totally bringing me back to, I feel like I'm in a ballet class.[00:11:16]Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. And so I'm actually curious, you kind of touched on something. Do you feel that being a teacher and learning how to break things down for different students with different learning styles has helped you be a better dancer and mover?[00:11:32] Darnell Benjamin: Oh my goodness. Do you know? I, I firmly believe that the best way to truly test your knowledge of your work and your knowledge of your body and your truth of your creative spirit is by teaching. Because when you have to navigate working with different bodies and different abilities and different levels of understanding, and to try to get them all on the same page, but you have to use different methods for each person there, it's impossible to not be able to reflect that on your own work. Because I know for me, those students teach me something different every single day, every day.[00:12:10]Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. I absolutely agree. It's so funny because sometimes professional dancers or pre-professional aspiring dancers will ask me questions like, "What do you think, you know, is something that I should do in this endeavor? And I always say teach, because I think, when I started teaching it, it forced me, I suppose, to astronomically develop my own technique and to go back to basics and realize, "Well, I'm telling you this, I better do this too." You know, it's just so funny. And yeah, that's just a, such a big piece of advice I always give people is teach, learn to teach, and then you'll, you'll become a better dancer yourself or artist or whatever, you know? It's yeah. It's like when you have to break down all the fundamentals, you're like, "Oh yeah. Huh. I should probably do that too."[00:13:01]Darnell Benjamin:  Absolutely. Oh my goodness. And you know what, I also try to be really honest with my students and tell them, "Hey." That whole, you know--I'm sure you've been told this, we've all been told this--when you start off in the arts young and especially I think about like, you know , that fresh out of high school going to college or going to a studio, whatever direction a person goes. And there is the, the emphasis goes a lot on discipline, you know, and I know, I think back to the time when I first taught a class, and specifically first taught a dance class, I found myself on the first day making mistakes I never make. And I remember beating myself up so much. And what I realized afterwards was that I started getting in my head and I started forgetting what I knew.[00:13:49] And I started doubting myself and putting all of, and I was trying to be, I think I was trying to be the instructor, I think I thought I needed to be, as opposed to truly just trust your craft. And I learned a lot about myself that semester teaching and, and, and also being challenged to not only just teach, but consistency. You know what I mean? Being able to fully show up and be honest with the students and tell them, "Hey, well, there is this expectation that we are supposed to always be in the right space, quote unquote, you know what I mean, as artists, and when we go to do our performances, we still have to give those people the same show we gave the ones the night before and the night before and the night before, regardless of what baggage you're bringing into the room." But what I've tried with my students to really open the door to is having a conversation with, "where are you today?" Particularly in class, if you are in a space where you're not maybe -- let's say you didn't sleep well. Let's say you didn't drink enough water. Let's say--the list goes on. "What can you focus on you? Maybe you can't focus on the whole, but can you focus on one thing specifically?" Because you got to remember that, that classroom, whether you were the instructor or the student, it's your time and what are you doing with your time? If you're wasting it, that's on you. I mean, I, I put a lot of accountability on my students to challenge them, to accept the fact that they may not be in the best place on that given day, but you still owe yourself the time and effort to focus on something. You know what I mean?[00:15:19] Lindsey Dinneen: Yes, absolutely. I love the way that you put that. And I think one thing that stood out to me was you mentioned basically the word honesty. And I thought about that too, where it's, I'm sure many teachers can relate to this too, if they're being honest with themselves. But it's so interesting that I had to learn as a teacher to be very, just honest with my students too. And like you said, some days are off days, and even as a teacher and I don't want to bring that into my classroom, but at the same time, there are days I fall out of every single pirouette that I try. Right? And I like to call those high gravity days, but the reality is, you know, some days things work and some don't, but I think that's bringing in the humanity of the arts and the, the reality of the arts is you do your best. You show up every single day, you do your best, but then you just keep trying. And the next day you come back and you do it again. And not every day is going to be the most, you know, ah, success day. But you keep showing up.[00:16:30] Darnell Benjamin: Yeah. Yeah. And I feel like what it does, I found that teaching with that perspective has made my students better by the end of the semester, because they are being accountable for themselves.  Because like, for example, in this, you know, environment where we're teaching virtually, I know that some of my students are not committing a hundred percent to what we're working on. I know they're not truly going there, but it's not all of them. And it's not all the time, the same people. So what I told them is that it's on you, you know. You know when you're there, and you know when you're not. Like, for example, I'm teaching an auditions class, a movement class, and a , a sort of musical theater intensive for high school students. So in those three different worlds, those are three different types of people, you know, very much so, but I told them in all three situations, this is an audition class. This is a movement class, and this is a musical theater intensive. You chose to take this class. So there's something you want to work on.[00:17:35] And all three of those have to do with being prepared at the end of the day. So if you're not going to do the work, I mean, who can you blame? And so what I've noticed is that pushing my students to really take responsibility has made them actually be better at self-evaluations, be better at final products because they know where they sort of, I guess, set back. And it's showing up in their performances and they're able to comment on it in reflection papers. And for me, there's no greater joy than when I can read something a student wrote or even in , you know, verbal format, hearing them be honest about their craft because we all know like, I mean, the business is hard enough. The last thing you want to do is go pointing fingers elsewhere. Right?[00:18:25] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, definitely. Yeah. I think that's really important. It's a great life skill to help them develop to, of take responsibility for yourself. You're in charge of your life. That's very cool.[00:18:37] Darnell Benjamin: Yeah, and it's fun. It's fun. And there are good days and there are bad days. Cause sometimes these--you know, right now with a pandemic going o,n mental health conversations are happening a lot more. And my students are being very forthright with where they are as individual. Particularly  last semester, I mean, I had a lot of students reach out about some things that are going on and, and I'm like, how much can we, as you know ultimately mentors , give them enough tool sets to be able to truly not only be honest about their work, but also be able to keep track of it, to log it and be aware of if there's something consistent. Are you consistently having an issue with something? Are you consistently not showing up to class, whatever it is, whatever that consistent thing is, if it's not on the positive and what are you doing to change that, you know? And that's, that's where I get excited. Whenever I can see my students grow not only as performers, right? But also as a young adults, you know, that's, that's--what a joy.[00:19:40]Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, I absolutely agree. I've been reflecting on teaching methods and philosophy a lot lately. And I think that there's nothing greater than that. It's, it's so cool to witness those light bulb moments and, and those.... Right? When something finally clicks and it's like, "Ah, yes, you get that!" It's so fun. So yeah. Yeah, it's great. And then the other thing I've been noticing too, is just how special it is when students don't realize how much more they have, and you're able to kind of show them that, and then it's like this, you just watch the transformation on their face, you know, like, "Oh, I, I can turn out that much or I can go that much higher on my releve," or whatever it is. And then they're realizing that. They have all of this and I, I just, that's just such a cool thing too.[00:20:32] Darnell Benjamin: Yes. Yes. I have a friend right now in Seattle who is doing this research project, particularly on movement, actor movement techniques, but specifically from the perspective of risk, the concept of risk . Are you actually taking a risk with your work, whether that's in the classroom or in performance? Are you really throwing yourself into it and falling flat on your face so that you can learn something? But and you know, even relative to the Suzuki method, which is all about push, trusting that your body can go further than you think it can. And that's not, of course, in a way of abusing the body, not at all. It's more a matter of--like, even thinking about the turnout thing--most recently, I made a post on Facebook about how I was asking for advice because I've always had sort of really tight hips and really getting myself to truly let the legs actually turn out and not force it, but also not halfway go there. I got a lot of great tips and let me tell you, I realized something. It's not that I had such a hard time doing it. It was disciplined. I was not. Like going at it every day. I was really not truly committing to it and taking that risk to throw myself in far enough.[00:21:52] And the results have been fantastic because I've been doing it every single day. I've set a time for stretching. I've set a time for breathing exercises and I've set a time for just really challenging and going challenging my body and going there because, you know, I mean, obviously I've been in his body and dancing and movement work in general for a while. So I know what my sort of quote unquote safe limitations are, but I've been really trying to push towards the riskier limitations. How far can I take it? How much can I do within the bounds of reason of course, but I'm, I'm noticing all kinds of great results. And it goes to show that sometimes what it boils down to is discipline, you know?[00:22:38] Lindsey Dinneen: Yes. Amen to that.[00:22:40] Darnell Benjamin: You're right. And especially as a ballet dancer, I am sure you know what I mean.[00:22:45] Lindsey Dinneen: Oh, yes. It is definitely the whole idea of consistently showing up and yes, so. Yeah. Okay. Awesome. Well, so then, you know, you've also had an acting career kind of alongside, it sounds like. So you said you had done a lot of Shakespeare work. Is that something that you've gravitated towards more? Do you do all sorts of different theater or, or how did that whole come about?[00:23:15] Darnell Benjamin: Oh, yeah. So in , in high school I was in, I was one of those nerdy kids in the AP English class, and we did not do any Shakespeare. And I remember being a little confused by that because I assumed we should have . Fast forward to in college, I had my first experience with Shakespeare and I loved it immediately. I'm a person who is very fascinated with language. I'm very fascinated with alliteration, linguistics in general, anything that is about the exploration of the sounds of words and how those sounds affect meaning. For example, like phonetics , all that stuff, I'm fascinated with that. So Shakespeare was like the motherland when I came across it and that kind of opened the door to me making the decision. That's partly why I went to grad school because I wanted more training in Shakespeare. I wanted to get better at it because I'll share a little story with you.[00:24:10]I went to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Go Cajuns. And I'll tell you what--I'll share their story. And I don't say this for any, with any hate towards the university, but in the undergraduate program, specifically getting my BFA in performing arts, one of the professors there at the time, he , he taught all of this sort of, you know, the stage craft and lighting, the tech side. And he was also going to be the one directing "Taming of the Shrew." And I was so excited. It was going to be a summer production, which I was like, "Oh my goodness, this is fun." And they opened it up to the general public. So a bunch of people came in, auditioned for this, and we all watched each other audition. That was the worst part about it. Let me tell you, I could not be bothered with that. Watching people go one after another, getting antsy. But I'm watching people go in. I'm like, "Okay, all right. I'm not like the worst one here. We're going to be all right." And not even in a bad--I didn't mean that in a mean way.[00:25:12] Even when I thought that it was just more of a, okay. I maybe could actually get a shot at this. And I went up there and did my thing, felt really good. And noticed the , the callback list went up a couple of days later, my name wasn't on it. And I kind of was like,"Eh, okay. That kind of sucks or whatever, but maybe I might still get cast because you know, there's always the chance just because you're not called back doesn't mean you didn't get it." So fast forward to the cast list is going up and I am looking for my name, looking for my name. All the way at the bottom, "Hey! I'm the Habit Asher." Well, when I saw that and I noticed there were people who, and again, you know, there's so many things that go into this, as taste, who knows. But there were so many people who-- like, I mean, some of them didn't even, were not off book at their audition. Some of them who just did, it's almost like they kind of got teleported into a theater. They had no idea what was going on.[00:26:09] And so I was disappointed that I had gotten this role. So I talked to the stage manager who eventually told me that the instructor ultimately--and the one who was going, and by the way, this is one of my instructors and this was the person who was directing that show-- he said that, "Well, I just don't see black people in Shakespeare unless they're slaves." So that obviously, it was like, "Whoa." I went to talk to the Dean. And I was asked to go back down the ladder and go talk to the head of the department who was new at the time. So he's like, "Hey, you're going to have to go talk to the Dean. I kinda don't have my footing. I don't know any of these people. So, I'm giving you permission to climb up and go talk to the Dean." So I want to talk to the Dean and found out later that there were all of these cases piling up against this person. Everything from sexual harassment to racism to, I mean, it was across the board. And eventually this professor got fired. Yay.[00:27:09] But, but what it ultimately did, it, it lit a fire under me. And I think I wanted to prove him wrong. That's how it started. It started with me having so much passion for it, the language and being told that, and being hit so hard by that. And so I made a decision that I was really gonna dig into this and like, start to understand it because I really started researching and thinking about it and I'm like, "Oh, wow. There really isn't a lot of black and brown representation in Shakespeare that I'm seeing." So, it became a mission of mine because I never wanted another kid to feel like I felt. I mean, and so I ended up going to University of Houston in which--my goodness, I will say this for any listeners--if you are a physically-inclined actor who is strong with language and want to you to get stronger, that is a great program. The work is very physically inclined, but also very see, hear, smell, touch such detail inclined.[00:28:05] But fast forward to I finished there and I graduated in 2009 with my MFA and then I bounced around a little bit, landed in Cincinnati. And I started working with the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company in the 2010-11 season. And I've been working there as a resident actor since then. I've also done some Shakespeare elsewhere , but like that's the company that has been my home base with doing Shakespeare, and so Shakespeare is one of the things I do. I love experimental work. I love, I mean, actually it was an experimental company that moved me to Cincinnati, the Know Theater of Cincinnati moved me there. And they're kind of, they call themselves the alternative playground and they do a lot of fun alternative work.[00:28:48] So, and now, as far as my own personal sort of--what the stuff that I produce and I do on my own--I'm very much what I call, you know, just I'm an arts activist. I love looking at social issues and how we can use art to further the conversation, and deepen it. So a lot of my approach is from a a social issues perspective, and I love, love the movement of expressionism. So that inspires a lot of my work. I mean, come on. Can we please talk about Pina Bausche? Right. Seriously, that kind of work gets me so excited. I love , I love when people can--especially in dance--I love when we can see people turn on its head what we define as dance, because the question becomes, what is dance? And what is the difference between dance and movement?[00:29:41] I love exploring that middle ground and taking pedestrian things and turning them into dance and exploring how they can be seen as dance. So I guess across the board, whether as an actor or a dancer, I'm very much about looking into, I didn't know, I guess I'm, research-driven. I love exploring and understanding and taking those little risks that, you know, may not work always, but more often than not. I love that it creates a conversation, you know?[00:30:14] Lindsey Dinneen: Absolutely. Oh yeah, of course. That's one of the most wonderful things about art, is that it does and can create and spark conversation. And that's pretty special 'cause that's, that's when you really get into all the exciting aspects. And what did the artist intend or what did you gather from it? I mean, because both of those things are important and so, yeah, of course.[00:30:37] Darnell Benjamin: Right? Absolutely. I mean, I even hate whenever I do my work, it's so important to me to make sure that I'm not telling my audience how to feel. I love to challenge the audience, whether that's through theater or dance.  I definitely, when it comes down to dance, I'm very inspired by also Mary Overlie and looking at viewpoints and exploring that to even create. So that way I don't, because, you know, we all have the, you know, we all have our tricks, the things that we're good at and that we can pull out at the drop of a dime. But I love figuring out, "Okay. All right, which of these viewpoints do I suck at?" Let's start playing with that. So that's something I like to try and do at, you know, and, and let's be real. Sometimes it's a pass and sometimes it's a fail.[00:31:25] Lindsey Dinneen: Yes, of course, but you never know until you try.[00:31:30] Darnell Benjamin: Exactly and failure is fun. Failure is how we have an opportunity to learn of course, and, and, and try something different, you know? Yeah. So for me, it's like failure is just an opportunity to learn something.[00:31:44] Lindsey Dinneen: Yes, and that's a great perspective. So you had mentioned kind of briefly in passing you, you mentioned kind of the expressionist movement that's something that really compels you, but I wonder if you could just define that a little bit more and talk about what exactly you see that as being just since we might not all be familiar with that.[00:32:05] Darnell Benjamin: Absolutely. Yes, yes, yes. I know a lot of people are familiar with, you know, the scream painting and that is from like an expression as peace. It ultimately, and you know, the best way I could describe it, obviously it's in the way that I understand it and how I perceive expressionist movement being is digging into the feeling, what is the feeling that this art wants to portray. And instead of going from, you know, a linear direction with, here's a story with a beginning, middle, and an end, whether that's a play or for example, with a piece of art, you can just , you know, you can draw, for example, paint the Mona Lisa. But, or what you can do, you can paint what Mona Lisa feels like, what is, what is it that you want that piece of art to evoke? What is that feeling at the core? And that's for me, what expressionism is, it's about really tapping into not focusing on what we know as our realistic world, but instead exploring what is this world, this specific world in this piece of art and letting that tell the story.[00:33:12] Like, for example , contemporary --oh, well, not that contemporary--but Edward Scissorhands, that's a, that's a perfect expressionist film because it created a world that was, yes, we recognize that these are human beings, but the distortion of the character of Edward, even thinking about the those bushes and how he would make these pieces of art with these bushes and that big castle that he lived in, all of that is very expressionism. You have, of course, the iconic film that most people know because It all stems from Germany. There's a lot of stuff out there that explores the exaggeration of things to tell the truth of what that story is.[00:33:53] And as far as in my personal work , I actually got to do my first film. I directed and choreographed a film, which is kind of mind-blowing that that even happened. But , so I was, I was inspired by , so for instance, so I'm in Cincinnati, Ohio, and there were in 2001, there was the murder of a young black man, 19 years old by the name of Timothy. Timothy Thomas. And this was a kid who had a bunch of, you know, minor parking violations, things like that, tickets, stuff like that. And he was followed and he started running and he ran down this alley. Long story short, he , there are a lot of different reports of what possibly happened, but the gist of it is that he was trying to lift up his pants to climb over a fence. And he was shot because they thought he was going to be reaching into his pocket for a gun.[00:34:44] And we all know we are in the midst of another round of this movement of the Black Lives Matter conversation. And, this has happened far too often. We know this happened back in 2001. And prior to that, there was  a man by the name of Roger Owens B. Jr, where this happened in Cincinatti. So for me, I started looking at the repetition of this conversation and how we keep circling back to it. And instead of, and what I found myself leaning towards is we keep talking about it in this sort of sense of understanding of, look, this or here's point A, here's point B. This is what happened. This is the result. And I think it's a lot richer than that. And a lot deeper than that.[00:35:27] I started leaning into the direction of mental health and that's I think at the core of the problem. And so I started thinking about over time, what are the effects of this repeated trauma on the black community and how are the ways that it manifests itself? And that's when I started , you know, putting this piece together and thank goodness , the company, Walter Hoop, which is an amazing company, please check them out: walterhoop.com. They are an arts center organization that plays in all the different mediums. They play in with podcasts. They play with theater. They do live productions, dance recently, with this film that I did. And they, they want it to produce this and we collaborated. The music is insane and the music matched up immediately with this concept I wanted to play with, which was thinking about how can we have this conversation, but look at it through the lens of mental health.[00:36:27] So every single shot for me had to be, it was important that the choreography, the writing, which was, which was done by Tyrone Williams and it's a sort of, it's ultimately poetry. I wanted it all to feel abstract. I wanted it to feel familiar, but not . I wanted it to feel claustrophobic. I wanted it to feel all these things that heightened our emotions. And you know, and also in the midst of all that conversation, I wanted there to be joy despite all of the hurt , the lack of understanding. So at the end of the film, there is a -- it, it sort of, kind of goes through an evolution. Now granted, I didn't go--for anybody who might see this film-- which is called "13 the Republic"--I, if you are familiar with expressionism, please know that I didn't go like hardcore, literal expressionism all in. No, I actually played with a mixture of finding, pulling the things from expressionism that worked for me, which was looking at the feeling, what do I want? The, what is this feeling and how can I create that through movement? How can I create that through text? That's kind of how I lean into it 'cause a lot of expressionism, you're not going to have traditional scenery.[00:37:42]Automize scenery in the film is very much actual streets and actual grass and actual parks, but where I kind of went more towards an expressionist direction in terms of scenery, it was in two scenes where I played with, what is it? What would it look like if we're inside of the main character's head? What does that look like? So there's this, there's a couple of scenes where I leaned into that. But yeah, that's, that's overall how I would describe expressionism in how I utilize it. I hope that makes sense.[00:38:15] Lindsey Dinneen: That was perfect. And first of all, oh my goodnes, congratulations. That is such a huge accomplishment to have gotten to work on that film. And holy cow, that is a huge congratulations and, and, and kudos to you for starting that conversation and addressing things that really need to be talked about. And I so admire what you said, your intentionality behind the way that those scenes were portrayed and everything is just so amazing. I love hearing the background behind it, and why you chose things the way you did. But also, you know, choosing to bring out an element of joy despite everything I think is just huge. So, oh, my gosh. I cannot personally wait to see this film. Where can we watch this film?[00:39:11] Darnell Benjamin: Oh yes, you can go to 13thandrepublic.com. And so that's one, three, and it's spelled out and AND republic.com and that's where you can go check it out. And it's an interactive website. That's the really cool thing is that Walter Hoop wanted to make sure that, because originally this was going to be a live production, but we are in the midst of a pandemic. And that's why we did it as a film. And even the film-- just in case anybody's wondering--we did it in August and it was done absolutely with every bit of social distancing and safety in mind. And I found a way even to incorporate masks in the show, in the film. So I found a way to do that. So we went through a lot of lengths to make sure that because, you know, it will be very ironic if you have these this cast of five black actors and dancers performing and they get COVID. You know what I mean? That was not going to happen.[00:40:07] So it was very important, it was very important to me to make sure that they were safe and not even just them, but also me. And as far as this film, you know, I thank you for even like, 'cause it's, it really is mind blowing to me because it's funny how life has a way of surprising you: here we are in the midst of a pandemic and we were working on, I mean, this film was being worked on prior to the pandemic. We were prepping for filming and then the pandemic hit and we had to push filming back but the rehearsals had to get pushed back for what was going to be a live production because you can't, in my opinion, you know, when you want to talk about social issues and you want to talk about ,  how do we manage this?[00:40:49] And the only way we can manage this is to have the conversation. And part of that conversation is a communal experience. And we couldn't have that because of the pandemic. So I'm really excited to share this information that I applied for a grant through a local organization here called Arts Wave. And they had this grant for what they call it A Truth and Reconciliation Grant. And I got one of those. And so the goal is that we're going to, we connect it with an organization. I can't say who yet, because it's not public just yet, but we connected with an organization where we're going to take the film out of the urban downtown areas and bring it into the suburbs and the rural areas as part of a showcase of the film. And there's going to be a live element involved with it. And also they're can, it's going to be a Q&A where we get to actually interact with the people who are outside of the thick of , you know , city council and the courthouse and all of that world.[00:41:45]So it's really, because for me, the reason why I do what I do is to truly, truly have the conversation. And the only way we can do that is if we step out of our comfort zones and take that risk. And part of the risk for me was getting away from the place that I know, and from the people that already know what I do and going out into these neighborhoods where hopefully we will get welcomed. And obviously there's the chance that we will not, but the way I'm looking at it is that if I don't do this, I'm not doing this film the service it deserves, which is to be seen by the people who are not having these conversations, to be seen by the people who may be disagree with this conversation.[00:42:28] But how nice would it be if we can actually have a dialogue? So that's, that's kinda the next phase of it, which I'm really excited about, but yes, just as a reminder, that's one, three and republic.com and it's an interactive website. So check it out. You get to, there are some interviews that are really cool where we interviewed the cast members to get their perspective and also the , the people on the creative team. So across the board, it's, it's beyond me because in my experience of creating, this is the first time I have ever gotten to do something exactly the way I wanted to do it, and absolutely being truthful to not only my personal mission as an artist, but to who I am as a , as a black queer man. So for me, I've never been prouder of something. Because it's, it's truly every internal experience thought that I've had in a film. It's kind of terrifying because in some ways, it's a little so vulnerable, it feels a little kind of invasive to share it, but it needed to be shared.[00:43:36] And I think that I, I can't wait until we start having the conversation of mental health in, in tandem with conversations on social issues, because they're not separate. It's all connected. And I, I can't wait till we see, to see more artists, more scholars, more across-the-board people finding ways to connect those dots and really dig into the heart of what's going on within each of these social issues.[00:44:06]Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Oh, my word. Well, I, I'm just sitting here smiling. Congratulations. This is so cool everything that you're doing ,and just congratulations on this grant and this new opportunity to expand your reach and to step out of your comfort zone. And, oh my goodness. I commend you. I think it's hard to be that vulnerable and put yourself out there. Oh my word. But that, but telling who you are and your truth and your story, that is so compelling. And that's going to, I just know that's going to have an impact on people's lives. It's going to spark those conversations that will hopefully actually make some change happen. And just think that you are a huge part of that. That is so cool because you had the courage to be vulnerable. So, oh, my word so much respect, kudos to you.[00:44:59] Darnell Benjamin: Thank you. That's very kind.[00:45:00]Lindsey Dinneen: That's all for today. Thank you so much for listening. If you enjoyed this episode, please feel free to share it with your friends. If you'd leave us a review and rating and subscribe to our podcast, you'll get notified when the newest episodes come out. Thank you for sharing art with us, and we hope your day has been Artfully Told.[00:45:19]Hey, Artfully Told listeners, Lindsey here. And I just want to share with you a little bit more about The SpeakEasy Method. Now, if you've had a chance to listen to Gregg Gonzales' interview on Artfully Told, you're already a little familiar with the process that is so unique. That is the SpeakEasy Method is for people who are ready to write their books, but maybe aren't super confident about their own writing ability, or just want a more streamlined way of doing it. Gregg and his team at SpeakEasy are experts at these amazing questions that help your authentic voice to shine through. So what they do is they go through recorded audio interviews with you and these recordings are then transcribed and put into manuscript format, ready to go. So what's cool about that is instead of months and months, or years and years, of you writing a book, they will actually take you from concept to published and it can be as little as nine months. That is one of the most recent success stories that they have accomplished. And it is just a really innovative method that I am personally so excited to help represent and help share the word about because what Gregg and his team are doing is absolutely life-changing for prospective authors. And I highly encourage you to book a discovery call with Gregg or another member of his team to learn more and see if this could be the perfect fit for you. It's a hundred percent complimentary and you can do so easily by going to his website and that's www.joyful-living.com/speakeasy. And again, that spelled out is J O Y dash F U L dash living.com/speakeasy.

For the past thirty years in New York City, Terry Knickerbocker has acted, directed, coached, and produced art with some incredible people. Terry is a graduate of The Experimental Theatre Wing in the Drama Dept. at New York University. After graduating from NYU, Terry trained as an actor and a teacher with William Esper. He taught at The William Esper Studio for 25 years, and continues as part of the core faculty at the Experimental Theatre Wing at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. He has also taught directing at Playwrights Horizons Theatre School and Yale University. Other essential teacher/mentors include Maggie Flanigan, Rina Yerushalmi, Steve Wangh, Terry Hayden, Nikos Psacharopoulos, Jackie Brookes, Mary Overlie, Ryszard Cieslak, Jerzy Grotowski, Pierre Lefèvre, Moshe Feldenkrais, Dr. Louis Ormont, and Dr. Harry Fogarty. He has coached actors on over 300 films, television and theater projects, both on and off-Broadway and regionally. He also consulted with playwrights and screenwriters on their scripts. Some of the actors he has worked with and trained include Sam Rockwell, Chris Messina, Boyd Holbrook, Natasha Lyonne, Leslie Bibb, Emmy Rossum, Yul Vasquez, Jordana Spiro, Gillian Alexy, Gretchen Mol and many others. A past recipient of the Drama League of New York's directing award/fellowship for emerging directors, Terry is also a former member of Circle Rep's LAB. His directing credits include many new works as well as contemporary and classical plays such as Measure for Measure, Tartuffe, The Normal Heart, Candida, All My Sons, and David Rabe's In the Boom Boom Room. Resources https://terryknickerbockerstudio.com/program_courses/summer-intensive/ https://terryknickerbockerstudio.com/program_courses/two-year-professional-acting-conservatory/ Connect with Terry Twitter - https://twitter.com/tknickerbocker Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/terryknickerbockerstudio Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/terryknickerbockerstudio/   Connect with Adam If you enjoyed listening to this episode and wanted to share your thoughts you can:  Visit my website: www.adameskow.com   Follow us at @AdamEskow on Instagram and FB   Send us an email at Adam@EskowCoaching.com   Sponsor If you are interested in starting your own podcast, check out www.truthworkmedia.com. We will coach you from conception to iTunes! It's super easy! Go here for more information. 

Meet Terry Knickerbocker, founder and Studio Director of the Two Year Acting Conservatory Terry Knickerbocker Studio in Brooklyn, New York. Terry is a graduate of The Experimental Theatre Wing in the Drama Dept. at New York University. After graduating from NYU, Terry trained as an actor and a teacher with William Esper. He taught at The William Esper Studio for 25 years, and continues as part of the core faculty at the Experimental Theatre Wing at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. He has also taught directing at Playwrights Horizons Theatre School and Yale University. Other essential teacher/mentors include Maggie Flanigan, Rina Yerushalmi, Steve Wangh, Terry Hayden, Nikos Psacharopoulos, Jackie Brookes, Mary Overlie, Ryszard Cieslak, Jerzy Grotowski, Pierre Lefèvre, Moshe Feldenkrais, Dr. Louis Ormont, and Dr. Harry Fogarty. He has coached actors on over 300 films, television and theater projects, both on and off-Broadway and regionally. He also consulted with playwrights and screenwriters on their scripts. Some of the actors he has worked with and trained include Sam Rockwell, Chris Messina, Boyd Holbrook, Natasha Lyonne, Leslie Bibb, Emmy Rossum, Yul Vasquez,  Jordana Spiro, Gillian Alexy, Gretchen Mol and many others. A past recipient of the Drama League of New York's directing award/fellowship for emerging directors, Terry is also a former member of Circle Rep's LAB. His directing credits include many new works as well as contemporary and classical plays such as Measure for Measure, Tartuffe, The Normal Heart, Candida, All My Sons, and David Rabe's In the Boom Boom Room. WATCH THE VIDEO VERSION OF THIS PODCAST HERE. Learn more about Terry Knickerbocker Studio HERE. The host is Peter Jumrukovski a Real Estate Agent, World medalist and Author with the mission to help at least 10 million people in 10 years to accomplish their dreams. For more information visit: http://www.ilovesuccess.co Sponsor: CallCast - Turn phone calls into podcasts - https://callcast.co Music and Production: Tobi Fanoiki Advisor: Malick Jarboh    

Meet Terry Knickerbocker, founder and Studio Director of the Two Year Acting Conservatory Terry Knickerbocker Studio in Brooklyn, New York. Terry is a graduate of The Experimental Theatre Wing in the Drama Dept. at New York University. After graduating from NYU, Terry trained as an actor and a teacher with William Esper. He taught at The William Esper Studio for 25 years, and continues as part of the core faculty at the Experimental Theatre Wing at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. He has also taught directing at Playwrights Horizons Theatre School and Yale University. Other essential teacher/mentors include Maggie Flanigan, Rina Yerushalmi, Steve Wangh, Terry Hayden, Nikos Psacharopoulos, Jackie Brookes, Mary Overlie, Ryszard Cieslak, Jerzy Grotowski, Pierre Lefèvre, Moshe Feldenkrais, Dr. Louis Ormont, and Dr. Harry Fogarty. He has coached actors on over 300 films, television and theater projects, both on and off-Broadway and regionally. He also consulted with playwrights and screenwriters on their scripts. Some of the actors he has worked with and trained include Sam Rockwell, Chris Messina, Boyd Holbrook, Natasha Lyonne, Leslie Bibb, Emmy Rossum, Yul Vasquez,  Jordana Spiro, Gillian Alexy, Gretchen Mol and many others. A past recipient of the Drama League of New York's directing award/fellowship for emerging directors, Terry is also a former member of Circle Rep's LAB. His directing credits include many new works as well as contemporary and classical plays such as Measure for Measure, Tartuffe, The Normal Heart, Candida, All My Sons, and David Rabe's In the Boom Boom Room. WATCH THE VIDEO VERSION OF THIS PODCAST HERE. Learn more about Terry Knickerbocker Studio HERE. The host is Peter Jumrukovski a Real Estate Agent, World medalist and Author with the mission to help at least 10 million people in 10 years to accomplish their dreams. For more information visit: http://www.ilovesuccess.co Sponsor: CallCast - Turn phone calls into podcasts - https://callcast.co Music and Production: Tobi Fanoiki Advisor: Malick Jarboh

10 mai 2020. En plein confinement face au COVID19, un texte écrit et lu par Caspar Schjelbred. Cent confinements, exactement comme ça Je lis ce que j'ai écrit depuis le début du confinement. Ce que je me suis imaginé écrire. Ce que je me suis dit. En vrai, je ne me suis pas adressé à moi-même. J'ai plutôt essayé de répondre. Bien, j'ai répondu. Mais à qui ? À quoi ? Qui a posé les questions ? Personne, évidemment. Ou bien tout le monde. Cela revient au même. C'est moi qui ai posé les questions. Où ? Comment ? Quand ? Qui ? Quoi ? Pourquoi ? Je les ai posées, comme ça. Pas sur une quelconque surface, plutôt envoyées dans l'air. Comme des gestes de l'esprit. Non pas pour répondre. (Encore, ce serait à qui ?) Mais pour en être enveloppé. Pour me donner la possibilité d'être les réponses, une à la fois. J'ai pris de notes. J'ai perçu et j'ai reçu. J'ai observé et j'ai écrit, imaginé écrire. Il n'y a pas grand chose à dire. Où ? Comment ? Quand ? Qui ? Quoi ? Pourquoi ? Si, quand même. Je pourrais en parler toute la nuit ou toute une journée ; j'ai fait des grandes découvertes. Immenses. Vastes. Immédiates. Surtout immédiates. C'est ça. Il n'y a rien à dire dans l'immédiat, seulement après. Pendant devient juste après dès que je me mets à dire. Par contre, sentir et penser, c'est possible. Réfléchir non. Percevoir oui. Être là, concrètement, réellement, et jouir discrètement de ce fait fondamental. Qui est : mon confinement dans la réalité physique. Si j'ai appris quelque chose ces deux derniers mois, s'il y a quelque chose que je comprends mieux maintenant, c'est que savoir se confiner dans la réalité physique, c'est salutaire. C'était le jour où j'ai cessé de répondre qu'il s'est passé quelque chose : il ne s'est rien passé. Où. Comment. Quand. Qui. Quoi. Pourquoi. J'étais les réponses. L'une après l'autre. En dialogue immédiate avec mon existence, question et réponse ensemble. J'étais : au centre, comme ça, exactement comme ça et pas autrement, séance tenante, souvent en retard, moi, autre, principe rimbaldien incarné, toutes mes sensations, cause, drame humain et divine comédie. J'ai ri. Le matin où j'ai vu cent confinements courir dans les rues de Montmartre, au lieu de voir cent joggeurs énervants, ça m'a donné envie d'être parmi eux. Être avec moi-même parmi les autres. Le lendemain j'ai mis des chaussures de sport et j'ai commencé à courir, moi aussi. C'est il y a presque un mois aujourd'hui. Hier matin, en faisant mon tour, j'ai enfin compris. Se confiner à la réalité physique, entrer dedans, c'est sortir de tout autre confinement. Espace. Forme. Temps. Emotion. Mouvement. Histoire. Les six portes d'entrée sont toujours là. Ou les six sorties, si vous voulez. Cela dépend de votre point de vue. Ce texte est dédié à Mary Overlie. Caspar Schjelbred --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/emilie-soulez/message

Since Covid has eliminated opportunities for entertainment, Mary Overlie found herself missing live music, local musicians and open mic nights. She's created a virtual experience called Songcatchers to satisfy her cravings... Just like typical open mic nights, musicians sign up for a performance slot in advance and folks gather to watch and experience their music. In keeping with the regularly scheduled open mic night at Brigid's pub in Bemidji , Songcatchers happens every Thursday from 7-8:30. To attend open mic as a musician or an audience member, go here and recieve an emailed password for entrance!

A Maharishi is dying. Another man is just about to live. “That's exactly what you need to know. Nothing. And to know you know nothing. It is only by knowing nothing that we have space to discover something.” Dedicated to the memory of Mary Overlie, creator if The Six Viewpoints , who told me about "The Unnecessary" on the way to the airport. https://sixviewpoints.com/maryoverlie Read by the stunningly talented Curtis Bechdholt, an actor and acting coach with over twenty years of experience. He portrayed the lead role in the critically acclaimed feature film "Rhino Brothers". Most recently Curtis just wrapped playing the lead role in the feature "Life Raft". As an acting coach, Curtis has helped his clients land lead roles on features "42" and "Chronicles of Riddick". His clients have also landed many guest stars on shows such as SuperNatural, Lucky Louie, Rake, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and many more. If you need an acting coach, in person or virtually, to help with your self-tapes, Curtis is the one to call. His clients get booked. http://curtis-bechdholt-2ru6.squarespace.com/audition-taping-and-coaching https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0064966/ To read more stories, and learn how to tell your own, visit https://www.writeinthenow.com/ #story #stories #fiction #shortstory #podcast #writing #entertainment #literature #spirituality #monks #death © 2020 Daniel Will-Harris, https://www.writeinthenow.com/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/writenowstories/support

Today in the Watchtower we welcome Lucas Brown for Part 2 of his discussion. Lucas is the mind, and mixologist, behind the pop-culture podcast, The Math of You. On the Math of You, Lucas invites guest onto the show to discuss the formative media of their youth. Aside from being a podcast filled with nostalgia, it is also fascinatingly insightful. We live in time of human history where media of all kinds informs our lives, personalities, and identities. The Math of You treats that reality with both joy and respect. There’s also personal drink recipes. Mine’s called the Red Tornado. The Math of You: themathofyou.com Twitter: @themathofyou Lucas: Twitter: @lokified Instagram: @lokified Supplemental Material: Tiki Bar TV (podcast): http://www.tikibartv.com/The Everleigh (bar): http://www.theeverleigh.com/ A Spot At The Bar: Welcome to the Everleigh (book):  https://www.amazon.com/Spot-Bar-Welcome-Everleigh-Drinking/dp/1743791313/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8 Discworld, by Sir Terry Pratchett Ronin (1998 film, starring Robert DeNiro and Jean Reno), specifically this opening sequence: https://youtu.be/s3s-ARmPVb8 The Viewpoints technique of Improvisation, as developed by Mary Overlie, among others (my experience was through improviser David Razowsky): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viewpoints Usagi Yojimbo (comic): https://www.comixology.com/Usagi-Yojimbo/comics-series/152?ref=Y29taWMvdmlldy9kZXNrdG9wL2JyZWFkY3J1bWJz “Grasscutter” (Vol. 12, Usagi Yojimbo): https://www.comixology.com/Usagi-Yojimbo-Vol-12-Grasscutter/digital-comic/234531?ref=c2VhcmNoL2luZGV4L2Rlc2t0b3Avc2xpZGVyTGlzdC90b3BSZXN1bHRzU2xpZGVy A perfect Usagi Yojimbo page: https://twitter.com/lokified/status/1042872484993748992 The Legend of Korra (TV Show) The Lies of Locke Lamora (book): https://www.amazon.com/Lies-Locke-Lamora-Gentleman-Bastards/dp/055358894X Thanks to everyone for sharing time with us. You can find us on Twitter @theYJfiles, on Facebook @crashingthemode, on Tumblr at theyjfiles.tumblr.com, on our website www.crashingthemode.com, and at our email address, whelmedpodcast@gmail.com. You can also now find us on YouTube at crashingthemode.com/youtube. If you enjoy our show, please consider sharing it with a friend. You can also support the show by giving us a 5-Star review on Apple Podcasts, or your podcatcher of choice. The ratings really do help others find the show. If you leave us a review, please let us know! Especially if you’re outside the US, we have to look a little harder to find those. And even though Season 3 has been official announced, please continue to spread the word to friends and family about the series, #BuyYJcomicsonComixology to get us more stories even sooner, and get yourself up to speed for the S3 premiere. And as always. Stay whelmed everyone.

Today in the Watchtower we welcome Lucas Brown. Lucas is the mind, and mixologist, behind the pop-culture podcast, The Math of You. On the Math of You, Lucas invites guest onto the show to discuss the formative media of their youth. Aside from being a podcast filled with nostalgia, it is also fascinatingly insightful. We live in time of human history where media of all kinds informs our lives, personalities, and identities. The Math of You treats that reality with both joy and respect. There’s also personal drink recipes. Mine’s called the Red Tornado. The Math of You: themathofyou.com Twitter: @themathofyou Lucas: Twitter: @lokified Instagram: @lokified Supplemental Material: Tiki Bar TV (podcast): http://www.tikibartv.com/The Everleigh (bar): http://www.theeverleigh.com/ A Spot At The Bar: Welcome to the Everleigh (book):  https://www.amazon.com/Spot-Bar-Welcome-Everleigh-Drinking/dp/1743791313/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8 Discworld, by Sir Terry Pratchett Ronin (1998 film, starring Robert DeNiro and Jean Reno), specifically this opening sequence: https://youtu.be/s3s-ARmPVb8 The Viewpoints technique of Improvisation, as developed by Mary Overlie, among others (my experience was through improviser David Razowsky): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viewpoints Usagi Yojimbo (comic): https://www.comixology.com/Usagi-Yojimbo/comics-series/152?ref=Y29taWMvdmlldy9kZXNrdG9wL2JyZWFkY3J1bWJz “Grasscutter” (Vol. 12, Usagi Yojimbo): https://www.comixology.com/Usagi-Yojimbo-Vol-12-Grasscutter/digital-comic/234531?ref=c2VhcmNoL2luZGV4L2Rlc2t0b3Avc2xpZGVyTGlzdC90b3BSZXN1bHRzU2xpZGVy A perfect Usagi Yojimbo page: https://twitter.com/lokified/status/1042872484993748992 The Legend of Korra (TV Show) The Lies of Locke Lamora (book): https://www.amazon.com/Lies-Locke-Lamora-Gentleman-Bastards/dp/055358894X Thanks to everyone for sharing time with us. You can find us on Twitter @theYJfiles, on Facebook @crashingthemode, on Tumblr at theyjfiles.tumblr.com, on our website www.crashingthemode.com, and at our email address, whelmedpodcast@gmail.com. You can also now find us on YouTube at crashingthemode.com/youtube. If you enjoy our show, please consider sharing it with a friend. You can also support the show by giving us a 5-Star review on Apple Podcasts, or your podcatcher of choice. The ratings really do help others find the show. If you leave us a review, please let us know! Especially if you’re outside the US, we have to look a little harder to find those. And even though Season 3 has been official announced, please continue to spread the word to friends and family about the series, #BuyYJcomicsonComixology to get us more stories even sooner, and get yourself up to speed for the S3 premiere. And as always. Stay whelmed everyone.

Your Creative Sparks: WATER can be ALTERED in its STATE from liquid to solid to gas. Our BODIES are about 70% water... get it? Challenge your ASSUMPTIONS. Anything can CHANGE, and it’s ALLOWED to change. CHANGE in the WORLD will come through the BODY. Our five-part series exploring the fundamental building blocks of life – their constitution, their character, our assumptions about them, and our relationship to them. Meander along with us as Lobsterbird marks time and space with the illustrious Deborah Black, reflecting on the flow of their lives as performers and artists, how studying embodied practices has altered their paths, and how this momentum is leading to significant change in themselves and the world. Leave us a Rating & Review! Your Travelogue We often get into habits with time. When we change those habits, a lot starts to come through the channel of creative flow. Water – what time does it hold in it? 6:00 There are many different kinds of water time… snow falling time, still water time, rippling water time, rushing river time…  [4:52] Deborah’s career began with her training as a dancer. She soon learned that she also wanted to use her voice on stage, and it started coming up in her choreographic work. She was looking for a theatre training that she related to, and she found the Viewpoints - her island of dancers and actors coming together to use their bodies in a different way. [8:11] “Corporations aren’t going anywhere, but they want to become more human.” This idea planted in my head that I wanted to be spreading embody practices to people who were not dancers. [13:36] How we get to flow… When water runs on your body, you get to feel all sides of water, even the inside of it. Not like a rock, where you only get to feel the surface. With the Viewpoints, you get to look at your assumptions about the materials of life… time, space, emotion, story… What are those things really? And what is my relation to them? You get to choose. [20:50] How would you explain the Viewpoints to your Grandma? Deborah connects with her ancestry and formulates a unique perspective to describe her embodied practice. [22:55] You can explain the Viewpoints in words, but you must experience it to really get it. We are breaking down time and space into different elements, and putting our attention on them in a new way. Then we can put them back together in new configurations and create new possibilities. [29:20] Artists and scientist are not really that different from each other. They are all researching without having any idea of what the result is going to be, and doing so with the hope that you are going to change someone’s life. [31:11] How can the Viewpoints help us today? Uncovering assumptions! One is that the body isn’t valued. But the brain is not disconnected from the body. Knowledge comes through more than just language. How can we integrate the moving body and the thinking body? [36:14] Anger is a tool. What makes me angry is that art has been placed in a box. Artists have superpowers from being in their bodies. Creating change in our society is calling for embodiment. [43:33] Practicum! Join us in a basic Viewpoints practice called Walk and Stop. Put down whatever you are working on, and prepare to challenge your assumptions. [49:00] Links and resources: Lobsterbird’s new book: Level Up: Power Practices for Spiritual Superabundance by Sophia Remolde Teaching embodiment online is completely possible and totally radical. Deborah Black is a multi-disciplined embodied teacher, energy healer, dancer, and artist. Learn more about her Viewpoints online and in-person workshops, popup dance meetups, and how to work with her personally to help you: Be in your body, Embody post-modernism to create change in your community, and Take your business or project into the size/scale you imagine it to be at DeborahBlack.net. The Six Viewpoints as taught by Mary Overlie include: Shape, Time, Emotion, Movement, Story, and Space. Learn more about working with these deconstructed materials to gain new impact and perspective at thesixviewpoints.com. Music for this episode was contributed by Daniel Munkus and recorded in the Hudson River Valley at Subtle Soup Studios. For more info, visit: www.subtlesouprecords.com. Podcast management and creative copy provided by Sonya Louise, at the CrossRoads in Sweet Home Alabama. Sonya Louise is also the force of Nature behind GO Solo Travel & Vision Quest. For Free Energy Readings from Sophia and to learn about upcoming Hero’s Way Pilgrimages, visit: lobsterbird.com. ✨The next pilgrimage takes us to Indonesia in November! If you want to build your business so you can make more money with more ease, and make a bigger impact with your work, shoot an email over to magic@lobsterbird.com for more details!✨ If you liked this episode, please subscribe to our podcast and drop some starshine on us in iTunes. Leaving 5 stars makes it possible to bring you more goodness. Bonus points for leaving a review!

Passion or paycheck, profession or play, beauty or the butt? We tackle the art world’s opposing objectives to redeem or exploit our excrement, the politics of status (and Brad Pitt’s pet rat), the importance of whimsy, and how every poo has a story to tell. Join Shawn Shafner (The Puru) in conversation with Dan Roberts from the National Poo Museum on the Isle of Wight, just south of London. Imagine a room full of polished crystal balls lit beautifully from below, and inside each floats a delicate turd. Created by the Eccleston George art collective, Dan charts the museum’s journey from the Swedish elk pat that started it all, to the BBC reporter who made it legit by harvesting meerkat scat on TV. An odd collection of crystal-balled caca becomes so much more by reminding us that anything--no really, anything--may just be possible after all. Also mentioned in this episode: NYU Tisch, An Inconvenient Poop, Nigel George, Sweden, shameful shitter, chronic constipation, starving artist, cognitive dissonance, taboo, shock, death, mummies, community-based sculpture, tricycle, Portugal, Mary Overlie, Viewpoints, Anne Bogart, original anarchist, doing the unnecessary, impulse, New School, Anthropology, judgment, Flux, tattoos, risk-averse, social contamination, sociology, anthropology, Roland Barthes, William Ian Miller, Anatomy of Disgust, Karen Finley, queen of dung, resin, social release, matter out of place, Victorian era, diapers, incontinence, International Women's Day, international sanitation crisis, menstruation, Delhi, open defecation, zoo, sharing economy, bird pellet, cloaca, uric acid, microbiome, co-evolution, Scientific American, data manipulation, pigeon poo, Nitrates, stoma, stigma, Marcel Duchamp, fountain, Sigmund Freud, Paul Spinrad, Re:Search Guide to Bodily Fluids, nose picking, IBS, Crohn's, fecal transplant, transgender access, library

Theatre is not a discipline in which the word “postmodernism” has an especially precise or generally agreed upon definition, though its connotations are powerful, varied, and remarkably elastic. In 2010, performance artist and scholar, Richard Schechner, lamented in “The Conservative Avant Garde” that the “current state of American theatre and performance art is of circulating stasis,” tracing the theatrical modernist and postmodernist avant garde in the U.S. from the nineteenth century revolutions that produced theatrical modernism to the late twentieth century work of the theatre company that emerged from his own Performance Group, “roughly,” he writes, from Ibsen’s A Doll House (1879) to the Wooster Group’s LSD (1985).* The shifts in experimental theatre in the U.S. during the postmodern era (deriving from the work of Merce Cunningham & John Cage, Allen Kaprow, Ellen Stewart, Barbara Dilley & Mary Overlie, Schechner’s Performance Group, and others) signal, however one understands their radical reorganization of theatrical space and method, a turn to what is often called postmodernist performance. But is that postmodernist theatre a style (or styles), which, in practice and production looks or operates in ways that at least seem to reject modernist and traditional forms? Or is postmodernist theatre practice a means of creating (often begun without a fixed text, often created in an ensemble, often performed in non-traditional performance spaces) in a way we might call more “horizontal” than “vertical” in terms of authority over the performance event? And how might this affect something as seemingly old-fashioned as “playwriting”?

Mary Overlie and Moises Kaufman: On May 19th, 1999, Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation hosted a One-on-One Conversation with Moises Kaufman, playwright, director and founder of Tectonic Theater Project, and Mary Overlie, the discoverer of Viewpoints. The two artists discuss the meaning behind theatrical theory and how that relates to their work. Kaufman describes his process in developing The Laramie Project as an exploration of relating theatre to recent current events. He and his company inquire as to the difference between plays about historical events versus plays about current events. Overlie joins the conversation by talking about her roots in classical dance and how that shaped her openness to improvisation. With inspirations including Merce Cunningham and John Cage, Overlie articulates the inception of Viewpoints. Viewpoints is an improvisational system, using elements of Space, Time, Shape, Emotion, Movement and Story. Inspired by her own artistic clash between classicism and post-modern dance, Overlie developed a new way to understand the creation of theatre by combining these forms and understanding the elements involved. As a student of Overlie, Kaufman describes his first memory of seeing her dance at The Kitchen and speaks about how he creates his work. This is an insightful conversation between two artists who thrive on exploration and breaking into new forms within a theatrical setting. Originally recorded - May 19, 1999. Running Time - 1:33:43 © 1999 SDCF

On May 19th, 1999, Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation hosted a One-on-One Conversation with Moisés Kaufman, director, playwright, and founder of Tectonic Theater Project, and Mary Overlie, the creator of Viewpoints.  Hear these two singular artists discuss theatrical theory and relate it to their work: Kaufman as he creates The Laramie Project with his company, Overlie in developing Viewpoints. This is an insightful conversation between two artists who thrive on exploration and breaking into new forms.