In this episode of Art Heals All Wounds, we meet Deb Gottesman and Buzz Mauro, co-directors of The Theatre Lab in Washington, DC. We'll hear about their Life Stories Institute in which non-actors write and act in plays about their lives. Everyone from senior citizens, people in recovery, and veterans have been able to take control of their own narratives in this innovative and healing program.

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Ajuan Mance, visual artist and illustrator, uses her art as a lens through which to understand both the world and herself, with work that represents too-often overlooked subjects.

Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

When my cousin, Tiffany Braden, a.k.a. Halloween the Dancer, first started pole dancing twelve years ago, my first response was “Oh my!” Considering that my cousin is one of the smartest people I know, I knew that I had to learn more about it. I've watched her grow to be an incredible artist, with choreography that is moving and expressive and makes my heart ache. I finally got to hear her story in-depth when she joined me on the show as my guest.

If you already know and love the art of pole dancing, I hope you’ll listen. If you don’t know anything about pole dancing or have a negative impression of it, I hope you’ll listen and become a believer.

Tiffany Golden, author of the Midnight Story Series, describes her pivot from filmmaking to writing when lupus and rheumatoid arthritis forced her to find a creative outlet that was kinder to her body. As part of her journey to self-kindness, she also wrote Loving Myself with Lupus. Her children's books, geared towards children and families of African descent, offer stories of healing for readers of all ages.

In this episode, documentary filmmaker and cinematographer Morgan Schmidt-Feng and I talk about his new film Anton:Circling Home about the New York-based artist Anton van Dalen. We explore the theme of home in Schmidt-Feng's other works and what effect the San Francisco Bay Area housing crisis has had on his life, as well as how it has drained the Bay Area of artistic talent over the past few decades. And we talk a lot about pigeons--because they are really good at finding their way home!

Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do you like drag kings? Of course you do! In this episode, we meet psychotherapist Cassandra Falby and learn about her performance as drag king Brock Cocker. What made her decide to begin performing as a drag king and what are some of the benefits of creating an alter-ego like this? We talk about what it means to perform masculinity and femininity as a drag performer. Why are drag queens better known in our culture than drag kings? Cassandra shares how creating the character of fun-loving Brock Cocker has increased her joy and helped her find flexibility in her own expression of gender.

Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

Orlando Williams, aka DJOACES, helped form a budding core group of DJ's in 1980's Berkeley, California. Known as the Mixologist DJ's, this group would help build the tradition of house parties in the city, as well as influence other DJ's in the wider world of Hip Hop. After the death of his mother, Orlando turned to his life-long passion of spinning music as a way to travel beyond his grief. In the process, he discovered that his gift of music and dance was also the key to building community in his hometown.

Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

How can the power of storytelling help us make sense of things as seemingly disparate as the Covid-19 pandemic, the healing potential of psychedelic drugs, and the navigation of life's largest crises? In this episode, documentary filmmaker Marjorie Sturm shares her work on PSAs for Decriminalize Nature San Francisco, an organization which advocates for the decriminalization of the cultivation, possession, and sharing of many plants, including some with psychedelic properties, such as psilocybin mushrooms. Her background as a social worker in mental health and drug addiction, combined with her storytelling skills have resulted in several short 2-4 minute films. These short films feature local practitioners and mental health workers who work with some of these healing plants. The use of psychedelic drugs for their healing properties overlaps with her latest film, a personal documentary that explores finding clarity in some of life's most challenging experiences, those events with the power to wake us up and propel us in new directions.