What is the relationship between theatre, storytelling, and community?

In a larger sense, what is the role of art in times of resistance and unrest politically?

Today we are #LiveInTheHive with Seth Gordon, author of the new book, Crossroads in the American Theatre: New Leaders in a New Age.

This book is a must read for theatre geeks, theatre lovers and for those who understand the importance of art and the communal experience of live theatre in these dark and challenging times.

The American theatre is at a crossroads. After a worldwide pandemic and the social reckonings that took place just before and around the pandemic, the way non-profit theatres lead their institutions and produce their plays is being reexamined almost from scratch.

As we witness the collapse of institutions and systems nationally in real time, media, financial, education, religion, etc. the American theatre, too, has been called to evolve, and to re-connect with the greater community it serves. Seth Gordon, and the artistic leaders he interviews for this book, reflect deeply on the future of American theatre and it’s supporting structures. And they offer hope for emerging theatre-making.

In this illuminating episode…

• Seth offers a brief history of theatre in the USA, in particular the emergence of our national non-profit theatre institutions – the move from a strictly business model into a model that served the creation of art and it’s relationship to community, rather than the creation of profit. The ideal of non-profit theatre vs commercial theatre.
• Theatre is an instrumental element of a thriving TOWN SQUARE that supports and enriches the community it serves.
• How did the pandemic affect the faltering existence of non-profit industrial complex? Did it cause it, or simply illuminate it?
• How have streaming services contributed to the disconnect from live theatre? We must reinvigorate the loyalty of the theatre to its community AND vice versa.
• Theatre is an “essential form of democracy” and the massive IRONY of the attack on and erosion of democracy ushered in by 47 and his regime and the pulling of federal funding coinciding with reevaluation of live theatre institutions (artistic institutions in general). Art is RESISTANCE.
• A social message vs. entertainment While the classics are relevant, is it time for brand new voices and different play structures?
• Does the Board of Directors’ role need reimagined?
• Theatre will always survive, but it may not be structured in the same way.
• All this and so much more…

Full bio/resources:

https://www.ou.edu/finearts/drama/about/people

https://www.linkedin.com/in/seth-gordon-619b165/

Buy HERE. Also available at The Drama Bookstore, NYC.

Connect with your host Sandra Bargman:

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What is Gratitude?

How do we connect with Gratitude in challenging times?

Today we are #LiveInTheHive with your host, Sandra Bargman, to share her thoughts on Gratitude and what the Thanksgiving holiday means to her. Hint: It’s her wedding anniversary!

In this solo special episode, Sandra…

• Talks about the inherent paradoxes of Thanksgiving Day. The emotional nostalgia that edges up to the myth upon which the holiday is based.
• Reads a story written a few years back about her Thanksgiving wedding.
• Shares her understanding of gratitude and the practices she uses to ground herself in gratitude.
• Science and bioresearch of the frequency of gratitude.
• Power vs Force by Daniel R. Hawkins
• Gratitude is good for your mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual health.
• Concise summary: Focus on what you have, not what you lack.
• Closing prayer: This Land Belongs to No One by Hila Ratzabi

Connect with your host Sandra Bargman:

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Today we are #LiveInTheHive with Transformational Guide, Medium, and Author, Deborah Hanlon.

What can our connections to death, loss, and grief teach us about living more fully?

Deborah is committed, in all of her work, to the understanding that Intuition is not a mystical gift reserved for only a few - it is our human birthright AND, by learning to tap into it intentionally, it becomes an extremely helpful tool in addressing our current levels of societal and cultural polarization, as well as contributing to the expansion of our global consciousness.

In this juicy conversation, we touch on…

• What is fake humility and the power of sharing your talents with joy.
• How we can raise our consciousness on what “dead people” really means. Who and what they become when they pass…
• Deborah shares her story of the discovery and growth of her abilities.
• Intuition and mediumship is a natural skill for everyone.
• Her upcoming book: Reassembling Yourself: The Alchemy of Grief. Deborah shares her relationship with grief and how it informs her work – and – her 9-step process of turning grief into gold and growth.
• The science of mediumship – consciousness exists after death and mediumship to coming into resonance with that energy.
• Can someone experience fractured energy?
• How we must look inward to find strength and clarity in these challenging times.

Deborah Hanlon is an intuitive, author, and teacher with a master’s degree in psychology and multiple mindfulness-based certifications. She is based in New York's Hudson Valley and holds workshops online for people all over the globe. For over 2 decades, she has guided thousands through grief, transformation, and personal awakening using her unique style of authenticity and intuitive knowing. She offers one-on-one intuitive coaching, live events, and international retreats. Her books include In the Presence of Proof and The Little Girl Who Asked Why. Her third book, ReAssembling Yourself, explores grief as a catalyst for healing and growth.

DeborahHanlon.com

hello@DeborahHanlon.com

www.facebook.com/DeborahHanlonIntuitive

www.tiktok.com/@deborahhanlon

Connect with your host Sandra Bargman:

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Happy Anniversary to #TheEdgeofEverydayPodcast!

This month marks the 4th ANNIVERSARY of when I started this podcast at TalkRadio.NYC and the 2nd year Anniversary of moving the podcast to MaximizeU.Life. Of course, also streaming on all your favorite podcast platforms.

Happy Halloween – Happy Samhain - Happy Witches New Year!

On this night, in the place between the old and the new, all is possible. It is in this place of paradox where transformation lives.

And that place is the edge, the edge of everyday.

Today’s episode is a replay of one of my MOST favorite episodes, my special Halloween and Anniversary episode from last year, featuring my dear friend, Leslie Ellis, grammy award winning singer/songwriter and actor.

I share a bit about the history of Samhein, and about my own spiritual journey and pagan leanings. This episode was recorded right before the 2024 presidential elections - so it’s fascinating to revisit that headspace now that we are a year into this new regime.

And my conversation with my uber talented friend, Leslie, is absolutely divine. Let’s dive in.

Again, thanks for listening.

• What is Halloween based on?
• What is witchcraft?
• What is the witch archetype?
• My own spiritual journey and pagan leanings...
• AND our special GUEST - Grammy award-winning singer/songwriter - and one of my best friends - LESLIE ELLIS!
• Her journey playing Grizabella on Broadway in CATS, arguably a witch archetype in her own right.

We share Leslie’s song, We ARE WARRIORS. What does it mean to be a warrior for truth, for freedom?

https://music.apple.com/ca/album/we-are-warriors/1631590513?i=1631590514

• All this and SO much more...

#TheEdgeofEveryday #TheEdgeofEverydayPodcast #TheFeminineRises #WitchesAreTheVeil #Halloween

Grammy® Award winning vocalist Leslie Ellis performs live across the USA and Europe with hit songwriter Casey Kelly in duo Kelly&Ellis. Leslie has sung with many artists including Celine Dion on “My Heart will Go On” – from the movie “Titanic” (for which Leslie won the Grammy) and Thomas Dolby on his latest album “Forty” (featured on “Hyperactive”). She sang the original soundtrack song, “Six Times Around the Sun” for the CBS mini-series, "Perfect Murder, Perfect Town" and she’s done countless TV/radio jingles and song demos for SONY Music.

In 2007 her self-penned “Flyer Song” was adopted by the US Navy and made into a video as a tribute to the troops and their families. She’s also written songs, dozens of which have been cut by artists including The Bellamy Brothers and NYC based recording artist David Ippolito.

Leslie has appeared on television and the Broadway stage - CATS, LA CAGE AUX FOLLES and CITY OF ANGELS, among others - and in the films "The New True Charlie Wu" , "Happy New Year Mr. Kates" and the feature film "Unconditional" In 2007 she starred in an independent film called, “My Name Is Wallace” which was invited to the Cannes Film Festival.

Leslie also has a successful career as a voice over artist and a book narrator.

Watch on YouTube: https://app.maximizeu.life/podcast/edgeofeveryday

Find Leslie:

www.LeslieEllis.com | @asongliveshere

Connect with your host Sandra Bargman:

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Today we are #LiveInTheHive with award-winning author, book mentor, editor and leadership coach, Cynthia Gregory.“Allow your story to take up space in the world.” - Cynthia Gregory

The power of storytelling and the power of finding and sharing your VOICE in the world is at the heart of every aspect of Cynthias work. Sound familiar? No surprise that from the instant I met her, I was completely drawn to Cynthia and her soulful and creative work.

I’m thrilled to announce that I am a contributing author to Cynthia’s next book project, LOVE NOTES ANTHOLOGY 2.0 – Stories of Healing and Hope launching on November 1st.

My chapter is titled Ferocious Compassion. What is ferocious compassion? And how does compassion relate to finding your voice and sharing your story? Quite a lot, as it turns out.

I absolutely loved this conversation. We touch on…

• Cynthia’s life-long love of stories and writing and the neuroscience behind storytelling.
• Do NOT wait to tell/write your story. When your voice is gone, your stories are gone.
• The 2 types of storytelling: Our vulnerable presence filled stories that empower VS. the negative self-narratives, the stories we tell ourselves that disempower.
• Her first foray out of fiction into writing non-fiction, sharing her love of journaling in Journaling As a Sacred Practice.
• What was her inspiration for Love Notes from the Soul Anthologies.
• I share how I joined with Cynthia, choosing to be a part of Love Notes in writing my chapter, Ferocious Compassion, based on the incident with a friend that inspired the phrase.
• Making Nice VS Being Kind.
• I read the opening of Ferocious Compassion.
• What is the highest expression of compassion? How does it support finding and sharing one’s voice.
• The repercussions of the phenomena of reality tv on our political and cultural landscape.

LOVE NOTES ANTHOLOGY 2.0 launches on November 1st. To register for the virtual launch, go to https://bit.ly/4nuVich

Cynthia Gregory is an award-winning writer and author of Journaling as Sacred Practice: An Act Of Extreme Bravery, What Is Possible From Here, and LOVE NOTES Anthology. She was also editor of the California Writers Club, Redwood Writers’ Annual Anthology: ON FIRE (2023).

With a bachelor's degree in journalism from Gonzaga University and a master's degree in literature from Mills College, Cynthia’s mission is to expand the body of modern literature. When she’s not helping execs and entrepreneurs write their professional memoirs, she helps business leaders use digital media to easily and strategically expand their brand to new audiences.

Cynthia’s enigmatic short stories have appeared in a range of publications, including The Sun, Glimmer Train and The Briar Cliff Review, among many others. She took second place in the Writer's Digest Fiction Contest and first place in the Glimmer Train family matters competition for “Melting at Both Ends,” and first place in the Mark Twain Short Fiction Prize for her story, “Baby Blood.”

She is a member of the California Writer’s Club, Redwood Writers Chapter, and the International Coaching Federation.

CoachCynthiaGregory.com, https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregorycynthia/

Connect with your host Sandra Bargman:

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I’m very happy to be back in front of my mic, having been away from #TheEdgeofEverydayPodcast for 6 weeks. I didn’t plan to take a break. But because of a slew of unforeseen conflicts and guest scheduling issues, and because I was off doing a play…it just happened.

Happy Fall!

Today we are #LIVEintheHIVE with two special guests, multi-award-winning guitarist and singer/songwriter, Sean Harkness - and Liz Picolli, SDC director/choreographer, and founder/artistic director of Queen of Rogues Arts Space in Woodstock, NY.

Sean is returning to The Plum at Traver Hollow House (www.ThePlumTH2.com) on Saturday October 18 th with his SOLO show, Just Me: Solos, Songs, and Stories. He will also be performing at Queen of Rogues Arts Space in Woodstock on Friday, October 17 th .

Today’s episode is of course, about plugging these upcoming shows, but more importantly, it’s a conversation about the power of ART – theatre, music, visual art, storytelling– to uplift and inspire – not only an audience, but also the performers themselves – in these challenging times.

It’s a conversation about building new performance and gathering spaces, creating and sharing safe, supportive and inclusive communities, and about RESISTANCE to authoritarianism through art, music, truth-telling, and storytelling.

We touch on…

• As you know, I always ask my guests, “What identity do you lead with”? And Sean and Liz have unexpected and wonderful answers to kick off this delicious and rich conversation.
• What inspired Liz to create and run Queen of Rogues Art Space.
• The importance of building community and being a part of many communities.
• Sean is most known for being a collaborator with other musicians and singers. What inspired him to create a solo show? And why now? Sean shares his goals, and the obstacles he overcame in sharing his own voice in a solo show.
• How creating/performing/artistry is keeping us sane and connected to joy in these challenging times.
• All this and SO MUCH MORE.

Sean Harkness in Just Me: Solos, Songs and Stories

Friday, October 17 | 7pm | Queen of Rogues | Woodstock NY

For more info and tickets: www.QueenofRogues.com

Saturday, October 18 | 4pm Doors Open | 5pm Show | The Plum @ TH2

For more information + receive an invitation to the Salon:

www.ThePlumTH2.com

Full bios, schedules, events, etc.:

www.SeanHarkness.com

@harksongs

www.LizPiccoli.com

@queen.of.rogues

Connect with your host Sandra Bargman:

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Recently I was asked by one of my guests after we finished recording….

What was the inspiration behind creating the Edge of Everyday Podcast? Why did I feel called to the kinds of conversation I explore in each episode?

I appreciated her question and her curiosity.

Quite simply – I am captivated by paradox and I’m deeply committed to amplifying voices and stories, particularly those of women. What to say, how to say it, and why it matters is at the heart of everything I do, and everything I teach.

I decided right then to record an episode in which I shared the journey I’ve taken to The Edge of Everyday.

In this episode I share…

· Live recording of my song, Who’s To Say? written as an intention setting song, an opening invocation. Later you will hear about the show being structured as a ritual.

Lyrics: Sandra Bargman Music: Ian Herman

· Being called to seminary, and while there, having the inspiration to create my company, Sacred Stages, LLC, that synthesizes my performing background with my service leadership.

· Creating the “Caba-Ritual” – the background of The Edge of Everyday solo show – the impulse to create it, + structuring it as a ritual for a transformative experience.

· I said I would include a picture of my opening show outfit in the show notes but I’m unable to do so…check out the performance clips and pictures on my website, www.SandraBargman.com.

· The core message and concepts presented in the solo show. What are those concepts? Admitting complexities and exploring paradox. Being real. Truth-telling. Yes, truth can be ugly and raw, but the heartbreak of truth is a better experience than happiness from lies, fear, or delusion.

· “The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off” – that marvelous quote by feminist Gloria Steinam, highlights the dual nature of truth: it can be both challenging and liberating.

· The decision to transition to doing a podcast during Covid.

· The live performance of Everyday People, by Sly Stone, with my “rap” spoken poetry, Lean In Edgy Ones, woven within.

· All this and much more. Thanks for listening.

Connect with your host Sandra Bargman:

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Hello listeners. This is a potent episode and I am so grateful to my guests.

We are #LIVEintheHIVE with Betsy Gaines Quammen, historian and award-winning author of American Zion + True West – and Tasha Adams, the ex-wife of Oath Keeper’s founder, Stewart Rhodes.

Betsy has previously been a guest on #TheEdgeofEverydayPodcast in June of 2022 and in that episode, we talked about both of her powerful and increasingly relevant books and the significant need to have difficult conversations across polarizing political views and differing cultural perspectives. You can find that episode at TalkRadio.NYC and on my YouTube channel, Sandra Bargman on The Edge of Everyday.

Betsy brings wisdom + engaging storytelling to her important work, and in these increasingly turbulent times under a clearly authoritarian administration, I knew I needed to have her on the show again. When I reached out, Betsy suggested that I also ask her good friend, Tasha Adams, to join us. Tasha’s ex-husband, Stewart Rhodes, the founder of the right-wing militia, The Oath Keepers, had just been released from jail, having had his sentence of 18 years in prison for seditious conspiracy for his role in the Jan 6th insurrection commuted.

Tasha’s story is deeply moving, a life lived under the thumb of an abusive, manipulative man, and finding the courage to plan an escape for herself and her 6 children. I could only imagine how she must be feeling upon hearing the news of his release.

This episode is NOT about the Oath Keepers, or Tasha’s role in it. There are podcasts and interviews and two documentaries in which to explore that information.

This episode explores the relationship between open spaces and toxic masculinity.

“What I knew then and feel more deeply now is that open lands inspire open minds. This is the open space of democracy”. - Terry Tempest Williams in NYT

• Betsy and Tasha shared how they met while Betsy was researching the BUNDY family and publicly owned federal lands for her first book. It’s all documented in her book, American Zion: Cliven Bundy, God, and Public Lands in the West.
• Then researching Western mythologies that create TOXIC MASCULINITY. Researched in True West: Myth and Mending on the Far Side of America.
• The power of WOMEN friendships.
• The takeover of OPEN spaces of land out west and the open spaces of a closet – and of the mind – the complete MACRO + MICRO of toxic masculinity.
• Both women weigh on the abuse, vitriol and the TACTIC of DISORIENTATION for control by Toxic men.
• The very IMPORTANT exploration – that question that Tasha has received – that every trapped and abused woman has received – “WHY didn’t you leave?” Both Tasha and Betsy weigh in with extraordinary insight and information.
• “The tyranny over the weak” that toxic masculinity employs today.
• How is Tasha rebuilding and reclaiming today? She’s writing a MEMOIR!
• Betsy is working on a non-fiction book, DEAD RECKONING, that explores ancestral relations to haunted landscape, haunted houses and epigenetic trauma.
• All this - and much more.

Resources:

www.BetsyGainesQuammen.com @betsygainesquammen www.ThatGirlTasha.com @thatgirlTasha

https://www.nbc.com/king-of-the-apocalypse

@slim.vampire

#MaximizeU #TheEdgeofEveryday #TheEdgeofEverydayPodcast

Connect with your host Sandra Bargman:

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