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Personal Stories Index
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""I learned the power of my breath to control my focus and attention, a strategy I use everyday The most important/difficult/impactful thing you can do is just breathe and live in the present moment. ."
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""It is hard to describe the deep satisfaction and joy of working with youth who are fearless and open. The room breathes deep and wide when an ensemble of youth are completely focused and writing. It is a fine and sacred space."
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"They treated the teens like the brilliant, creative, imperfect human being they were, who through that combination could upset the order of the world & shake anyone who paid attention to their core."
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"When Bump was performed, you could hear a pin drop. The actors really owned it. And the story burned with an authenticity. It felt true. It may not have been the story anyone was expecting, but it was really theirs. "
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"I got the job, The first night there I slept in the funeral parlor to make a deal with the ghost of Patrick Henry not to haunt me. The Executive Director, Carol greeted me with the news that she would be moving to Memphis in three weeks. There was no other Executive Director in line, besides, there wasn’t money left for a salary, the Board had blown in all on flying in people for interviews."
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"Free Street hosted workshops with international dance companies, including Japanese Butoh artists. We became trees, got rooted & exploded in a lightning storm. Wow! Slow quiet kids, growing internally & busting out!"
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"To be a great teacher you got to be a great student. As a student I embraced my artistic openness. That happened during my stint at Free Street and I’m forever thankful."
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"I'll always remember the rush after doing emotionally-charged contact improv: pens would fly in the air, paper would scatter, and a room of 15 or so teens would write. I learned to not judge my first thoughts, just accept them and see where they take me. I still take this approach when I write now. And I never, ever get writers block."
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"I told them that I had no desire to be stage or act, I just wanted to write. The first play I was in I had to be on stage the whole time."
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" I did know from personal experience that creativity happened more often when my mind was quiet and free from negativity. I was quite sure that stillness was an excellent point to start with. So my search and development of a simple definition of creativity would begin with “stillness.”
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"The years I've worked with Free Street were an oasis in the desert of isolated thoughts of my subconscious loneliness. I thank the directors of Free Street for seeing potential in me that I couldn't see in myself."
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"Because of them I’m fearless. Because of them I’m open to whatever the universe puts in front of me. Because of them I’m open to love. And because of them I’m an award-winning screenwriter."
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"Free Street Theater has been a second home to me in many ways. From "Project!", to the MET Summer Programs to TeenStreet....from great people like the late Patrick Henry to Ron Bieganski, everything artistic I have learned is from Free Street."
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