This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Ken Davenport: Hey everybody, guess who? I told you I'd be back when I had something very important to talk about. And listen, we are debuting right now a very special six-part mini podcast series. Here's what we did. We did a live stream theater maker challenge on Facebook recently called Places Please. What theater makers can do right now to get ready for the rebirth, the renaissance, the reopening, whatever it is you want to call it of the theater. This is a pivotal time of theater going. We need to be ready for it. So we got some fantastic speakers to join us, and all they did was talk about strategies, tips, techniques, hacks, what they are doing right now to get more theater and better theater out there in the world.

That's what we're gonna do. We're gonna do the six-part audio series now, which is ripped straight from this Theater Makers Challenge. You're gonna hear from some fantastic speakers over the next six episodes of this special mini-series podcast. And I guarantee you this you stick it out through the end of this thing, you are going to be ready to make more theater and better theater than you've ever made in your entire theater making career. So, enough of me. This is not about me. This is about these great speakers that are ready to entertain, inspire, and educate you into the rest of 2021 and beyond. So let's get to the Places Please challenge. It's the Theater Makers challenge. Places please, places, places please.

[1:54] Stephanie Klemons: Hi, everybody. Um, I know that um you're in the middle of a fantastic summit. Theater makers always puts together great material. And when they asked me about what I thought would be like a useful thing to chat about, I there is an elevator next to me. I'm so sorry. So the dinging is gonna be there every once in a while. But the one thing that I wanted to talk about, and it's the thing that I always wish that I could say to people more when I'm auditioning people, both um uh, you know, dancers, movers, singers, and that's talking about um your authentic movement and knowing what your authentic movement is. Um and so what is your authentic movement? I want you to um close your eyes um or at least soften your gaze and so let everything that's in the room around you melt away.

And I want you to picture pre-COVID times, um, the last big event that you were at, whether it was like you know, family event, whether it's like a wedding or a family reunion or a backyard get together, and um there's music playing, and I don't want you to picture um the person that you know that is like absolutely excellent at dancing. I want you to picture like that one uncle who always stands up and dances, and his movement is always like kind of off the music, and um, you know, he does his own thing, and I want you to just like but like he like really is enjoying it. Um so if you've ever seen, we've all kind of seen someone do that, where um, you know, there's just like uh it's it's almost as if they get like taken by the music.

They're not playing by any rules, they're not worrying about where's count one. Um, they're just like dancing to the music. So um I want you to picture that um that moment, and it's that kind of idea, right? All of us have like an uncle, wild uncle, you know, whatever in our lives that just like dances crazy and and and just like has so much fun. There, you know, so I want you to picture that idea, picture that, and all of us has um some type of movement inside of us that's not governed by any skill or technique or or anything like that, but it's just really naturally the way that we move, and that's the part of people that I think is really important to get in touch with. That's the that is the thing that I look for in people.

So no matter how much technique you have, um, there's something about being really authentically you. It's the way that you move your hands, it's the way that you sit and stand, it's the way that you naturally um uh you know, um like walk down the street, stand in line for something. Um, it's getting in touch with that that can tell you so much about yourself. And this is not just for performers, it's not just for dancers or singers, it's actually for people. Um, you know, just in general, as an exercise, writers, um, producers, people just to really understand what kind of natural mover they are.

[5:08] Stephanie Klemons: And so um, you know, a couple ways to do this, a couple ways to get in touch with that, a couple ways to get in touch with your authentic movement. Um, the best way that I can um find this in myself is allowing myself, you know, I am really a morning person, so late at night, my sort of like defenses are down, and I'm a little bit less inhibited, it's when I'm really not super awake. For some people, it might be the opposite. You might find that in the morning, you sort of are less inhibited, less in your in your mind, in your brain, as we call it, right? Um, and so allowing yourself to do like a moving meditation. So putting on some music, it can even be, I love to do this to like podcasts, um, you know, like that I find really interesting.

And just allow yourself to, without thought, without a goal, without a plan, just interpret music, interpret words, interpret movement. Um, and what you'll start to find is the first time, you know, this probably feels silly if it's not something that you do often. Um, but you'll find that inside of that there are patterns of things that you like to do, right? So you might notice that you constantly lift your right arm up, or you might notice that you always bend your legs and bend your knees, and that's something that you naturally do. Um, the first and most important thing is to just find and notice the movement and patterns that you do, um, and what is natural to you, whether it's um, you know, that you always listen to the drums in the music, or you always listen to um the lyrics in the music. Um, allowing yourself to really get in touch with what you naturally in your heart are gravitated towards.

[7:00] Stephanie Klemons: Um, the next thing is once you kind of know that, is kind of looking at that and without judgment or any inhibition, allowing yourself to just explore that specifically. So if your natural movement state is kind of up here in your arms, and when you dance, you do a lot of arm work. That is naturally connected to your heart space, to, you know, if you are, you know, in lots of different types of study of the body, whether it's yoga or Pilates or you know, any type of folk dance, um, native dances, um, there is like an expression that's associated with sort of each part of your body, right? There's like a grounded thing that happens when you move your legs. Um, there's a sort of sensual and fluid movement that happens when you move your hips, um, there's like a strong, passionate thing that happens when you're in your core and your belly.

And then there's um, you know, sort of this embracing, overarching, um, nourishing, loving thing that happens here when you move your arms. And um, same thing with your head, right? Moving your head can express lots of different emotions, it can express sadness and openness, but it's all of this sort of like our intellectual expression and understanding of movement. So, all that to say, right? That's like really heady movement stuff. Um, but if you'll start to notice when you start to do this movement meditation where you like to move, right? So if you're always moving your head, you're always moving your feet, um, noting that if that kind of expression, um, if you're really grounded person that likes to get into the floor, if you're a really heady person that likes to think and perceive.

And the purpose of all this, right? So, like I said, begin to move with no purpose, um, not no purpose, but no end goal, right? We're not like trying to achieve a thing, we're just merely explorers in our body objectively. What you'll start to learn about yourself is the place in which your expression naturally flows. Um, and I say that because the more we're in touch with that, the more we can look at projects that line up with how we are naturally, right? So even if you're a writer or a producer, um, if you're someone who moves in a way that's really grounded, and whenever you're dancing and you're moving, your expression is down in the floor. Um, maybe doing projects that are super heady are not actually in touch with your natural movement.

Maybe you're too grounded and you need something to uplift you. And so maybe getting involved in projects that are um heady, intellectual, super emotional, um, maybe that is for you. But the purpose of this exercise is to have an awareness of where you're coming from, where you're at, who you are authentically, so that you know when you're coming to a project, um, like I'm naturally a person, I love to move my arms. I can be blocked off. So that's actually like kind of um like an opposite for me, right? So, like I need things that are heart opening. I need things that allow me to use this part of my body that allow me to open up my heart to express love. Um, and so maybe getting myself involved in writing or producing or choreographing or directing a really heady intellectual piece is not really what I need.

Or if it's something that I am doing, I at least know my way in, right? My way in is through embracing, through nourishing, through connecting. Um I think it's a great skill, not just for dancers, like I said, but for all of us to take on.

[10:47] Stephanie Klemons: And again, like I said, the way that I always begin is through this movement meditation. It can be two minutes. I can pick one song. Sometimes if I'm listening to a podcast, I'll just like turn the lights off and just start moving. You know, it can be an audiobook. It could be anything that's already in your life. This isn't about like taking on another thing, right? It's not like, and now I need to take on this. And you know, I it's not about taking on an additional task. It's really just about standing up and moving during an activity that you always do and being an observer in that, looking for patterns and allowing yourself to sort of come as you are. Um, and then, you know, the great thing about this is once you do it in yourself, you kind of start to notice it in other people, right?

You'll be walking down the street and you notice if someone is like a really heavy person and that when they walk, they're always their chin is up, they're they're looking above eye level, and then you kind of notice someone who's really grounded and really heavy on their feet, you know, takes really strong, grounded steps. Um, and it can also help you connect to others um better. Uh, and I always feel like when I'm creating a piece, I like to sort of work with people's natural movement and just kind of learn about um one of the things like speaking of Hamilton that I think is really fun is that in the ensemble, there's so much encouragement to um to to learn the movement, but not to clean it within an inch of its life, but to allow people to say the same sentence, aka do the same choreography, but say the same sentence in their own intonation.

Um, obviously, there's lots of um ways in which we need to sort of keep it um finite and to make sure the audience understands the message. But um, you know, one of my very favorite things to do is to go to like a family function or a wedding and actually, like as the choreographer, just sit down at a table and watch people um and to see not good or bad, but who's moving authentically, right? Some people can be totally inauthentic in their movement, but it's really good, right? It's like really on the beat and rhythm and it looks good. And then some people can be super authentic, but it's quote unquote what people would consider bad. I don't believe in like good and bad dancing. I believe in like um movement is movement, and I actually really favor authentic movement.

I think it's fascinating, I think it's beautiful, and um I encourage all people, artists in theater, um, not just in theater, but all artists to make that a part of your practice and your understanding of yourself because I really do think that there's a lot to be learned from your body and a lot to be learned from your expression and also the way that bodies interact with other bodies. So um I hope that was helpful. I'm so sorry for the technical difficulties and for all the noise. I hope that it wasn't terribly distracting. But I so appreciate being here. Thank you for having me, and um, you know, um encouraging everyone to bring their body and their movement into their work. Thank you so much.

[13:53] Amber Iman: Uh, when I was first approached about this, I believe the prompt was um we're looking at advice in terms of mind, body, and soul. And the first thing that came to my mind, body, and soul was the fact that last week marked my first job, my first salaried job since March of 2020. 18 months later, um, I did my first workshop for a musical that I have been attached to for about five years. We're still deep in the developmental process before we go to do our out-of-town try-outs. And if I'm honest, I am still processing what it was like to finally go back to work after 18 months of desperation and unemployment and just a shift, a true, not even a pivoting, but like an expansion of life post COVID.

Um, and it was crazy because this workshop has been on my calendar for five months. It's been like the only thing I've been looking forward to or had to look forward to for quite some time. And it marked, you know, a return to normalcy in a way, or a return to life as we used to know it. And there was such a huge mixture of anticipation and anxiety and excitement all at the same time. And I felt like it was such an interesting feeling to be that anxious and have that much anxiety about the thing that I love. Like there was a fear about going back to work, which made me so it was kind of sad to feel that anxious and scared and nervous about doing the thing that I love to do because I was not sure what it was going to look like, feel like, how I was going to experience it in a now we're in COVID.

I don't want to say post-COVID because we're still in it, but I guess a post-quarantine world. Um so I it felt like first day of school, like pre-K, like kindergarten. Like could not sleep for three days before what am I gonna wear? What am I gonna meet? Who am I gonna meet? What snack should I pack in my lunchbox? Like it was a completely crazy experience. And but I did everything in my power to like prepare in the best way possible. Like, let me maybe drink my water, let me eat my salads, let me do my stretches, let me go to the gym, let me try to prepare my body and my mind so that I can be in the best shape possible. Having not really done this for 18 months and just worrying about how I'm going to be in this room.

And no matter what I did, all the preparation I was not ready. I was not ready for the mind and body components. I was not ready to wear a mask and sing, dance, and act in a mask for eight hours. I was not ready for the like COVID test three and four times a week. And I think the hardest part about it was like there's a level of, and I want to use this term gently, but like there's a level of like PTSD that I don't think we as performers, we as creatives are ready for or even understand. The biggest thing for us was like, I was so afraid that I was gonna catch corona, I was gonna catch COVID and derail the entire process, right? And we were operating under a contract um at Berkeley Rep Theater.

So we're under like California state rules, and California rules are very different than like New York rules. Everyone is still trying to figure out what the rules are. Everyone is working under their own kind of contract. But for us, it was like if someone gets sick, you have to quarantine for 10 days. And I was like, okay, but we're only here for a month. So if I get it in the third week, we won't be able to do the workshops. And so everybody was on that same thing of like, wait, if we get it, we have to stay home for 10 days. So what if we catch it? And it immediately became like a sense of everyone was uptight, everyone was stressed, everyone was anxious, no one was sleeping, everyone was like petrified.

And it was something that we weren't prepared for. We were so excited about, like, oh, we'll get to be back in the room and we'll get to be loving on each other and hugging on each other. And then suddenly COVID dreams. I hadn't had COVID dreams since the top of COVID. I don't know if any of you have them, but I used to have a dream where I would wake up in some heavily polluted, heavily populated, that's the word I need, heavily populated area, and I wouldn't have a mask on. It was Target for a long time. I'd wake up in the middle of the night because I was dreaming that I was in a busy target with no mask, and then everybody around me had was coughing on me and breathing on me, and then I would like wake up in sweats.

Hadn't had those dreams in 12 months, and suddenly in the middle of this workshop, I'm losing my mind. I it it was so crazy how much I started struggling. Like it became everything was a struggle. It was a struggle to like get up in the morning and go back to a 10 to 6 lifestyle. It was a struggle to like be on time. I'd get to these moments where like I'd wake up and I'd have plenty of time and then I'd find myself like sitting on my couch and watching TV because like something in my spirit would not allow me to move at a speed that I needed to be able to get to work on time. And that frustrated me. I was like, I've been waiting to do this job for six months. It is the only thing I've been looking forward to.

And my body is struggling. I started doing some of the silliest things. I locked myself out of my house three times. I came home so exhausted from a 10 to 6 day because also like we haven't had to like remember lines and choreography and music for 18 months. And now there is a flood of information in our brains, and we're standing in rehearsal rooms, we're in masks, we have the anxiety, we're not sleeping, and now there's all of this information being thrown at you, and I'm like, why am I struggling to remember words? Why am I struggling to remember blocking? Why am I struggling to remember people's names? I would get home at night after rehearsal. I'm gonna make some dinner. I'm gonna sit down and look at my script.

I sat down to look at my script around nine. I woke up at 4 a.m. and there were pots on the floor and the fridge was open. I'm like, what is going on? There were it was just little mistakes that I kept making the locking myself out of the house, the forgetting to eat, the not being able to hold on to information. And it it really was depressing and it was sad because it was like, I don't understand why I'm suffering so much, and I don't know how to fix this. It felt like just all of this immense pressure, immense stress, and immense anxiety. And I started talking to other cast members, and they were like, oh no, we're all struggling. And I think that was the first time I like took a breath because I thought it was just me. I thought I was having some kind of neurological moment. I thought panic, anxiety, attempts, I didn't know what it was.

[21:32] Amber Iman: And it was, I was like, why is it taking me so long? Why can't I remember? Why am I so tired? Why can't I get a handle on this? Like, this is the thing that I love to do. And I am struggling. And I spent so much time being angry at myself for struggling. I called my therapist and I was like, I think we need to have an emergency session because I just don't know what's going on. And the first thing she said, and like these are the things that I want you to keep with you as we continue moving forward. And she was like, first we just have to acknowledge what's going on. And we have to acknowledge that this is not like, this is crazy. We have to acknowledge that this is not regular, that this is not anything anyone's ever experienced.

And we have to first of all just make space to acknowledge we have been quarantined for 18 months. We have been without jobs, we have lost people in our lives, we have lost momentum, we have lost money. We are behind on rent. People have taken out loans, people have had to move home, people have had to move away from the business. Like, let's just take a moment to acknowledge that we are living in times that no one has ever experienced. And there was something about me just saying out loud, like, I'm acknowledging that I'm struggling. I'm acknowledging that this is way harder than I ever thought it would be. I just want to acknowledge the fact that like I am suffering to do the thing that I love and it makes me incredibly sad.

So just sitting in the space of like, this is weird, this is hard, this is not what I was signed up for. There's no handbook. Like we have gone from zero to a hundred. There are no, there's no like hotline to call and talk about this. And there are moments when you feel almost like, how can I complain about having a job when there are so many people in the world who still don't have jobs? There's so many actors who still are unemployed. So how can I reach out to someone to talk about how I can't like wake up on time to go to work? Like, but that is my truth. And that is my experience right now is that this is hard. And I don't really feel like I have the resources that I need to be successful in the thing that I have a degree in and have been doing for decades.

[23:55] Amber Iman: So, first of all, if you're in a position where you're going back to work, your kids are going back to school, you're going back to the office, you're returning to normalcy. Take a moment to sit either by yourself with someone you love, with someone you trust, your spouse, your partner, and just be like, Can I just say that this is crazy? Can I just say that I feel alone, that I feel tired, that I feel like I'm struggling, that I feel like I'm anxious, that I feel like I'm having a panic attack, that I just feel not like myself? And then once you've laid out that list of things, then we have to apply grace. We have to be so gracious with ourselves and say, of course I'm struggling. Of course I'm exhausted.

Of course, I can't remember the blocking and the notes and the words at the same time. I have not had to use my mind like this in 18 months. I've been using my mind for TikTok challenges. I've been using my mind for sourdough starters. I've been using my mind to figure out how to do my workouts from home. But this level of like zero to 100 with no 20, 40, 60, no increments. We just went from the house back into the world. We have to give ourselves grace. We have to apply pressure and grace to ourselves. Acknowledge that this is odd and then say, and that's okay. It's okay that I'm struggling. It's okay that I'm exhausted. It's okay that I feel like I don't know what I'm doing. And I give myself grace.

And I allow myself to sometimes eat half the pint of the Talenti. I allow myself to eat all the fries. I allow myself to walk aimlessly through the streets of New York and just feel the sun on my face. I allow myself to get what I need. And that is the third thing is getting what you need. I think the biggest thing that helped me through this crazy time is talking to other cast members and realizing that oh, we're all in the same boat. If you are creative, if you work behind the table, check in with the artists. We come in like, oh my God, hello everybody. I'm so happy to be here. And on the inside, it looks like crazy town. We don't bring the pain and the anguish and the anxiety into the room because we've been trained not to.

So now you just have a room full of people who are all struggling, but nobody's talking about it because they don't want to be difficult or they don't want to take up time. But the greatest part of this room that I was in over the past month was the director pulling people aside and being like, How are you? How are you doing? What do you need? How can we make space for you? How can we help? What we are in a time that's going to call on us to lean on each other in a way that we've never leaned on each other before. And half of that is also knowing that you may be leaning on people who also don't have the resources. Like my poor director, he couldn't fix things. He didn't know what to do, but he knew that it started with him at least saying, How are you?

And I don't mean in the theater way of like, oh girl, I'm fine. No, but like, how are you? And there were moments when cast members said, I'm in a moment of crisis. I actually need to take tomorrow off. And it's not because I have a job, it's because I honestly just need to sit on my couch and refuel because I'm losing my mind. We have to extend grace to each other across the board. We have to ask for what we need. We have to offer grace to ourselves, offer grace to each other, stand in the gap for each other, lean on each other. We have to use the resources that we have. If you are someone who has access to therapy, talk to somebody.

[27:58] Amber Iman: So if just as a recap, this is about acknowledging this time, acknowledging that we've been through something that has taken a lot from us. Money, stability, time, momentum. We have to acknowledge that it's also gonna be a long time. Like this isn't like, oh, we're done. It's gonna take a long time, y'all. It hasn't, it's not December yet. We haven't even hit a flu season with a Delta variant yet. You know what I mean? Like this thing has the potential to come back. So while we were still in the middle of it, acknowledge it, vent, talk to somebody, then give yourself grace for what you have gone through, what you have experienced, and then get what you need. If it's a piece of potato pie, sweet potato pie, if it's a French fry, if it is a workout, if it is a movie date night, get what you need.

Constantly be checking in with people around you who love you, who support you, who will hold you up. If I had a friend who was, she was like, I it's hard for me to say like I need help. And we just gotta like a safe word. And if she ever texts me, grapefruit, I know my friend is in crisis, she can't say the words, but she needs me. And I'll just go over and sit on her couch, and I'll just be there in her presence so she doesn't feel alone and she knows that I understand what she's been through. Um, so that is my advice for my body and soul in a time of corona when we all are still figuring it out. We're figuring out the rules, we're figuring out how to survive, we're figuring out how to heal, we're figuring out how to show up for each other and ourselves with grace, with compassion, with love, with listening ears, with shoulders for others to cry on.

And just know it's gonna take us a while to figure this out, but it's a one-day, one step at a time kind of thing. Um, so I hope that was helpful. I hope I gave you something that you can take with you. Um, and thanks guys for listening. Thank you so much for being a part of this special podcast mini-series, The Places Please Challenge. Are you inspired? Do you have strategies? Are you ready to make more theater and better theater? Well, listen, if you enjoyed this series, here's what I want you to do. If you like listening to speakers and getting these kind of strategies, then I want you to check out the TheaterMakers Summit. This is a virtual conference that is coming up, coming up right now on November, November 6th and 7th with a bonus day on the 8th.

It's all virtual, all virtual. Go to theatermakersummit.com. It's our fifth anniversary of what I believe is the largest conference for theater makers anywhere. Last year we had over a hundred speakers and over a thousand attendees. This year we've got even more speakers, and we're expecting even more attendees, lots of education, lots of networking opportunities. I hope to see you there. The summit is my favorite event of the year. My favorite event of the year. And now, because it's virtual, you can attend from the comfort of your own bedroom in your pajamas. I mean, what's better than that? Learning about the theater in your PJs. Go to theatermakerssummit.com, theatermakerssummit.com, or just Google it and you will find it.

Grab a ticket, join us for the TheaterMakers Summit. I promise you, you're gonna leave inspired and with more knowledge than you came in ready to tackle the renaissance of the theater. I look forward to seeing you at the conference, and I look forward to seeing one of your shows on a stage. Thanks again for joining us at the Places Please Audio Podcast Challenge. It's the Theater Makers Challenge. Places please places Places Please.