Learning From the Pros – A Night at Victory Gardens Theater

by ClareShale Mountain Star – Abundant Heart’s Roving Shamanic Reporter

Oh wow – this past Monday night was the best! Astra and I have been so excited to check out Victory Gardens Theater, where our awesome client Jeremy Glickstein will be performing in “Waiting For Lefty” by Clifford Odets. (The show runs through October 2 so be sure to get your tickets!) We had the opportunity on Monday to attend the welcome reception and rocking presentation of Victory Gardens’ new Artistic Director, Chay Yew. The theater was lovely, the crowd was gracious and the refreshments were of course divine – however the best part was hearing Chay’s vision forward for what he would like the Victory Gardens Theater to be for Chicago: A meeting hall for the diverse communities of our city to come together and begin a dialogue. His hope is that through championing new works, diversity and young writers, bridges can be built using the transformational nature of theater. He is taking such a beautiful stand for healing in our city. Here’s Chay, third from the left, with other directors and artists talking about plans for the future:Another highlight for us was hearing poet Kevin Coval read from his new book,L-Vis Lives. It was so great to hear him share about growing up in the suburbs of Chicago during the 80’s and 90’s. I guess it’s because all those memories of early hip-hop and trendy breakfast cereal seem for me to be hidden inside my own heart – but there he was, weaving my memories into a stunning piece of poetry. Check out his website:http://kevincoval.com/kc/.

One last thing to share about our evening….We had a great chat with a Chicago actor who shared with us the title of a book (which you may be familiar with if you’ve studied acting): The Actor and The Target by Declan Donnellan. I definitely want to pick it up soon – but in the meantime there was one point that stood out during our conversation. Donnellan explains that there is no actor with greater talent or lesser talent – there are only performers who are less blocked or more blocked. He writes in the introduction: “The talent is always pumping away, like the circulation of the blood. We just have to dissolve the clot.” (p.6) That piece of advice is something I try to remember and apply in my life as a mother and shaman – I have everything I need in each and every moment, all there is for me to do is remove what is no longer helpful – what is not me, and I see the Truth: That the Universe is full of beauty and abundance and I am an integral part of that.

All in all it was a wonderful evening of sharing, learning and connecting. We are so glad we attended the event, and really look forward to some excellent theater this year from Victory Gardens!

ClareShale Mountain Star  – Empowerment Shaman

www.abundantheartliving.com