Off Stage

I'm in Columbia SC now, wanting to "get involved" & to pursue some of my special interests.

PEOPLE AND THEIR STORIES


I'm an actress (far R in photo) who loves leading groups in 
SHARING  OUR  OWN STORIES
more as a service than for a fee;
with heightened experience in a 3-year stint leading a mixed homeless/housed group in a
STORY CIRCLE
at Haywood St.Congregation, Asheville NC    



How it all started:
Touring 1-woman shows, with post-show "Our Own Stories" workshops- 
Selected for a "True Stories" workshop with Spalding Gray at Esalen Institute;

Culminating in Tampa with a musical production:        
"JAZZ, JAM, NO JIVE," with 25 African-American teenagers (& Nat Adderley) based on their own stories  
 & leading to more interest in: 

ACTIVISM
Social Justice: proud of my "I Went to Jail with Rev. Barber" button in  Moral Monday movement, Durham NC;
Racial Justice: proud of my "Black Lives Matter" button, NAACP, & Changemakers for Racial Understanding;
Populism: "Our Revolution" member: grassroots movement of Bernie Sanders & Nina Turner;
Peace: went to DC  'way back, to protest the pre-emptive Iraq war.


SPIRITUAL MATTERS
    I seek Mindful meditation groups or "sanghas,"  Thich Nhat Hanh style;
    Seeking a church community with diverse membership & social outreach;

STUDIES OF INTEREST
    Sign Language
   Book Club (a decade of James Joyce under my belt)
   Aging gracefully

SPECIAL  PLEASURES
                                                                   Music in a Group: I brought only my harmonica & uke with me;
                                                  Dancing in a Group

                                                                                                                                                  
"GO, GRANNY D!": a performance,  also a cause, no performance fee. (gogrannyd.com)

barbarabatessmith@gmail.com