Finding Your Belonging

In a world where writers and creatives often measure their success by whether they are able to sell their work, get published or find a stage to perform on…

And many of us feel self-conscious about whether our work is any good unless we see a byline, or get a round of applause…

Where it’s easy to believe that if something we make doesn’t get picked up by a magazine, or is rejected by a publisher, then it must be bad…

How as creatives do we keep going? How do we commit ourselves to the creative path if the world around us isn’t always popping champagne corks in our direction?

How do we trust ourselves as artists, and find our creative belonging?

I am delighted to introduce you to Ann Randolph, an actress, writer, and teacher with more chutzpah and grit than any other creative I’ve met. Ann is scrappy and inventive, a woman who worked the graveyard shift in a homeless shelter for mentally ill women so she could have days to write and weekends off to perform. She thought she would be there for six months, but worked there for ten years while she wrote five solo shows, all produced with a credit card. A woman who has never paid rent in her life, but takes every dollar she earns and rents theaters to stage her productions. Ann is edgy and inventive, who, in the face of challenges and disappointment, has stayed on a hungry, creative edge to bring her work to the world, and to help writers do the same with their work.

Ann has remained steadfast and committed, never waiting for external validation; she defined her own worth and success.
This is a class for anyone who wants a big shot of courageous, creative dopamine, and who needs to get back to believing in their work and their process. This is a class in finding our own belonging as artists, and not waiting for others to tell us whether our work is worthy or not.

In this class we will talk about:

• Reconnecting with why we create, and what motivates our work.
• What success looks like and what it takes to stand by our work no matter what others think.
• Making mistakes, trying new things and taking risks so that our work feels Alive and exciting to us.
• Learning how to listen deeply to the sound of our home voice, and to create work that matters to us first and the audience second.
• Troubleshoot tricky, unusual ways to share your work with the world.

Ann Randolph is a multi-tiered invitation and adventure in interiority, grief, healing; and her teaching touches a part of my heart that brings me to my knees… laughing, sometimes crying. Ann is a master teacher. – Alanis Morissette

I hope you can join us. All sessions are recorded and there will be an open Q&A with Ann during the last 30 minutes of the class.

I’m excited to be partnering with Chapter 510, a nonprofit group in Oakland serving black, brown, and queer kids, ages 7- 18. Chapter 510 is a writing, bookmaking & publishing center that wants every young person in Oakland to write with confidence and joy. Chapter 510 believes that writing is an act of liberation, and that young people transform themselves and their communities when they write and get published, succeeding in work, school, and life. A portion of the proceeds from this event will go to supporting their free creative writing programs for black, brown, and queer youth.