The Distillery
The Distillery
divine essence
The Distillery produces performances and workshops that utilize theatre arts for creating healing, personal development and social transformation
The overall focus of the organization is to cultivate the ability to be the change you wish to see in the world, as Gandhi, so eloquently put it. In seeing ourselves as the active agent in the fulfillment of our potential, we realize we have the ability to create circumstances and opportunities that produce beneficial results in the world.
Performances offer insights and inspiration for the transformational path. Workshops include dynamic processes where participants have the experience of recreating their lives in a more empowering way. They walk away with a clear understanding of how to create change and the essentials that will allow them to progress.
The Distillery produced “Sacred is the NEW Profane” in the 2008 Midtown International Theatre Festival and was awarded “Outstanding Production of a Solo Show.” As a result, the play was invited to be a part of the Women @ Work Festival. In 2009 an 8-minute distillation of the play was included in a group solo show called “The Lonely Post-Modern Artsy-Fartsy Peep Show” at the Tribeca Cinemas Gallery. The NY POST called the piece “a hilariously upsetting monologue on mental health.” The piece was also featured in a remount of the show performed this past January 2010 at City Center as part of the Conference for the Association of Performing Arts Presenters.
The Distillery applied for an MCAF grant through the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council in order to provide a series of staged readings of SCARED CLOUDS, a full-length play. Set in an illusory prison context, the readings plan to include a talk-back on Restorative Justice practices, which assist people in transforming conflicts into cooperation. The play is currently in development with Theatre Research Ensemble (TREe) – a branch of The Interdependence Project, which will host a reading on April 16th
The Distillery intends to be a remedy for the ever-expanding market of people looking to develop inner strength and resiliency in order to cope more skillfully with the challenges of life. As the old systems break-down and are replaced by new ones at an increasingly faster rate, adaptability is mandatory.
I have repeatedly had the opportunity to witness the healing power of the arts. I have observed how -when people were given the opportunity to express themselves creatively it also opened the channel for them to release emotions, particularly ones that were difficult for them to convey. Being able to do so, they felt relieved and their suffering diminished. As a consequence they were able to move forward with the task at hand and create a constructive outcome. I understand how working in this way, we can train the resilience of the human psyche and as a result enable people to animate their full potential. When individuals have an embodied sense of their divine nature, they are empowered to positively impact their communities – which leads to a better world for all of us.
Themocracy