Relate w/ Patrick McAndrew

In this episode, we talk about how theatre can be used for digital wellness. The digital wellness field is still very new and there are a lot of methods out there helping to regulate our tech use. I discuss how theatre and acting practices can be a powerful tool in improving our communication, listening, and empathy in a very distracted world.

Bobbi Block joins us in the tenth episode of SHIPS! Bobbi shares with us the immense value to be found in applied theatre and applied improvisation as well as the long-term, positive effects of playing together and building trust.

To learn more about the work Bobbi is doing, please check out  https://bobbiblock.com/  and http://tongue-groove.com/.

Bobbi Block is an experiential Facilitator and Coach with a unique background in both training and the performing arts. She designs and facilitates behavioral development programs that build collaborative, authentic, trusting relationships. Bobbi’s unique interactive programs include Relationship Management, Collaboration, Leadership, Presence, Creativity and Presentation Skills. In addition to her consulting work, Bobbi works as Independent Faculty for The Wharton School’s Executive Education Institution. She is also a Senior Affiliate with The Ariel Group, a firm with global reach that uses best practices from actor training to develop executives’ Leadership Presence. Bobbi is the Director of Applied Improvisation Programs for CSz Philadelphia, and a Designer/Instructor for the leadership program Work.Life.Leader. In addition, she is a consultant for Bracken Leadership, and worked as a facilitator for the training firm Performance of a Lifetime. Bobbi teaches and performs Improvisational Theatre in Philadelphia and is an Adjunct Professor in the Theatre Department at Temple University, Drexel University, and the University of Otago in New Zealand. Bobbi received her Bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and her Masters at Villanova University. Bobbi is the Producing Artistic Director of the critically acclaimed Tongue & Groove Spontaneous Theater, and Co-Founder of ComedySportz Philadelphia, Philly’s longest-running live show. 

Kim Cavallo joins us on the SHIPS podcast in Episode 009. She talks with us about her own experience being disrupted by technology and how that led to the development of her company, lilspace, and how we can decrease our excessive tech use by establishing new habits.

You can learn more about the great work Kim is doing at  http://www.getlilspace.com/  and @getlilspace.com.

Kim Anenberg Cavallo is the founder and CEO of lilspace, a company that elevates human connection in the digital age. Lilspace brings phone-free experiences to live events by activating wellness lounges, a time-tracking app and the social impact incentive Unplug for a Cause™. With 25 years experience raising money for nonprofit organizations, event planning and community building, Kim's work is now centered at the intersection of digital wellness, social action and the music industry. In addition to building lilspace, Kim is a co-founder of Digital Wellness Collective, supporting professionals all over the world focused on using the power of tech for good. Growing up with a Mom who was a therapist, Kim experienced the incredible power of relationships and became concerned when technology was clearly interfering with our human to human connections. Her dedication to protecting relationships and the creation of her company is Kim’s way to honor her mother, Jane Anenberg, who died in 2012. When Kim is unplugged she finds joy in spending time with her family, traveling, hiking and practicing yoga. 

Tessa Lena joins us for Episode 008 of SHIPS. Tessa is a performing artist, writer, and speaker who shares her courageous journey with us, her personal struggles, and why art is so important today as technology is advancing at a rapid pace.

You can learn more about the amazing work Tessa is doing at @tessamakeslove and tessafightsrobots.com.

Tessa Lena is a Russian-born musician and writer living in the East Village of New York. Her music and her blog are about staying human in the age of robots and algorithms. She is the founder of VulnerableWin, an initiative designed to restore the art of sincere dialogue. Her motto is, “ See a fellow human.”

Oscar-winner Olympia Dukakis joins us for Episode 007 of SHIPS. She discusses the craft of acting, the importance of observing a script and what's written on the page, and the importance of building trust in an artistic community. 

OLYMPIA DUKAKIS is an Oscar-winning actress who has appeared on Broadway in several productions including Rose (Drama Desk Award Nominee), Social Security, Who's Who in Hell,  and The Aspern Papers.  In London, Rose (Royal National Theatre), Credible Witness (Royal Court). Off-Broadway: The Milktrain Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore, The Tempest, Mother Courage and Her Children, Singing Forest, The Marriage of Bette and Boo (Obie Award), Curse of the Starving Class, Titus Andronicus, A Man’s a Man (Obie Award), Rose Tattoo, Three Sisters, The Cherry Orchard, The Seagull, Electra, Hecuba, and Peer Gynt. She is an Academy Award winner for her performance in Moonstruck, a role that also earned her a Golden Globe Award, American Comedy Award, and the Los Angeles Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress. She has appeared in more than 60 feature and short films, including The Infiltrator, 7 Chinese Brothers, Cloudburst, Mr. Holland’s Opus, Steel Magnolias, Dad, Look Who’s Talking I, II & III, Mighty Aphrodite, Jeffrey, Away From Her, among many others. Television: Big Driver, Sex & Violence, Forgive Me, Bored to Death, Last of the Blond Bombshells, Sinatra (Golden Globe Nominee), Joan of Arc (Emmy Nominee), Tales of the City, More Tales of the City (Emmy Nominee), and Further Tales of the City, SWITCH, among more than 40 others. She has performed in over 130 productions Off-Broadway and regionally at theatres including the Public Theater, A.C.T., Shakespeare in the Park, Shakespeare & Co., and the Williamstown Theatre Festival, where she also served as Associate Director. Founding member and Producing Artistic Director of the Whole Theatre in Montclair, NJ, for 19 years; also a founding member of the Actor’s Company and the Charles Playhouse in Boston. She continues to teach acting at NYU and master classes for professional theatre companies, colleges, and universities across the country. She was bestowed the National Arts Club Medal of Honor and her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was placed in 2013. And at the 2018 Greek Independence Day celebration at Gracie Mansion, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio proclaimed March 20, 2018, as “Olympia Dukakis Day.”

In this solo episode, I discuss with SHIPS's amazing listeners ways in which we shouldn't waste away our time. In a society that is very distracted and loves to procrastinate, it is very easy and super tempting to let our time go by the wayside. Before we know it, days, weeks, months, and even years have passed without us even realizing it. It's crucial that we discipline ourselves to get the things we need to get done with this little time we have on Earth.

In this episode, we chat with James Ijames, a Philadelphia-based performer and playwright. Not only do we discuss the amazing work he has been creating in the theater industry, but we also talk about the value of community. We discuss the importance of truly seeing each other and appreciating one another as human beings.

Be sure to learn more information about James by checking out his website at  http://www.jamesijames.com/.  Instagram: @jameswijames

JAMES IJAMES is a Philadelphia based performer and playwright. James’ plays have been produced by Flashpoint Theater Company, Orbiter 3, Theatre Horizon (Philadelphia, PA), The National Black Theatre (NYC), Ally Theatre (Washington DC) and have received development with PlayPenn New Play Conference, The Lark, Playwright's Horizon, Clubbed Thumb, Villanova Theater, Headlands Art Center, Wilma Theater, Azuka Theatre and Victory Garden. James is the 2011 F. Otto Haas Award for an Emerging Artist recipient, and he also won two Barrymores for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Play and one Barrymore for Outstanding Direction of a Play for The Brothers Size with Simpatico Theatre Company. James is a 2011 Independence Foundation Fellow, a 2015 Pew Fellow for Playwriting, the 2015 winner of the Terrance McNally New Play Award for WHITE, the 2015 Kesselring Honorable Mention Prize winner for The Most Spectacularly Lamentable Trial of Miz Martha Washington the 2018 Kesselring Prize Winner for Kill Move Paradise and a 2017 recipient of the Whiting Award.  James is a founding member of Orbiter 3, Philadelphia’s first playwright producing collective. James is Assistant Professor of Theatre at Villanova University and resides in South Philadelphia.

In Episode 004 of SHIPS, I talk with Gabi Jubran, Founder and Executive Director of HAPPI and co-Founder of the Digital Wellness Collective. We discuss the importance of connecting to one another in an age that is comfortable with information instead of transformation, as well as Gabi's inspiring journey in building HAPPI. We are very comfortable consuming information instead of transforming ourselves by stepping outside of our comfort zone. Gabi provides his insight and encourages us to step outside our comfort zone in order to discover our potential to transform. 

To learn more about HAPPI, the Digital Wellness Collective, and the great work Gabi is doing, be sure to check out https://www.happi.org/ and https://digitalwellnesscollective.com/

Gabi Jubran is the Founder/Executive Director of a non-profit called HAPPI (Helping Awesome Parents Parent Intentionally) and Co-Founder of Digital Wellness Collective. Born and raised in Silicon Valley, he has always been saturated by technology and is now on a mission to align tech's incentives with people's well-being. His inspiration came from watching his 2 year old niece play with an iPad and ultimately realized the biggest impact would come from helping parents reclaim their own attention. He is a firm believer that creating a world where parents feel deeply connected to themselves, to their communities, to the natural world, and to their children will naturally create more HAPPIness everywhere! 

In this episode, I interview Michael Hollinger, who is a successful playwright based in Philadelphia. We dive into his exciting journey in the arts, the complexities involved in creating dynamic characters for the stage, as well as the importance of human relationships.

Be sure to check out Michael's website and learn more about his work at  http://michaelhollinger.com/ 

  Michael Hollinger’s plays include Under the Skin, Opus, Ghost-Writer, Tooth and Claw, Red Herring, Incorruptible, An Empty Plate in the Café Du Grand Boeuf, and the musical TouchTones (co-authored with composer Robert Maggio), all of which premiered at Philadelphia’s Arden Theatre Company and have variously been produced around the U.S., in New York City, and abroad (London, Paris, Tokyo, Athens, Poland and Slovenia). Plays premiered elsewhere include: Hope and Gravity at Pittsburgh’s City Theatre; Cyrano (translated, and co-adapted with Aaron Posner) at Washington’s Folger Theatre; Sing the Body Electric at Philadelphia’s Theatre Exile, and the musical A Wonderful Noise (co-authored with Vance Lehmkuhl) at Creede Rep. Awards include an ATCA/Steinberg New Play Citation, an L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award, a Mid-Atlantic Emmy, four Barrymore Awards, nominations for Lucille Lortel and John Gassner awards, and multiple fellowships from the Independence Foundation and Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. Michael is a Professor of Theatre at Villanova University, Artistic Director of Villanova Theatre, and a proud alumnus of New Dramatists.

In this episode, I interview Teodora Pavkovic, a psychologist, international speaker, and parenting coach. It proves to be a fruitful conversation as we dive into the impact that excessive technology use is having on families and what we can do to change it.

To learn more information about Teodora, please be sure to check out her website at https://teopcoaching.com or you can email her at [email protected].

Teodora is a New York City based psychologist, international speaker and parenting coach with over 10 years of international experience working with children and parents with emotional and behavioral difficulties, as well as adults with mood and anxiety problems. She specializes in digital wellness and parenting in the age of technology and addresses these issues with an approach rooted in emotional intelligence and neuroscience research, as well as positive psychology and mindfulness practices. She is frequently invited to speak, train and facilitate at diverse venues such as schools, co-working spaces, museums and coffee shops, and in front of diverse audiences comprising of teachers, young professionals, parents, children, and therapists. Her tips on parenting, well-being, empathy, emotional intelligence and other psychological topics have appeared in articles on NBC News, Thriveworks, Huffington Post, and Thrive Global among others. She recently spoke on the topic of emodiversity at the TEDxPickeringStreet conference in Singapore.