Tree Speech

In our next episode we examine the history of Boston’s Liberty Tree, including its origin story and how that story evolved over time depending on who was telling it. We have wonderfully spirited conversations with distinguished actor, singer, dancer, and educator, Mark Linehan and historian Maddie Webster, a Boston University PhD student in the American & New England Studies Program. Then, we seek to uncover what liberty and liberation means in the present day with activist and Applied theatre practitioner Catherine Hanna Schrock, the Co-founder and Director of Imagine Brave Spaces, a San Diego-based theater company who shares a spoken word piece she wrote about her company which also serves as a call to action in making liberation a reality for all. 

Mark Linehan is a Boston-based actor with extensive stage and dance experience. A native of Massachusetts, he has performed in theaters across New England as a professional singer, dancer and actor. Mark's specialty is musical theater, and he has also worked in children's theater, drama and film.

Maddie Webster is a PhD candidate in the American & New England Studies Program, where she studies urban history and historic preservation with a focus on Boston. Her dissertation explores Black Bostonians’ historic preservation efforts from the late nineteenth century onward, a story that comes into clearer focus by reframing what activities constitute preservation work. As a public historian, Maddie wants to collaborate with and bolster Boston’s citizen historians. Her partnership with the Initiative on Cities stems from this same impulse to engage with the modern city—and its challenges and opportunities—with the lessons of history close at hand.

Catherine Hanna Schrock is an Applied Theater Practitioner, which unites her roles as an educator, theatre artist, and community organizer. She designs creative programming that equips diverse communities to engage in complex dialogues toward social and community development. 

Special thank you to Mark, Maddie and Catherine for their time and inspiration. 

For more info:

Boston Historical Tours: https://www.bostonhistoricaltours.org/#/

Imagine Brave Spaces: https://imaginebravespaces.com

Tree Speech’s host, Dori Robinson, is a director, playwright, dramaturg, and educator who seeks and develops projects that explore social consciousness, personal heritage, and the difference one individual can have on their own community. Some of her great loves include teaching, the Oxford comma, intersectional feminism, and traveling. With a Masters degree from NYU’s Educational Theatre program, she continues to share her love of Shakespeare, new play development, political theatre, and gender in performance. Dori’s original plays have been produced in New York, Chicago, and Boston. More information at https://www.dorirobinson.com

This week’s episode was recorded in Massachusetts on the native lands of the Wabanaki Confederacy, Pennacook, Massachusett, and Pawtucket people. 

Logo design by Mill Riot. Special thanks to the Western Avenue Lofts and Studios for all their support. 

Tree Speech is produced and co-written by Jonathan Zautner with Alight Theater Guild. The mission of the guild is to advance compelling theatrical endeavors that showcase the diversity of our ever-changing world in order to build strong artists whose work creates empathy, challenges the status quo and unites communities. For more information about our work and programs, please visit www.alighttheater.org. 

Learn more about the podcast at: www.treespeechpodcast.com, and IG: treespeechpodcast

Our next episode features a conversation with David Meshoulam, PhD, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Boston nonprofit, SPEAK FOR THE TREES, an organization whose mission is to improve the size and health of the urban tree canopy in Boston, with a focus on under-resourced and under-canopied neighborhoods.

David (pronounced Dah-veed) co-founded Speak for the Trees in 2018. Trained as a science educator, his work has focused on ways to increase understanding of the connections between science, culture, and history and to empower people to be change agents. He holds a PhD in Curriculum & Instruction from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is a Senior Fellow at the Environmental Leadership Program, and is co-chair of the Urban Ecology Collaborative. When he's not tending to trees, his 2 children, or his 1 mini Australian Shepherd, you can reach him at [email protected].

Special thank you to David for his time and inspiration.

For more info:

SPEAK FOR THE TREES website: https://treeboston.org

SPEAK FOR THE TREES instagram: trees_boston

Boston Tree Equity Maps: https://treeboston.org/tree-equity/

American Forests Tree Equity Score tracker: https://www.treeequityscore.org

Tree Speech’s host, Dori Robinson, is a director, playwright, dramaturg, and educator who seeks and develops projects that explore social consciousness, personal heritage, and the difference one individual can have on their own community. Some of her great loves include teaching, the Oxford comma, intersectional feminism, and traveling. With a Masters degree from NYU’s Educational Theatre program, she continues to share her love of Shakespeare, new play development, political theatre, and gender in performance. Dori’s original plays have been produced in New York, Chicago, and Boston. More information at https://www.dorirobinson.com

This week’s episode was recorded in Massachusetts on the native lands of the Wabanaki Confederacy, Pennacook, Massa-adchu-es-et (Massachusett), and Pawtucket people.

Logo design by Mill Riot. Special thanks to the Western Avenue Lofts and Studios for all their support.

Tree Speech is produced and co-written by Jonathan Zautner with Alight Theater Guild. The mission of the guild is to advance compelling theatrical endeavors that showcase the diversity of our ever-changing world in order to build strong artists whose work creates empathy, challenges the status quo and unites communities. For more information about our work and programs, please visit www.alighttheater.org.

Learn more about the podcast at: www.treespeechpodcast.com, and IG: treespeechpodcast

Gather round the campfire for a very special, supernatural episode. We have spooky, mysterious tree tales from around the world to get you into the Halloween spirit! Listen now, if you dare!

Special thanks to actor, educator, and dialect coach Charles Linshaw for joining our episode today. Learn more about Charles at: https://www.charleslinshaw.com.

Tree Speech’s host, Dori Robinson, is a director, playwright, dramaturg, and educator who seeks and develops projects that explore social consciousness, personal heritage, and the difference one individual can have on their own community. Some of her great loves include teaching, the Oxford comma, intersectional feminism, and traveling. With a Masters degree from NYU’s Educational Theatre program, she continues to share her love of Shakespeare, new play development, political theatre, and gender in performance. Dori’s original plays have been produced in New York, Chicago, and Boston. More information at https://www.dorirobinson.com

This week’s episode was recorded in Massachusetts on the native lands of the Wabanaki Confederacy, Pennacook, Massa-adchu-es-et (Massachusett), and Pawtucket people, as well as in New York on the land of the Lenapee tribes. Special Halloween logo design by Mill Riot. Special thanks to the Western Avenue Lofts and Studios for all their support.

Tree Speech is produced and co-written by Jonathan Zautner with Alight Theater Guild. The mission of the guild is to advance compelling theatrical endeavors that showcase the diversity of our ever-changing world in order to build strong artists whose work creates empathy, challenges the status quo and unites communities. For more information about our work and programs, please visit www.alighttheater.org.

Learn more about the podcast at: www.treespeechpodcast.com, and IG: treespeechpodcast

This third episode of our second season features our look into Witches & Witchcraft. Our guests include Serefina Mesa, owner of Rue and Vervain, an etsy shop that sells "hand-made spell crafting supplies for the persnickety witch." Serefina is a self-described Bodhisattva, Green Witch, and empath who believes that there's primordial energy and magic in nature, and through her gifts that power can be harnessed and shared. We also spoke with Joshua Gray, a self-described practitioner of the wild earth who walks in the space where the trees meet the open fields.

Special thanks to Serefina and Joshua for their time and inspiration. Find them at:

Serefina’s shop, Rue and Vervain: https://www.etsy.com/shop/RueAndVervain

Rue and Vervain Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rueandvervain/

Joshua Gray’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/side.street.witch/

Additional Resources:

Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/145562.Cunningham_s_Encyclopedia_of_Magical_Herbs

Books on Green Witchcraft: https://www.goodreads.com/search?q=green+witch&qid=cDN4FNQikG

Tree Speech’s host, Dori Robinson, is a director, playwright, dramaturg, and educator who seeks and develops projects that explore social consciousness, personal heritage, and the difference one individual can have on their own community. Some of her great loves include teaching, the Oxford comma, intersectional feminism, and traveling. With a Masters degree from NYU’s Educational Theatre program, she continues to share her love of Shakespeare, new play development, political theatre, and gender in performance. Dori’s original plays have been produced in New York, Chicago, and Boston. More information at https://www.dorirobinson.com

This week’s episode was recorded in Massachusetts on the native lands of the Wabanaki Confederacy, Pennacook, Massa-adchu-es-et (Massachusett), and Pawtucket people, as well as in New York on the land of the Lenapee tribes and in Maryland on the lands of the Piscataway peoples. Special Halloween logo design by Mill Riot. Special thanks to the Western Avenue Lofts and Studios for all their support.

Tree Speech is produced and co-written by Jonathan Zautner with Alight Theater Guild. The mission of the guild is to advance compelling theatrical endeavors that showcase the diversity of our ever-changing world in order to build strong artists whose work creates empathy, challenges the status quo and unites communities. For more information about our work and programs, please visit www.alighttheater.org.

Learn more about the podcast at: www.treespeechpodcast.com, and IG: treespeechpodcast

This second episode of our second season features the second part of our focus on the 9/11 Survivor Tree, a Callery Pear tree found during the excavation of Ground Zero in New York City. Our guests include Cheryl Somers Aubin, a writer, instructor and speaker who was inspired to write the book, The Survivor Tree: Inspired by a True Story in 2011. Also, we hear from George Middleton, a visual artist and retired Call Firefighter and EMT.

Additional resources and for more information:

Cheryl Somers Aubin: https://cherylaubin.com

The Survivor Tree: Inspired by a True Story: https://thesurvivortree.com All profits from the sale of this book benefit charity.

George Middleton: https://www.georgemiddleton.com

Special thanks to Cheryl Somers Aubin and George Middleton for sharing their time and inspiration.

To share a sapling story: https://anchor.fm/treespeech/message

Tree Speech’s host, Dori Robinson, is a director, playwright, dramaturg, and educator who seeks and develops projects that explore social consciousness, personal heritage, and the difference one individual can have on their own community. Some of her great loves include teaching, the Oxford comma, intersectional feminism, and traveling. With a Masters degree from NYU’s Educational Theatre program, she continues to share her love of Shakespeare, new play development, political theatre, and gender in performance. Dori’s original plays have been produced in New York, Chicago, and Boston. More information at https://www.dorirobinson.com

This week’s episode was recorded in Massachusetts on the native lands of the Wabanaki Confederacy, Pennacook, Massa-adchu-es-et (Massachusett), and Pawtucket people, as well as in New York on the land of the Lenapee tribes and in Washington DC on the land of the Anacostan and Piscataway Peoples. Logo design by Mill Riot. Special thanks to the Western Avenue Lofts and Studios for all their support.

Tree Speech is produced and co-written by Jonathan Zautner with Alight Theater Guild. The mission of the guild is to advance compelling theatrical endeavors that showcase the diversity of our ever-changing world in order to build strong artists whose work creates empathy, challenges the status quo and unites communities. For more information about our work and programs, please visit www.alightheater.org.

Learn more about the podcast at: www.treespeechpodcast.com, and IG: treespeechpodcast

This first episode of our second season features the 9/11 Survivor Tree, a Callery Pear tree found during the excavation of Ground Zero in New York City. Our guest, Ronaldo Vega, shares his insightful and touching story of how he championed and helped nurture the tree from a wounded, burned stump to the powerful sign of hope and survival that it represents today.

Additional resources: 9/11 Memorial Survivor Tree: https://www.911memorial.org/visit/memorial/survivor-tree

Oklahoma City National Memorial Museum Survivor Tree: https://memorialmuseum.com/experience/the-survivor-tree/

Wisconsin 9/11 Memorial: https://www.wisconsin911memorial.com

Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens: http://www.bartlettarboretum.org

Special thanks to Ron Vega for sharing his time and inspiration.

Tree Speech’s host, Dori Robinson, is a director, playwright, dramaturg, and educator who seeks and develops projects that explore social consciousness, personal heritage, and the difference one individual can have on their own community. Some of her great loves include teaching, the Oxford comma, intersectional feminism, and traveling. With a Masters degree from NYU’s Educational Theatre program, she continues to share her love of Shakespeare, new play development, political theatre, and gender in performance. Dori’s original plays have been produced in New York, Chicago, and Boston. More information at https://www.dorirobinson.com

This week’s episode was recorded in Massachusetts on the native lands of the Wabanaki Confederacy, Pennacook, Massa-adchu-es-et (Massachusett), and Pawtucket people, as well as in New York on the land of the Lenapee tribes. Logo design by Mill Riot. Special thanks to the Western Avenue Lofts and Studios for all their support.

Tree Speech is produced and co-written by Jonathan Zautner with Alight Theater Guild. The mission of the guild is to advance compelling theatrical endeavors that showcase the diversity of our ever-changing world in order to build strong artists whose work creates empathy, challenges the status quo and unites communities. For more information about our work and programs, please visit www.alightheater.org.

Learn more about the podcast at: www.treespeechpodcast.com, and IG: treespeechpodcast

We are grateful to have spoken with Michelle Browder during today’s episode. 

Michelle is a nationally recognized artist and activist. Her work has been exhibited in four galleries, including the Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery, Alabama. She uses her artistic talents to create restorative justice programs in juvenile detention centers, failing schools systems and after school programs for under-served youth. Michelle has mentored thousands of disadvantaged kids and created safe places for children suffering from all forms of trauma, abuse and neglect. She uses art, history and "real talk" conversation and community events to change negative narratives created by social conditioning. She is the owner and operator of More Than Tours, a tour company which provides educational tours about racial bias and history to students and tourists in Montgomery, Alabama. I Am More Than....Put Yourself in Their Shoes, is a domestic nonprofit corporation founded and directed by Michelle. The More Up Student Travel Center will house and educate youth travelers and activists visiting the Montgomery center through an established curriculum of art, historical exploration, and critical thinking. Browder’s mural for Black Lives Matter was painted near the site of Montgomery’s former slave market and was featured on The TODAY show. She was the designer, artist and curator of the mural which is located at the historical Montgomery Slave Auction. The More Up Campus aims to educate the public on reductive rights, health and justice for Black women in America.

For information regarding the More Up Campus and Mothers Of Gynecology Monument: https://www.anarchalucybetsey.org

For information on Bryan Stevenson’s Equal Justice Initiative: https://eji.org

Tree Speech’s host, Dori Robinson, is a director, playwright, dramaturg, and educator who seeks and develops projects that explore social consciousness, personal heritage, and the difference one individual can have on their own community. Some of her great loves include teaching, the Oxford comma, intersectional feminism, and traveling. With a Masters degree from NYU’s Educational Theatre program, she continues to share her love of Shakespeare, new play development, political theatre, and gender in performance. Dori’s original plays have been produced in New York, Chicago, and Boston, including: The Great Harvest, The Principal Stream, Name of a Woman, Six Wings to One, and most recently The Elm Tree with Alight Theater Guild. More information at https://www.dorirobinson.com

This week’s episode was recorded in Massachusetts on the native lands of the Wabanaki Confederacy, Pennacook, Massa-adchu-es-et (Massachusett), and Pawtucket people, and was produced by Jonathan Zautner and Alight Theater Guild, a 501(c)(3) created to advance compelling theatrical endeavors that showcase the diversity of our ever-changing world in order to build strong artists whose work creates empathy, challenges the status quo and unites communities. Alighttheater.org. 

Logo design by Mill Riot. 

Learn more about the podcast at: www.treespeechpodcast.com, and IG: treespeechpodcast

We are grateful to have spoken with Guleraana Mir during today’s episode. 

Guleraana is a British award-winning writer, applied-theatre practitioner, and one half of The Thelmas, a female-led theatre company devoted to empowering women to redress the equality imbalance in the arts. She is passionate about telling authentic stories that celebrate, not stereotype. Guleraana regularly facilitates playwriting masterclasses in schools, community groups, and for emerging writers. She is leader of the National Theatre’s Writing for Theatre programme for 16-21 year olds, and VAULT Festival’s New Writers Programme. She mentors on the MFA Writing for Stage and Broadcast Media at Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

Writing credits include: ALL THE SMALL THINGS (short, BBC Children’s) 2020, MISFITS (co-writer) Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch 2020, Recipient of an OnComm Commendation, SANTI & NAZ (co-writer), VAULT Festival 2020, Winner of an Origins Award for Outstanding New Work & Finalist for Best Stage Production at Asian Media Awards, THE BIGGER PICTURE (audio), commissioned by Tamasha and SOAS, WE’RE JUST GETTING STARTED, Royal Exchange Theatre Young Company 2019, MAKE NOISE (audio) as part of Forgotten Women 2018, MANO’S Mulberry School & RichMix 2018, and COCONUT, Ovalhouse and national tour 2018, nominated for two OFFIE Awards including most promising new playwright.

Information about Guleraana’s Theatre Company, The Thelmas can be found at: https://www.thethelmas.co.uk

Tree Speech’s host, Dori Robinson, is a director, playwright, dramaturg, and educator who seeks and develops projects that explore social consciousness, personal heritage, and the difference one individual can have on their own community. Some of her great loves include teaching, the Oxford comma, intersectional feminism, and traveling. With a Masters degree from NYU’s Educational Theatre program, she continues to share her love of Shakespeare, new play development, political theatre, and gender in performance. Dori’s original plays have been produced in New York, Chicago, and Boston, including: The Great Harvest, The Principal Stream, Name of a Woman, Six Wings to One, and most recently The Elm Tree with Alight Theater Guild. More information at https://www.dorirobinson.com

This week’s episode was recorded in Massachusetts on the native lands of the Wabanaki Confederacy, Pennacook, Massa-adchu-es-et (Massachusett), and Pawtucket people, and was produced by Jonathan Zautner and Alight Theater Guild, a 501(c)(3) created to advance compelling theatrical endeavors that showcase the diversity of our ever-changing world in order to build strong artists whose work creates empathy, challenges the status quo and unites communities. Alighttheater.org. 

Logo design by Mill Riot. 

Learn more about the podcast at: www.treespeechpodcast.com, and IG: treespeechpodcast

We are grateful to have spoken with Navee Cohen during today’s episode.

Here is a link to RIKMAH ENOSHIT ACHAT (A SINGLE HUMAN TISSUE): https://jewishmom.com/2016/05/10/the-song-i-will-be-singing-this-israeli-memorial-day/

Navee Cohen was born and raised on Kibbutz Ramat Yohanan in northern Israel. His early adulthood was spent as an elite Triathlete representing Israel in championship races around the world, including Croatia, Singapore, Turkey, France, and the United States. He retired from his athletic career and studied acting at the prestigious Beit Tzvi, The School of the Performing Arts. He has acted on stage and in several commercials in Israel, including for Soda Stream and Toys”R”Us. Throughout all of this, he has been a budding educator, leading Israel trips for college students. Leading him to be the Israel Fellow at UCLA Hillel, where he is able to fulfill his goal of bringing  people closer together in celebration of their Jewish heritage.

Tree Speech’s host, Dori Robinson, is a director, playwright, dramaturg, and educator who seeks and develops projects that explore social consciousness, personal heritage, and the difference one individual can have on their own community. Some of her great loves include teaching, the Oxford comma, intersectional feminism, and traveling. With a Masters degree from NYU’s Educational Theatre program, she continues to share her love of Shakespeare, new play development, political theatre, and gender in performance. Dori’s original plays have been produced in New York, Chicago, and Boston, including: The Great Harvest, The Principal Stream, Name of a Woman, Six Wings to One, and most recently The Elm Tree with Alight Theater Guild. More information at https://www.dorirobinson.com

This week’s episode was recorded in Massachusetts on the native lands of the Wabanaki Confederacy, Pennacook, Massa-adchu-es-et (Massachusett), and Pawtucket people, and in California on the native lands of the Tongva people, and was produced by Jonathan Zautner and Alight Theater Guild, a 501(c)(3) created to advance compelling theatrical endeavors that showcase the diversity of our ever-changing world in order to build strong artists whose work creates empathy, challenges the status quo and unites communities. Alighttheater.org.

Learn more about the podcast at: www.treespeechpodcast.com, and IG: treespeechpodcast

Logo design by Mill Riot.