This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing olivia@smithcenter.org.
You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.
with Gayle Danley, national & international poetry slam champion
Gayle Performing in Frederick, MD
Slam poetry began in Chicago’s bars and coffeehouses in the late 1980’s. This phenomenal blend of spoken and written word turns every willing soul into a poet while providing relief from the stresses of the day. Master teaching artist Gayle Danley has shared her down-on-the-floor style of performance poetry all over the country in classrooms, lecture halls, theatres and even on CBS’ 60 minutes.
Join her for much laughter, emotion, comfort, understanding and instruction in the art of slam poetry. Her 4-step process has been tried in the fire and proven to be an effective antidote to the blues of the day and the isolation that threatens to drive us mad!
Suggested Donation: $15
Poem for my Sisters With Sons:
Breathe:
Pull a clean fist of air inside your self
and let it rest there
wide and unfrightened inside your belly
asking for nothing
Remember when the baby boy was there
Stirring and fighting and kicking things around
inside of you.
And where is he now?
Kicking at air
asking for everything
Defiance rippling on the edge of his skin
Beautiful as water
And do not worry if your brown boy
doesn’t smile enough
as long as he still smiles at you:
over dinner
over the news
from beneath a curtain of hair tangled and sprawled,
it is enough
Does he still know your name?
Good.
Does he still reach for you when there is blood
Does he still make you want to kill him on Monday mornings
Soon after crushing the competition at Asheville’s National Poetry Slam in 1994, Gayle Danley entered America’s classrooms teaching thousands of children how to access their emotions through the force of words. She performed and taught her way from Maryland Young Audience’s Artist of the Year, to National Young Audience’s Artist of the Year. She’s also both a former national and international poetry slam champion. CBS 60 Minutes profiled her work with middle schoolers as well as the Baltimore Sun, Washington Post and New York Times.
For the past five years, Gayle’s Grieffriend sessions have helped women who are living with AIDS, widows, incarcerated youth and those struggling with drug addiction and recovery use poetry to cope and bravely face life’s challenges.
Gayle was recently named Maryland Library Association Poet of the Year.
Part 1/3. This program series is being offered virtually through Zoom.
Registration for this series is closed. If you are interested in attending this series the next time it is offered, please email olivia@smithcenter.org.
You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.
with Mindy Brodsky, LCSWA
A typical legal will is about property and assets you will leave behind. But what about the intangible parts of you that you hope your loved ones will remember?
Join us for a program where you will create your own “ethical will,” also known as a legacy letter, love will, or life letter. Share wisdom and feelings with your next of kin, chosen family, or community in writing or any creative medium that speaks to you. These are nonlegal letters to people important to you that reflect your voice, your experiences, your personality and your values. We all experience thinking about and preparing for death in different ways. The ancient practice of crafting an ethical will can be a gift not only for the recipient(s) in the future, but also for you in the present in that it can provide sacred gifts of meaning and spirit.
This three-part workshop series aspires to create a safe space for you to gain confidence in your ability to share your values with loved ones in meaningful ways. Activities will include writing exercises, group discussion, reflective practices, and practical information to help ensure you complete the workshop with a beautiful product that will give your voice life long after death.
Participation is appropriate for adults of all states of health, ages, and faiths. You don’t have to consider yourself a “writer” to participate! Our activities will be fun, simple, and supportive.
Give Your Voice Life After Death: An Ethical Will Writing Workshop will be hosted in three parts. Participants must attend the first session and are encouraged to attend all three sessions. Upon completion of the three parts, participants will have developed a working ethical will. Program limited to 14 participants.
Program dates:
October 25
November 1 & 8
Suggested Donation: $10/session or $25/series
About Mindy Brodsky, LCSWA
Mindy Brodsky specializes in trauma-informed, strengths-based counseling with a passion for integrative health and healing. Mindy honors her clients as the experts of their lives, and she strives to provide a supportive and safe environment.
After a career in social justice advocacy and her own challenging health journey, Mindy aspires to meet her clients where they are to help them achieve their goals.
This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing programs@smithcenter.org.
You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.
with Jodi Kanter
Writing Outside the Lines
Inspired by Smith Center’s Outside the Lines: A Creative Art Studio, this program begins with a series of partnered exercises. In our own words, we will begin to tell chapters of our own stories.
With our stories as a springboard, we will write within a variety of genres. We’ll explore a new genre each week, discovering what different writing forms have to say to us—and we to them. Genres were made to be broken—or at least mixed and matched!
Possible genres include poetry, monologue, fairytale, and film noir. Many writing workshops strive to find and / or hone a writer’s “voice.” Conversely, Writing Outside the Lines will give writers the opportunity to express themselves in an ever-expanding range of voices.
Writing Outside the Lines will be hosted on the 2nd Wednesday from 10:00-11:30am ET.
Upcoming Dates:
November 9 (last session before WOTL takes a break!)
Suggested Donation: $10
About Jodi Kanter
Jodi has been involved in theater since she was ten years old. She grew up acting and studying performance in American theater’s “Second City,” Chicago Illinois. She is currently a professor of theatre in the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at George Washington University, where she has been on faculty for nearly fifteen years. Her academic work in theater includes her book, Performing Loss: Strengthening Communities Through Theatre and Writing (2007).
Jodi’s focus on performance as a tool for individual and social healing and change has led her to create workshops, events and productions in a wide variety of settings including hospitals, schools, and prisons. Most recently, she co-created a four-month diversity and inclusion program for members of DC’s fourteen Neighborhood Village associations using the methodology of Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed. Jodi holds a PhD. in Performance Studies from Northwestern University and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in dramatherapy at Lesley University.
This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing programs@smithcenter.org.
You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.
with Jodi Kanter
Writing Outside the Lines
Inspired by Smith Center’s Outside the Lines: A Creative Art Studio, this program begins with a series of partnered exercises. In our own words, we will begin to tell chapters of our own stories.
With our stories as a springboard, we will write within a variety of genres. We’ll explore a new genre each week, discovering what different writing forms have to say to us—and we to them. Genres were made to be broken—or at least mixed and matched!
Possible genres include poetry, monologue, fairytale, and film noir. Many writing workshops strive to find and / or hone a writer’s “voice.” Conversely, Writing Outside the Lines will give writers the opportunity to express themselves in an ever-expanding range of voices.
Writing Outside the Lines will be hosted on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays from 10:30-12:00pm ET.
Upcoming Dates:
October 26 (CANCELLED)
November 9 (last session before WOTL takes a break!)
Suggested Donation: $10
About Jodi Kanter
Jodi has been involved in theater since she was ten years old. She grew up acting and studying performance in American theater’s “Second City,” Chicago Illinois. She is currently a professor of theatre in the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at George Washington University, where she has been on faculty for nearly fifteen years. Her academic work in theater includes her book, Performing Loss: Strengthening Communities Through Theatre and Writing (2007).
Jodi’s focus on performance as a tool for individual and social healing and change has led her to create workshops, events and productions in a wide variety of settings including hospitals, schools, and prisons. Most recently, she co-created a four-month diversity and inclusion program for members of DC’s fourteen Neighborhood Village associations using the methodology of Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed. Jodi holds a PhD. in Performance Studies from Northwestern University and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in dramatherapy at Lesley University.
This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing programs@smithcenter.org.
You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.
with Jodi Kanter
Writing Outside the Lines
Inspired by Smith Center’s Outside the Lines: A Creative Art Studio, this program begins with a series of partnered exercises. In our own words, we will begin to tell chapters of our own stories.
With our stories as a springboard, we will write within a variety of genres. We’ll explore a new genre each week, discovering what different writing forms have to say to us—and we to them. Genres were made to be broken—or at least mixed and matched!
Possible genres include poetry, monologue, fairytale, and film noir. Many writing workshops strive to find and / or hone a writer’s “voice.” Conversely, Writing Outside the Lines will give writers the opportunity to express themselves in an ever-expanding range of voices.
Writing Outside the Lines will be hosted on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays from 10:30-12:00pm ET.
Upcoming Dates:
October 12 & 26
November 9 & 23
December 14
Suggested Donation: $10
About Jodi Kanter
Jodi has been involved in theater since she was ten years old. She grew up acting and studying performance in American theater’s “Second City,” Chicago Illinois. She is currently a professor of theatre in the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at George Washington University, where she has been on faculty for nearly fifteen years. Her academic work in theater includes her book, Performing Loss: Strengthening Communities Through Theatre and Writing (2007).
Jodi’s focus on performance as a tool for individual and social healing and change has led her to create workshops, events and productions in a wide variety of settings including hospitals, schools, and prisons. Most recently, she co-created a four-month diversity and inclusion program for members of DC’s fourteen Neighborhood Village associations using the methodology of Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed. Jodi holds a PhD. in Performance Studies from Northwestern University and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in dramatherapy at Lesley University.
This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing programs@smithcenter.org.
You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.
with Jodi Kanter
Writing Outside the Lines
Inspired by Smith Center’s Outside the Lines: A Creative Art Studio, this program begins with a series of partnered exercises. In our own words, we will begin to tell chapters of our own stories.
With our stories as a springboard, we will write within a variety of genres. We’ll explore a new genre each week, discovering what different writing forms have to say to us—and we to them. Genres were made to be broken—or at least mixed and matched!
Possible genres include poetry, monologue, fairytale, and film noir. Many writing workshops strive to find and / or hone a writer’s “voice.” Conversely, Writing Outside the Lines will give writers the opportunity to express themselves in an ever-expanding range of voices.
Writing Outside the Lines will be hosted on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays from 10:30-12:00pm ET.
Upcoming Dates:
September 28 (CANCELED)
October 12 & 26
November 9 & 23
December 14
Suggested Donation: $10
About Jodi Kanter
Jodi has been involved in theater since she was ten years old. She grew up acting and studying performance in American theater’s “Second City,” Chicago Illinois. She is currently a professor of theatre in the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at George Washington University, where she has been on faculty for nearly fifteen years. Her academic work in theater includes her book, Performing Loss: Strengthening Communities Through Theatre and Writing (2007).
Jodi’s focus on performance as a tool for individual and social healing and change has led her to create workshops, events and productions in a wide variety of settings including hospitals, schools, and prisons. Most recently, she co-created a four-month diversity and inclusion program for members of DC’s fourteen Neighborhood Village associations using the methodology of Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed. Jodi holds a PhD. in Performance Studies from Northwestern University and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in dramatherapy at Lesley University.
This program is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing programs@smithcenter.org.
You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.
with Jodi Kanter
Writing Outside the Lines
Inspired by Smith Center’s Outside the Lines: A Creative Art Studio, this program begins with a series of partnered exercises. In our own words, we will begin to tell chapters of our own stories.
With our stories as a springboard, we will write within a variety of genres. We’ll explore a new genre each week, discovering what different writing forms have to say to us—and we to them. Genres were made to be broken—or at least mixed and matched!
Possible genres include poetry, monologue, fairytale, and film noir. Many writing workshops strive to find and / or hone a writer’s “voice.” Conversely, Writing Outside the Lines will give writers the opportunity to express themselves in an ever-expanding range of voices.
Writing Outside the Lines will be hosted on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays from 10:30-12:00pm ET.
Upcoming Dates:
September 14
September 28 (CANCELED)
October 12 & 26
November 9 & 23
December 14
Suggested Donation: $10
About Jodi Kanter
Jodi has been involved in theater since she was ten years old. She grew up acting and studying performance in American theater’s “Second City,” Chicago Illinois. She is currently a professor of theatre in the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at George Washington University, where she has been on faculty for nearly fifteen years. Her academic work in theater includes her book, Performing Loss: Strengthening Communities Through Theatre and Writing (2007).
Jodi’s focus on performance as a tool for individual and social healing and change has led her to create workshops, events and productions in a wide variety of settings including hospitals, schools, and prisons. Most recently, she co-created a four-month diversity and inclusion program for members of DC’s fourteen Neighborhood Village associations using the methodology of Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed. Jodi holds a PhD. in Performance Studies from Northwestern University and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in dramatherapy at Lesley University.
PART 3/4. This program series is being offered virtually through Zoom. If you missed the first sessions, please email programs@smithcenter.org.
You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.
with Kiersten Gallagher and Mindy Brodsky, LCSWA
SC Writes for YACS
Welcome back to SC Writes for YACS, where we will deepen our writing and sharing in a safe and supportive environment. No writing experience required. Activities will include mindfulness practices, writing exercises, and reflective practices.
Stay tuned for the theme of this SC Writes series.
Group members are encouraged to attend all sessions, but missing one session is fine. This series has limited capacity and therefore attendance is important. To illustrate, we use all sessions to foster community and build an open space for sharing.
SC Writes for Young Adult Cancer Survivors (YACS) is a 4-part program series. We will meet starting on October 4th, 2022.
Program Dates:
October 4
October 11
October 18
October 25
Suggested Donation: $10/session or $35/series
About Kiersten Gallagher
Kiersten has served as the Cancer Support Program Director for Smith Center since 2014. Before coming to Smith Center, she had the privilege to serve individuals and families living with cancer at Wellness House of Annapolis. Kiersten aims to offer programs to reduce stress and help participants to see the world we live in from different perspectives. She thoroughly enjoys teaching yoga and creativity classes at Smith Center and encourages gentle movement and creativity in the healing process.
Kiersten is a certified yoga instructor through Yoga Alliance and also has her YCAT (Yoga Therapy in Cancer and Chronic Illness) Professional Certification through the Integral Yoga Academy. She has completed Patient Navigation training through Smith Center’s Institute for Integrative Oncology Navigation and has also completed the Commonweal Healing Circles: Advanced Cancer Support Training. Kiersten is also certified in CLIMB®(Children’s Lives Include Moments of Bravery) a program that aims to build upon the strengths of children and increase his/her ability to cope with stress associated with a parent’s illness.
She believes in a holistic approach to healing, human relationships and is grateful for each and every day. In her spare time, you may find Kiersten laughing with friends, cycling, taking art classes, practicing yoga and spending time with her husband Shane, son Liam, and dogs Hooper and Pablo.
About Mindy Brodsky, LCSWA
Mindy Brodsky specializes in trauma-informed, strengths-based counseling with a passion for integrative health and healing. Mindy honors her clients as the experts of their lives, and she strives to provide a supportive and safe environment.
After a career in social justice advocacy and her own challenging health journey, Mindy aspires to meet her clients where they are to help them achieve their goals.
PART 2/4. This program series is being offered virtually through Zoom. If you missed the first sessions, please email programs@smithcenter.org.
You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.
with Kiersten Gallagher and Mindy Brodsky, LCSWA
SC Writes for YACS
Welcome back to SC Writes for YACS, where we will deepen our writing and sharing in a safe and supportive environment. No writing experience required. Activities will include mindfulness practices, writing exercises, and reflective practices.
Stay tuned for the theme of this SC Writes series.
Group members are encouraged to attend all sessions, but missing one session is fine. This series has limited capacity and therefore attendance is important. To illustrate, we use all sessions to foster community and build an open space for sharing.
SC Writes for Young Adult Cancer Survivors (YACS) is a 4-part program series. We will meet starting on October 4th, 2022.
Program Dates:
October 4
October 11
October 18
October 25
Suggested Donation: $10/session or $35/series
About Kiersten Gallagher
Kiersten has served as the Cancer Support Program Director for Smith Center since 2014. Before coming to Smith Center, she had the privilege to serve individuals and families living with cancer at Wellness House of Annapolis. Kiersten aims to offer programs to reduce stress and help participants to see the world we live in from different perspectives. She thoroughly enjoys teaching yoga and creativity classes at Smith Center and encourages gentle movement and creativity in the healing process.
Kiersten is a certified yoga instructor through Yoga Alliance and also has her YCAT (Yoga Therapy in Cancer and Chronic Illness) Professional Certification through the Integral Yoga Academy. She has completed Patient Navigation training through Smith Center’s Institute for Integrative Oncology Navigation and has also completed the Commonweal Healing Circles: Advanced Cancer Support Training. Kiersten is also certified in CLIMB®(Children’s Lives Include Moments of Bravery) a program that aims to build upon the strengths of children and increase his/her ability to cope with stress associated with a parent’s illness.
She believes in a holistic approach to healing, human relationships and is grateful for each and every day. In her spare time, you may find Kiersten laughing with friends, cycling, taking art classes, practicing yoga and spending time with her husband Shane, son Liam, and dogs Hooper and Pablo.
About Mindy Brodsky, LCSWA
Mindy Brodsky specializes in trauma-informed, strengths-based counseling with a passion for integrative health and healing. Mindy honors her clients as the experts of their lives, and she strives to provide a supportive and safe environment.
After a career in social justice advocacy and her own challenging health journey, Mindy aspires to meet her clients where they are to help them achieve their goals.
This program series is being offered virtually through Zoom. In order to participate and receive the Zoom link, register by clicking the RSVP button above or by emailing programs@smithcenter.org.
You will receive the Zoom information no later than the morning of your program.
with Kiersten Gallagher and Mindy Brodsky, LCSWA
SC Writes for YACS
Welcome back to SC Writes for YACS, where we will deepen our writing and sharing in a safe and supportive environment. No writing experience required. Activities will include mindfulness practices, writing exercises, and reflective practices.
Stay tuned for the theme of this SC Writes series.
Group members are encouraged to attend all sessions, but missing one session is fine. This series has limited capacity and therefore attendance is important. To illustrate, we use all sessions to foster community and build an open space for sharing.
SC Writes for Young Adult Cancer Survivors (YACS) is a 4-part program series. The series originally scheduled for September/October has been moved to October. The upcoming series dates are:
October 4
October 11
October 18
October 25
Suggested Donation: $10/session or $35/series
About Kiersten Gallagher
Kiersten has served as the Cancer Support Program Director for Smith Center since 2014. Before coming to Smith Center, she had the privilege to serve individuals and families living with cancer at Wellness House of Annapolis. Kiersten aims to offer programs to reduce stress and help participants to see the world we live in from different perspectives. She thoroughly enjoys teaching yoga and creativity classes at Smith Center and encourages gentle movement and creativity in the healing process.
Kiersten is a certified yoga instructor through Yoga Alliance and also has her YCAT (Yoga Therapy in Cancer and Chronic Illness) Professional Certification through the Integral Yoga Academy. She has completed Patient Navigation training through Smith Center’s Institute for Integrative Oncology Navigation and has also completed the Commonweal Healing Circles: Advanced Cancer Support Training. Kiersten is also certified in CLIMB®(Children’s Lives Include Moments of Bravery) a program that aims to build upon the strengths of children and increase his/her ability to cope with stress associated with a parent’s illness.
She believes in a holistic approach to healing, human relationships and is grateful for each and every day. In her spare time, you may find Kiersten laughing with friends, cycling, taking art classes, practicing yoga and spending time with her husband Shane, son Liam, and dogs Hooper and Pablo.
About Mindy Brodsky, LCSWA
Mindy Brodsky specializes in trauma-informed, strengths-based counseling with a passion for integrative health and healing. Mindy honors her clients as the experts of their lives, and she strives to provide a supportive and safe environment.
After a career in social justice advocacy and her own challenging health journey, Mindy aspires to meet her clients where they are to help them achieve their goals.
