Art Heals All Wounds: April Harris, Storyteller and Performer

09/29/21 • 33 min

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April Harris performs to heal. Her journey as a performer began when she was still serving as Captain in the United States Army. She had survived several sexual assaults during her service, but she realized that surviving wasn’t enough. For herself and for her two sons, she needed to thrive. To do that, she first needed to heal. Finding her way to a personal storytelling workshop was the beginning of April’s healing journey. Every time she took to the stage, she dropped more and more of her shame--as a victim of sexual assault, as a parent, and the shame she felt for neglecting herself for so long. Now she leads classes and workshops at The Theatre Lab in Washington, DC. She completed their Life Stories Institute, then began teaching her class Finding Your Voice. People from all walks of life attend this class—some who need to heal, some who are in transition, all of them seeking to connect deeply with their own stories. As the teacher and facilitator of the class, April doesn’t project what she thinks the participants need. Her role is to hold the space with love and respect so that each person can dig deeply to find their own voice.

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Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

Art Heals All Wounds: Michelle Kennedy, Writer and On-Camera Performance Coach

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Have you ever had a difficult relationship with someone that you absolutely adore? How would you handle your grief if that person unexpectedly dies before you've worked through your issues together? This was exactly the dilemma faced by Michelle Kennedy when her father was tragically killed in a car accident. As a writer, on-camera reporter, and news anchor, Michelle was at the top of her field. She left her career in TV news to travel around the world, having an amazing time with her best friend. However, she soon found that wherever she went, the ghosts of her unresolved issues with her father followed her. The result was her book Don't Pee in the Wetsuit-- part travelogue and part a navigation through grief--and always full of humor and love; both for her father, who she knows did his best, and for herself as she tackles the doubts and insecurities their relationship left behind. Now, with her knowledge and know-how, she's coaching others who need to be their best on camera. And she has the empathy to help anyone work through their own doubts and fears so that they can share their gifts with the world.

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Art Heals All Wounds: Hector Armienta, Opera Composer

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The very special guest on the Season 1 finale of Art Heals All Wounds is opera composer Hector Armienta. Hector is also the Art Director of Opera Cultura, a Latinx Hispanic opera company in San Jose, California. As a Mexican American composer, Armienta composes operas that explore what it means to be between two cultural worlds. His musical inspirations include the works of Puccini, Mexican corridos, and mariachi, to name a few.

What is it like to brave crossing the border in the hopes of finding a better life in America? What about farm workers, people who work in homes, cleaning and caring for children, young people who thought they were finally fulfilling their dream to attend college? What happened when March 2020 brought a pandemic that turned these dreams upside down? Hector Armienta interviewed Latinx immigrants in San Jose and Santa Clara Valley and gave their stories voice, a beautiful, operatic voice, in his operas Cuentos and Mi Camino.

Hector’s compositions are beautiful. But it’s his vision that is really exciting. He pushes the preconceived boundaries of opera and theatrical performance with his work. During the pandemic, when live performances weren’t possible, he created an animation for the opera Mi Camino. His plans are to take opera beyond the restrictions of borders, pandemics, and cultural and political boundaries, into virtual reality, augmented reality and extended reality. If the metaverse is coming, having Hector’s music there will make it a much more human space.

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