S6 Ep9 : Majority In The Middle | Shannon Watson

03/04/24 • 37 min

Shannon Watson is a communicator, strategist, thought leader, and civic thinker. Shannon has worked in policy public affairs roles for Majority in the Middle, Casper Corcoran, The Medical Alley Association, St. Paul Area Chamber, U.S. Bank, the Minnesota Senate and the National conference of State Legislatures. She has more than two decades of experience in electoral politics having worked on local and state-wide campaigns on both sides of the aisle in Kansas, Colorado and Minnesota. She holds a bachelor's degree in English, Theatre, and Psychology from Wichita State University and a master's degree in Advocacy and Political Leadership from the University of Minnesota-Duluth. She currently lives in Minneapolis with her dog, CJ.

Key Takeaways

Unfortunately people often focus on differences first, how can we challenge ourselves to look past differences to see similarities
The more time and effort put into relationships makes people more comfortable with people who are different from them or with things they don’t understand
There’s no all or nothing — every group is varied and has diversity within it
Authenticity is about owning your successes and failures

Guest’s Media Recommendations:

The Newsroom (TV series)

Find Guest’s work:

https://www.majoritymiddle.com/shannon-watson

For more of Michael’s work, visit our website www.incognitotheplay.com or follow us on Instagram @incognitotheplay

Thanks to Ned Doheny for providing our podcast music! You can find him and his music on Spotify.

Editing and co-production of this podcast by Emma Yarger.

Email [email protected] with questions or comments about the show!

Key Takeaways

Unfortunately people often focus on differences first, how can we challenge ourselves to look past differences to see similarities
The more time and effort put into relationships makes people more comfortable with people who are different from them or with things they don’t understand
There’s no all or nothing — every group is varied and has diversity within it
Authenticity is about owning your successes and failures

Guest’s Media Recommendations:

The Newsroom (TV series)

Find Guest’s work:

https://www.majoritymiddle.com/shannon-watson

For more of Michael’s work, visit our website www.incognitotheplay.com or follow us on Instagram @incognitotheplay

Thanks to Ned Doheny for providing our podcast music! You can find him and his music on Spotify.

Editing and co-production of this podcast by Emma Yarger.

Email [email protected] with questions or comments about the show!

Previous Episode

S6 Ep8 : Build Your Capacity To Listen | Michael Rohd

Michael Rohd is a theatre-maker, educator, process designer, writer and facilitator. His research and creative practice is focused on civic imagination. He has a 30+ year history of projects across sectors bringing cultural activity to the work of public engagement, community planning and cross-sector coalition building. In 1992 in Washington DC he co-founded Hope Is Vital, an arts & public health program that, over 8 years, helped start up theatre-based public engagement/HIV prevention coalitions in over 80 communities around the US. In 1999, he co-founded Sojourn Theatre and served as artistic director for 20 years, co creating and directing nearly 30 devised often site specific and participatory theatre works. In 2012, he co-founded Center for Performance and Civic Practice, a collective of nine artists/facilitators who work with organizations and agencies around the country on community research, transformational process and system change. He is currently Civic Collaborations Director for One Nation One Project, a national arts/municipality/public health project & research cohort in partnership with National League of Cities; he is co-designer/co-facilitator for Art-Train, a virtual national technical assistance program in partnership with Springboard for the Arts. He recently founded the Co-Lab for Civic Imagination at the University of Montana, and he is author of the book Theatre for Community, Conflict and Dialogue.

Key Takeaways

Groups of people share something, whether that is space, time, values or goals
What is the harm of entering a space with the intention of persuading others at all costs?
Bringing people together might require different tactics depending on their goals. Reflect and dialogue with community members before jumping in
Working with a co-facilitator makes for better processes and better outcomes
When things are off, be mindful. Pause and be transparent about what might be going wrong
We all need to build our capacity for listening

Guest’s Media Recommendations:

The Candy House by Jennifer Egan (book)
Can’t Drink Salt Water by Kendra Mylnechuk Potter (play)

Find Guest’s work:

https://howlround.com/commons/michael-rohd

For more of Michael’s work, visit our website www.incognitotheplay.com or follow us on Instagram @incognitotheplay

Thanks to Ned Doheny for providing our podcast music! You can find him and his music on Spotify.

Editing and co-production of this podcast by Emma Yarger.

Email [email protected] with questions or comments about the show!

Next Episode

S6 Ep10 : Make Connections Not Impressions | Laura Schellhardt

Laura Schellhardt is a Chicago based playwright and adapter. Her original works include Air Guitar High, Auctioning the Ainsleys, The Apothecary's Daughter, The K of D, Courting Vampires, and Shapeshifters, among many others. Adaptations include The Phantom Tollbooth, The Outfit, and Creole Folktales. She is also the author of Screenwriting for Dummies. She’s a two-time Jeff Award nominee and recipient of the AATE Distinguished Play Award, the New Play Frontier’s residency, the TCG National Playwriting Residency, the Jerome Fellowship, the New Play Award from ACT in Seattle, and a Dramatist Guild Playwriting Fellowship. She has participated in the SoHo Rep Writer/Director Lab, the Women Playwrights Festival at SRC, the Kennedy Center's New Voices/New Visions Festival, the Bonderman TYA Symposium, the Ojai New Play Conference, the Denver Center New Play Summit, the Bay Area Theatre Festival, and the O'Neill National Playwright's Festival, among others. She received her graduate degree from Brown University, under Paula Vogel. She’s a former Victory Gardens Resident Playwright and current member of Walkabout Playwrights Collective and she oversees the undergraduate play Schellhardt oversees the undergraduate playwriting program in the Department of Theatre at Northwestern University.

Key Takeaways

We all hold many identities and their salience changes with time and context
Privilege can be an obstacle when you’re not aware of it but it can be a tool to empower others
What you practice grows stronger, especially with how you talk to yourself and others
What and how you give your attention is one of your most powerful tools
Effort > outcome and process > product
There’s a difference between safety and comfort and it is important to learn and grow in discomfort
Authenticity is a series of choices based on your values and intentions
Take yourself seriously but hold yourself lightly
Make connections not impressions

Guest’s Media Recommendations:

The Anti-Racist Writing Workshop: How To Decolonize the Creative Classroom by Felicia Rose Chavez (book)
Creative Acts for Curious People by Sarah Stein Greenberg (book)

Find Guest’s work: