** UPDATE: IN THE INTEREST OF PROTECTING PUBLIC HEALTH, FLATTENING THE CURVE, AND PRESERVING RESOURCES FOR OUR HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS AND THE MOST VULNERABLE AMONG US, THIS WORKSHOP WILL BE POSTPONED. **
Dear Community,
With so much unknown and in flux in the coming weeks, and in the interest of public health, we are postponing this workshop and won't open registration until we have more information.
We at The Bee as well as the folks at the Rape Recovery Center and Utah Humanities want to reassure you that we remain fully dedicated to staying engaged in this work with you.
In the meantime, we feel strongly that cultivating our crucial capacity to respond and recover from trauma, adversity, and stress, which is one way of describing resilience, is as important now as ever. With this in mind, we're going to see what we can do to re-imagine this offering, among other things we do, into something we can do with you online - stay tuned!
Finally, we want you to know that we don't make these decisions lightly. As we wrote to ticket holders to Thursday's cancelled show, as a small local business working closely with other small local businesses whose livelihoods are based in large part in social proximity, as partners and parents and friends, this is a very concerning time.
And while physical distancing is something we are being called to do, we are steadfastly committed to staying closely connected in other ways. Thankfully, we have the technology!
We look forward to staying in touch and wish you wellness,
Giuliana & The Bee Team
P.S. If you’d like to get on our email list, we encourage you to sign up! And if you’re not already following us on instagram, we hope you'll join us on that platform as we do post there more often than we send emails and we'd love to share that digital space with you.
Resilience can be described as our capacity to respond to and recover from trauma, adversity, and stress.
In these workshop sessions, we will cultivate this crucial capacity by focusing on own personal experiences of resilience and sharing the stories of how it is that we survived the adverse situations in our lives. Through this process, we hope to discover more about our own resilience - what it has really looked, felt, and been like for each of us - and grow our collective ability to support ourselves and one another along the way.
Participants will have the opportunity to practice finding and fostering voice through a combination of guided writing prompts, oral storytelling exercises, and practical instruction. We will also have the chance to practice the art of listening without commenting, problem-solving, or advising.
Facilitators Giuliana Serena and Nan Seymour of The Bee are experts at encouragement and creating a brave space for people to be themselves together.
CULTIVATING RESILIENCE: SESSION 1
Workshop date & registration TBD
Location to be shared with participants upon registration (in downtown SLC, ADA ACCESSIBLE).
This introductory session is offered free of charge and open to folks of any gender, ages 14+. Space is limited to 50 participants and pre-registration is required. A Meet & Greet with Rape Recovery Center Therapists & Staff to follow workshop!
CULTIVATING RESILIENCE: SESSION 2
Workshop date & applications TBD
Location to be shared with participants upon registration (in downtown SLC, ADA ACCESSIBLE).
This more in-depth and intimate session is offered on a sliding scale ($115-$0) and open to folks of any gender, ages 18+. Space is limited to 18 participants and pre-registration via online application is required. Attendance at Session 1 is highly recommended and encouraged. All proceeds from registration will go directly to the Rape Recovery Center.
PLEASE NOTE: We ask all potential participants to read the full description of this workshop below before registering!
IS THIS WORKSHOP FOR YOU?
This workshop may be for you if you’re ready to attend to the story of your resilience in response to adversity, especially as it relates to sexual assault, though not exclusively.
It may not be for you if you’re in the midst of dealing with a recent trauma, one that’s still too fresh or hot to touch. If this is the case for you, and you don’t already have sufficient support, we hope you will reach out to The Rape Recovery Center directly, as they offer an abundance of resources, including a 24/7 Crisis Line (801.467.7273), Hospital Response Team, Advocacy for Survivors, and Individual and Group Therapy Services offered at a sliding scale (which includes no-cost options).
This workshop may be for you if you’re willing to really listen and bear witness to others sharing about difficult experiences, and cultivate your capacity to listen and support loved ones and community members going through challenging times.
This workshop may not be for you if you are concerned about being triggered by hearing other people talk about difficult experiences, thoughts, and feelings in the realm of trauma and sexual assault. If you’re looking for a safe container for such conversations, you may consider attending one of the many group services specifically for survivors offered by The Rape Recovery Center.
This workshop may be for you if you work in the field of support for survivors, as a therapist, social worker, healthcare provider, activist, advocate or otherwise are in a position of supporting folks going through such experiences.
This workshop is not for you if you are coming in the hopes of problem-solving for, or fixing, healing, or advising anyone else, as this is not what we will be doing!
WHAT WE WILL AND WON’T BE DOING
We will be co-creating a brave space to find and foster voice, focus on our experiences of resilience, and attend to the stories of how we have personally survived trauma and adversity.
We won’t be inviting participants to share stories of trauma in any specific detail. Instead, we will be focusing on the details what happened afterwards, how we responded to experiences of trauma, adversity, and stress, and how our resilience helped us to survive.
We will be sharing true, and possibly vulnerable details from our personal lives and holding each other’s details in confidence.
We won’t be processing, analyzing, fixing, problem-solving, or advising. In fact, we will not be commenting on each others’ stories or experiences at all! While some folks may find the experience of participating in these workshops therapeutic, they are not in and of themselves therapy, and not to be considered a replacement for such support.
PRACTICALITIES FOR SESSION 1
OPEN TO: Folks of any gender, ages 14+, up to 50 total participants.
REGISTRATION: This workshop is offered free of charge, though pre-registration is required. Registration opens March 14th. Scroll up to sign up!
LOCATION: To be shared with participants upon registration (in downtown SLC). ADA Accessible.
TIMING: Cultivating Resilience: Session 1 will take place from 2:30-4:30pm Saturday, April 4th, 2020 followed by a Meet & Greet with The Rape Recovery Center Therapists and Team Members from 4:30-5:00pm. This workshop is highly participatory and beginning together is essential! As such, once we begin, we will close our doors and will not be able to admit latecomers. Please plan sufficient time to arrive and get settled, and to stay through until the end. Our doors will open at 2:00pm so feel free to arrive early!
PLEASE BRING: A favorite pen, a notebook if desired, a water bottle, and most importantly of all - a willingness to participate imperfectly. We will have some sweet and savory snacks on hand, though you are welcome to bring your own if you like and/or if you have any particular food allergies or preferences.
PLEASE NOTE: Our beloved Photographer-in-Residence, Anna Pocaro, will be joining us and photographing Session 1. If this is a concern for you, please let us know upon registration.
PRACTICALITIES FOR SESSION 2
OPEN TO: Folks of any gender, ages 14+, up to 18 total participants.
REGISTRATION: This workshop is offered on a sliding scale ($115-0), though pre-registration via application is required. We will be accepting applications March 14th - April 6th. Scroll up to apply! Attendance at Session 1 highly recommended and encouraged.
LOCATION: To be shared with participants upon registration (in downtown SLC). ADA Accessible.
TIMING: Cultivating Resilience: Session 2 will take place from 1:00-6:00pm Saturday, April 18th, 2020. This workshop is highly participatory and beginning together is essential! As such, once we begin, we will close our doors and will not be able to admit latecomers. Please plan sufficient time to arrive and get settled, and to stay through until the end. Our doors will open at 12:45pm so feel free to come early!
PLEASE BRING: A favorite pen, a notebook if desired, a water bottle, and most importantly of all - a willingness to participate imperfectly. We will have some sweet and savory snacks on hand, though you are welcome to bring your own if you like and/or if you have any particular food allergies or preferences.
ABOUT OUR FACILITATORS
Giuliana Serena & Nan Seymour are experts at encouragement and creating brave space for people to be themselves together.
Giuliana Serena
Giuliana is the Beekeeper and Founder of The Bee. She hosts and produces our shows, facilitates our storytelling workshops, and offers consulting services to individual storytellers and organizations.
Her commitment to creating intentional space for brave storytelling and engaged listening is rooted in her work as a Ceremonialist and Rites-of-Passage Facilitator, with a particular affinity for progressing culture, attuning to the cycles of nature, and celebrating the seasons of life.
She appreciates the opportunity to hold space for community to share authentically, witness one another, and experience transformation; from the wilds of nature to classrooms to the depths of dark and crowded bars.
Nan Seymour
Nan is The Bee's Director of Narrative Encouragement and Giuliana’s co-conspirator in facilitating our storytelling workshops. She has facilitated writing and storytelling workshops for dozens of groups, including cancer survivors, high school students, homeless writers, and survivors of domestic violence.
She offers an ongoing schedule of expressive and generative writing courses at her River Writing studio in Salt Lake City.
Nan spent seventeen years as a miller and baker of whole-grain bread. She learned something about process by milling the wheat. She acquired some patience while waiting for the loaves to rise.
She is currently co-authoring a dual voice memoir with her 25 year-old daughter Beatrice. Their forthcoming book tells the story of a Utah girl who survives the perils of a misgendered adolescence to claim her true name and identity.
REFLECTIONS FROM PARTICIPANTS OF THE BEE’S WORKSHOPS
"A space to reclaim my memories, words, and voice."
"What a beautiful community of storytellers. I needed this." – Lauren
"Informative and empowering while also permitting space and time for connection."
"Feels like we got to know each other on a deeper level.”
"I absolutely love how this workshop guided me through the process of telling part of my story. Thank you." – Becky
“Not nearly as terrifying as I thought it would be!”
"I go to therapy a lot and have found my biggest struggle is to connect emotionally with myself. This space isn't therapy but it allows the safety and encouragement to be imperfectly yourself and I love that. Take this workshop if you want to become a better listener and connect with yourself." – Madeline
“Incredible human connection between complete strangers!”
“Great atmosphere! A perfect way to get out of your comfort zone.” – Bryton
"The exercises helped me think more deeply about my story and uncover more pertinent details. Great experience - thank you!" – Camille
“A rare experience to engage with others in real, honest, genuine, and vulnerable ways.”
"A great way to get in touch with your experiences and stories in a supportive space."
“If you want to spark your creativity or try something new - take this workshop!” – Mandy
“I’m so glad I took this workshop! Very productive and well worth the time. Thank you for your contribution to storytelling in SLC!” – Joanita
“I feel so much better equipped to think about my stories and move them forward. Thank you!” – Jessica
"Not only beneficial for those who want to hone their storytelling, but an excellent way to find and share your voice in a supportive environment. Giuliana & Nan are fabulous." – Karen
“A unique opportunity for introspection – I can’t think of a better way to have spent these past several hours. This was amazing, thank you!” – Jenny
“I’m leaving feeling well nourished, with a sense of confidence and forgiveness. I needed this. Thank you.” – Nathan
“Inclusive and welcoming – from the start, there was an immediate immersion into a community of storytellers. This connection only grew as we shared our stories. An excellent way to learn about the process of crafting a good story, thank you!” – Jessie
“Awesome facilitation! I felt cared for, seen, and heard. This was a really wonderful way to spend an afternoon; a brave space filled with kind, interesting, and creative people.”
QUESTIONS?
Still not sure if this workshop is right for you? Get in touch with any questions!