Shaking The Tree!

On Friday, October 16th, I had the honor of participating in the “Shaking The Tree” series. Created by the amazingly talented actress and human being, Eileen Galindo, it is a monthly series in which invited artists gather around a table and share stories around a given theme in front of a live audience. This month’s theme was “Skeletons In The Closet” and we were given the freedom to interpret that as we saw fit.

This month’s gathering of artists included myself, actresses Patricia Richardson, Eileen Galindo, Rose Portillo and Rena Strober. Stories ranged from reconciling with family ghosts to near-death experiences to self-discovery to discovering truths about great great grandparents during the Civil War. And as diverse as we all are in terms of coming from different walks of life, it was amazing how we all bonded as each beautiful story was told. There was something healing and cathartic about hearing personal slices of people’s lives. We all connected to at least one thing in every story that was shared. By the end of the night, we felt closer. We had a human experience. We connected to each other as human beings. I no longer saw Patricia Richardson of “Home Improvement” fame or Rena Strober of Broadway fame (she sang by the way and my GOD, what a VOICE!) I didn’t see Eileen and Rose of various TV series and feature films and commercials. I saw human beings.

That’s the beauty of art. Art brings us all together to experience something greater than ourselves. People were moved, impinged and affected throughout the night. There were laughs, gasps, “amens”, more laughs, beautiful pregnant pauses and moments of silence, more “amens”, tears and more laughs.

And that’s the beauty and intention of the “Shaking The Tree” series: To bring people together and learn from each other. The artists and audience members were inspired and walked away with a new perspective and understanding of someone from another walk of life.

I shared an entry from my blog (the one about discovering my true voice) and I modified it somewhat to fit the theme of the evening. Something came over me when I read it in front of everyone. I felt such a moment to moment connection with everyone which was reciprocated during my story and afterwards on a break. I resonated on a high frequency level. Art. Boom.

Thank you again Eileen for the opportunity!