APAP SHOWCASING ARTIST - 2008
NACA SHOWCASING ARTIST - NATIONALS TRAINING SHOWCASE 2009, NORTHERN PLAINS TRAINING SHOWCASE 2009, WEST LECTURE SHOWCASE 2006
Lectures and Workshops:
"Gender, Race, and Money"
The gap between rich and poor in the United has been widening and this is particularly pronounced in communities of color and for women. During this engaging and interactive lecture, Dark teaches participants about trends in the distribution of wealth in America and how those trends affect all Americans. We can no longer afford to ignore the history of privilege and poverty, if we hope to create a world in which that American dream of fairness and prosperity can become a reality.
In this hugely participatory event, Dark leads participants through exercises to help them understand their own wealth, how it is influenced by the privilege of birth and circumstances and how those who lack wealth may not be as personally deficient as some believe. The content of this lecture is applicable to each person who uses money - and participants will leave with the tools for making connections with others to work toward a more just economy.
"Subject_of_Your_Own_Story"
This spoken word performance uses humor and first-person storytelling to uncover the various ways that women (and men) cheat the world of their fabulous human potential by focusing too often on appearance, sweetness and popularity, rather than living full lives. The show does not preach or instruct. Rather audience members discover their own empowerment through Kimberly’s funny and personal tales. Dark also offers five suggestions that can help anyone develop greater personal sovereignty and start becoming a more vibrant participant in life.
"Leadership_Diversity"
Do you sometimes not discuss gender, race, class and sexual orientation because you’re afraid someone will feel bad, or you can’t find the right words? Or maybe, you’re afraid it just won’t be any fun. Despite our best intentions, when we don’t learn about one another’s perspectives and find ways to encourage everyone’s voice, diversity suffers. In this highly interactive workshop, you’ll learn to use organic opportunities and campus programming to develop real connections that prompt meaningful diversity in campus leadership.
Conflict resolution, avoidance and appreciation!
Kimberly’s been teaching groups about facilitation and conflict resolution for more than twenty years. In this highly interactive workshop, participants will learn how to avoid conflict when possible, embrace it when it comes, and gracefully resolve conflict when necessary. Conflict is an opportunity for change, after all. Learn to use conflict as a tool to bring your groups together, rather than drive them apart.
Courage in creative writing
Writing in the first person (using "I") can feel very vulnerable and self-revealing. This type of writing is sometimes called autobiography, memoir or autoethnography. This workshop explores the power of first person story-telling and participants will practice writing in the first person. Participants will learn the nuances of telling enough of the story - and knowing when to stop! Kimberly will also help participants understand how to use personal stories to write about broader themes. As she often says "Every story is about me, but I am not the subject." Participants will leave the workshop with greater courage and skill at storytelling in the first person and will have started a few different stories for completion at home.
Getting Started With the Writing Life
Participants will explore the writing life through activities and writing exercises designed to subdue inner critics and allow friendship with the writer within. Through brief guided meditation and fun activities, participants will get to know each other and themselves as writers and leave with the tools to begin the writing life. (Available as a two hour or four hour workshop.)
Kimberly Dark
Performance Artist, Poet, Speaker, Sociologist
Gender Studies, GLBT, and Women's Issues
Kimberly Dark continues to work tirelessly on her abilities as a parent, poet, professor and raconteur who can unfold the world through performance, smooth out the crinkles from folding, read the legend and say "You Are Here." Someday she will even be able to refold the world and fit it back into the glove-box. Kimberly travels far and wide performing stories that make people laugh, think and feel. She wins theatre awards,
smiles when seeing her stories in print, enjoys standing ovations and endures days when settling down to a more regular life seems more sensible. Such is the glamorous life of a pop-sociologist who wants to expand conversations about gender, race and class beyond the university so that we all take up the charge of creating a more just world. Kimberly
has performed in dozens of fancy theatres and esteemed classrooms, but she also loves a stage where there’s nothing swanky – just the body, the voice, the word and the audience. Just be sure to bring up the house-lights because this isn’t a traditional theatre show – she really is talking to YOU.
Kimberly's writing and performances have delighted and incited audiences at theaters and universities across North America and Europe for more than a decade. She teaches sociology at Cal State San Marcos as much as her schedule allows. Her work blends humor, poetry, story-telling, and audience interaction to remind all of us that we are creating the world – even as it creates us!
Save Money and Build Community with a multiple day visit!
A three day visit can save you money, reduce the environmental impact of your programming and ensure greater impact for your programming. These are some popular three day packages that include Kimberly’s amazing teaching and facilitation skills. Contact us to discuss your specific needs.
Option A: Teach the Students Become the Show
Day One: Begin with the Performance of your choice
Day Two: Workshop on Spoken Word Performance
Day Three: Student Poetry Slam or Open Mic with Kimberly as emcee and “feature reader” and students as the stars of the show!
Option B: Learn to Move Audiences on Important Issues
Day One: Begin with the Performance of your choice
Day Two: Workshop on Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed or Artistic Activism
Day Three: Individual mentoring meetings with student groups (i.e. Women’s Programming, GLBT groups, etc.) or additional classroom visits
Option C: You Can Make More Art – And Make a Living!
Day One: Begin with the Performance of your choice
Day Two: Workshop on Minding the Business of the Artist (this offering is appropriate for theatre, performance studies, writing and visual arts departments)
Day Three: Individual mentoring meetings with students on writing and performance work (i.e. Performance Studies/Theatre)
Option D: Increase Learning and Leadership Diversity While Having Fun
Day One: Gender, Race and Money Lecture
Day Two: Workshop on Popular Education: Tools for Community Engagement or Social Science and Performance: Blurring the Boundaries for Greater Impact
Day Three: Facilitated Planning to increase Leadership Diversity on your campus
If you’re interested in exploring the environmental impact of your campus programming, take advantage of Kimberly’s offer to facilitate a meeting (up to 2 hours) on this theme. This add-on is FREE for 2009/10 – because she cares about healing the planet as much as you do…
Would you like to receive an additional $500 off of the price of your program?
"Gender, Race, and Money"