I joined this retreat hoping I’d stop hiding from my art when I felt blocked. What I learned was much more than that. The ideal balance between reflections and prompts enabled me to contemplate my work and practice different strategies to improve my craft. Barrak is amazing at conducting the meetings and is always concerned about making everyone feel safe to share and participate as much as we’d like. It was a very comfortable and rich experience. The outcome after the end of the retreat was very positive, I can practically feel the growth stemmed from it. The resources Barrak shared were also really useful.

I loved the writing workshop experience.  What made the experience so meaningful to me, as a new writer, is how much focus Barrak put on cultivating rituals for writing.  The way Barrak curated activities and prompts around recognizing fears and limiting beliefs were really meaningful. I was worried about mechanics and grammar, and instead was met with kindness and care.

Barrak’s writing workshop was engaging and energizing. I found the Heightening Emotion exercise valuable as a warm-up and a way to center on the compelling “story underneath the situation.” The Mapping exercises for Revision, along with Barrak’s explanation & examples of the story arc, are helping me to demystify and even anticipate the later stages of writing. I’m interested in renewing my poetry writing practice, and I appreciate the practical tips in this workshop too about the ritual act of sitting down to write and getting unblocked in the process.

Thank you, Barrak!

 

Tim H., High School Social Studies Teacher

I appreciated Barrak’s preparedness, nuanced questions, and inclusive approach for everyone’s voice to be heard in his workshop facilitation.

 

He was organized and thoughtful in his prompts which encouraged me to consider the rhythm and flow of how sentences and words make sound together, and the possibilities for how they can form into a cohesive, gorgeous whole.

 

Lauren C., Independent Designer, Writer, & Speaker

I joined a devised theatre workshop about climate grief and creating ceremonies that reconnect us to the land.

 

Barrak expertly navigated us through interesting and thoughtful discussions, movement, imagining, and reflection. It was hugely impactful for me. Working in the international development sector with climate change affected communities myself, it was really inspiring to approach the topic with a more creative, imaginative and emotional lens.

 

Lotty C., Assistant Program Development Officer

Taking part in a devised theater workshop led by Barrak was a beautiful, enriching experience that I will not soon forget. He held space for us to explore our own understanding of the connection between the material world we live in and how it impacts nature. In particular, the role ritual and ceremonies can play in reimagining these relationships was fascinating. He guided us through a process of developing a new, authentic ritual of our own to connect to the earth, which felt both thrilling and rejuvenating. I’m very glad to be part of his journey in bringing people together through creativity to tackle issues that are so vital to our time.

 

Farzana N., International Development Consultant

As a writer, I spend a lot of my time in my head. It’s the main workspace of my craft, but it can also be a place filled with risk. You can be bombarded with ideas, be stuck on a single idea, or—worst of all—have no ideas. Barrak’s workshops have helped me get unstuck and get writing. His use of theatre exercises to stimulate both the mind and the body are the perfect antidote to getting unstuck, letting go of unhelpful ideas, and having the freedom to explore new ideas. It’s made writing a more dynamic and thoughtful process because it’s not just putting words to the page for the sake of reaching a word goal. It’s about exploring ideas, boiling them down to their essence, and then putting that into words on the page.

 

Anthony N., Writer and Educator

Barrak’s workshop was an illuminating experience, he seamlessly blended performance, writing and community building in the span of a single workshop. As a facilitator, he was incredible at both holding and commanding space and had created an environment where I felt both safe and challenged. I emerged out of the workshop with so much wonder and curiosity about my own relationship with the environment and my own body. I would highly recommend this incredibly unique experience.

 

Samira H., Researcher and Writer