Description

On this episode of INCOGNITO the podcast, Michael interviews Josie Whittlesey! Josie is the executive director of Drama Club Inc, a nonprofit organization that cares for youth, particularly those who are incarcerated and court-involved, by creating space for them to thrive, using improv as their guide. Through the use of play, storytelling, and role playing, Drama Club’s programs help young people to develop prosocial bonds, executive functioning skills, empathy, and imagination. In this conversation, Josie and Michael talk about the importance of play as a means of creating safe spaces, the necessity for consistency and persistence when it comes to this kind of work, and the reason that one of the best tools we have towards creating a more inclusive and just society is proximity.

Key Takeaways:

• PLAY…is the best way to build trust
• Storytelling
• In America, white people don’t have to think about being “the other”
• Show up consistently (be reliable)
• Be persistent (low and slow)
• Act without ulterior motives (wanting power or to be liked)
• Proximity is everything

Josie’s Media Recommendations:

• A Strange Loop by Michael R. Jackson currently running on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre (musical)

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Find Josie’s work

• Drama club website: https://www.dramaclub.org/

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

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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 Nina Kissinger.

Email info@incognitotheplay.com with questions or comments about the show!