Monday's Zoom Link is here..
...come 'meet' Justin Roberts, and bring any kiddos you can round up
Welcome to our new subscribers! I understand that we have an influx of cat ladies. Here’s how we do things around here. On Mondays, I hold a Zoom call with readers and a special guest. Topics include big thoughts about policy, the arts, and personal development, you name it. I describe it as if you are invited to my place for a potluck dinner party, where everyone brings something to the table. Only, thanks to Zoom, there is no actual cleanup involved? I record the call and post it as a podcast. Folks seem to like the format, so we keep doing it. As a subscriber, you will receive a link to the call early on Monday mornings. Join in!
Our guest today is a big deal, especially if you have young children.
Justin Roberts is a singer/songwriter who magically works a crowd of children and their families in ways that bring even shy tots out of their shells to groove to the tunes.
Richard and I enjoyed watching the Des Moines native perform at the Chicago Symphony’s summer home, Ravinia, when his parents, Steve and Dawn Roberts, were in town and brought us along. The last time I saw Justin perform was at his father’s funeral, and even there, his little niece was dancing to a song he performed that was one of his dad’s favorites.
I’m no kid other than at heart, but I’ve been known to sing along to Justin’s music while driving.
Watch this clip of Justin performing at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.:
Justin will be with us during the Okoboji Writers’ and Songwriters’ Retreat. He will participate in a song circle performance on Monday night, September 23, and conduct small group workshops teaching participants how to work with children through song or print.
Signing up for the retreat is not too late, so please consider joining us.
Here’s your Zoom link for today. We’ll start at noon.
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89004034079
Thanks to a generous supporter, we have a few partial scholarships available for the Okoboji and Songwriters’ Retreat. Ask me:
Speaking of scholarships, those of you who are paid subscribers to this column are making it possible for emerging writers to attend the retreat. Thank you. It makes a big difference. We’re changing lives, one storyteller at a time.
I’m putting together the agenda this week. We have so many talented speakers!
Imagine participating in a small group workshop with Emmy Award winner Becky Smith.
Becky is a filmmaker/film educator who writes + directs feature films, documentaries, hybrid television series and pilots. Clients include PBS FRONTLINE, CBS, NBC, MTV, History Channel, Disney, IFC, BRAVO, ABC Family and more.
Becky was a Full Professor in the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television for three decades, focusing on Screenwriting and Directing. Her students have won Student Academy Awards, Directors Guild Awards, Emmys and played at Sundance, Berlin, Toronto and hundreds of festivals around the world.
Becky directed 18 episodes of the original “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy,” receiving an Emmy nomination for directing. The series won an Emmy the same year. Her series, docs, and feature films have played internationally and won Best of Festival, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Director and Audience Favorite awards. Her feature film 16 to Life is widely available on popular platforms, distributed by Warner Brothers.
Becky was born and raised in Okoboji, Iowa, studied journalism and communication law at the University of Northern Colorado, and received her MA in film at Stanford University. She is an alum of the American Film Institute’s Directing Workshop for Women, a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and of Women In Film, where she has received production awards.
Becky teaches Master Classes on screenwriting and directing.
Screenwriting techniques, structure, stories best suited to the screenwriting form and “how to be inspired and get your first screenplay completed” are her focus at the Okoboji Writers Retreat. She is a supportive mentor.
And Becky is one of the 50+ speakers with us in Okoboji. I am not kidding. You cannot find a more enriching opportunity to learn or a more inspiring place than the shores of Lake Okoboji, September 22-25.
Come! It’s an opportunity of a lifetime.
Did you see the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative Roundup from yesterday? It’s a doozy. Of course, there is a lot of commentary about national and local politics, and there are also great feature stories from Greenfield, Winterset, Waterloo, and the Amish community
calls Buggyland. We even have a former KCCI-TV chief meteorologist on board.