Mental Health Festival + a FREE Writing Workshop

Reverie, anxiety, and an all female orchestra.

Hello,

I have two workshops I’d love to share with you. Each is a little different from my usual offerings:

  1. FestivELLE: A Mental Health Festival happening June 29th-30th at the Vancouver Playhouse, 600 Hamilton Street, Vancouver BC — I’ll be offering a writing workshop and screening my Film Left Opened as part of this festival.

  2. Reverie - A Poetry and Art of Looking Workshop, hosted through CreativeMornings. Join us for free! 255 people have already registered.

Janna Sailor is the artistic director AND conductor of the Allegra Chamber Orchestra — one of the only all female orchestras in the world. She is an absolute powerhouse and I am inspired by every single thing she creates.

Here’s Janna on the inspiration behind the festival:

“A year ago, we were workshopping Jocelyn Pook’s Hearing Voices, a song cycle for soprano and orchestra based on the lives of five women institutionalized for mental illness over several generations. They struggled with things like depression and schizophrenia. Throughout the work, actual recordings of the women’s voices telling their stories are intertwined with the soprano lines, sung spectacularly by Heather Pawsey.

What I find so moving about this work is how aware and articulate they are about their struggles - they truly draw us into their world. These women knew what was going on and yet they were trapped. My goal in performing this work is to create more awareness, understanding, and compassion for mental illness in ourselves and others.”

Here’s the Festival Schedule:

DAY 1: June 29th: Attend a workshop by Dr. Erika Horwitz from 6-7:15pm on moving from overwhelm to inner peace and compassion. Then, attend the concert ‘A Beautiful Mind, a Tribute to Jocelyn Morlock’.

DAY 2: June 30th: Swing down to the Recital Hall of the Vancouver Playhouse to watch the short film I created back in 2020: 'Left Opened'. The short 15 minute film explores the experience of anxiety using spoken word poetry, piano, and dance. The film will play in 20 minute intervals from 4-6pm.

Around the recital hall, I've written a series of writing prompts on topics like grief, anger, mental health, and joy. Allow yourself a moment of quiet reflection by taking a writing prompt, an hourglass timer, a paper and pen, and finding a quiet place to write.

From 6-7:15pm I’ll be facilitating a writing workshop on self-expression and healing, that centres metaphor. It’s just $10 to participate in the workshop.

Afterwards, at 7:30pm, the Allegra Chamber Orchestra will be presenting Hearing Voices. It is BREATHTAKING!

*A Note on Registering for the Festival

You will need to register for all events separately. Here’s a breakdown:

  • Concert: A Beautiful Mind, a tribute to Jocelyn Morlock — REGISTER

  • Workshop: Overwhelm to Peace and Compassion — REGISTER

  • Concert: Hearing Voices — REGISTER

  • Workshop: Writing for Self-Expression & Healing (with me) — REGISTER

**Pssst: Several of the events are on a sliding scale. The entire festival can be attended for just $40 + GST.

A FREE CreativeMornings Online Workshop

How do you approach looking at a piece of art? How do you approach a blank page to write something creative? This very special 90 minute workshop will combine material from Annie Yi's ‘Art of Looking’ workshops and my ‘Breathe into Poetry’ workshops for a creative experience that blends art, poetry, and mindfulness.

It is my first time collaborating with Annie Yi and I am SO EXCITED!

This is a FREE experience. 255 people have already registered.

Questions? Email [email protected]

with warmth,
Christine Bissonnette