What will the LLTC Family Theater Workshops be like?

We will start with breathing techniques and relaxation and move into some really simple and fun theater games. Everyone will have the option of observing before they feel comfortable participating. So don’t feel like you cant come to class if you are too nervous to participate. Eventually the class will get to some story telling games and this will be where everyone gets to express themselves creatively. We will work towards a final presentation where we will be telling personal stories that reflect on the Seven Grandfather Teachings. For example one person or family unit might create a story based on the teaching of “bravery”. That person or group will then record a voice over or a video recording of their story. The rest of the group will support that story by sending in original artwork like small video clips, drawings, paintings, photography, music etc that represents “bravery” and then it will all get edited together into a little movie and we will repeat the process for all seven teachings. At the end of the 8 week session we will have a final video production that will be presented to the community with a live viewing and potluck at LLTC!

Anna Kate Mohler (she/her) is a Leech Lake Tribal College Student intern under the guidance of Professor Elaine Fleming. She has a background in theater performance and is the founding Artistic Director of the Jewel Box Children’s Theater Company, an arts non profit based out of Long Beach California. Anna Kate uses theater and music as community building activities that help to strengthen connections, inspire new ideas and uplift the voices of the community. Her approach to teaching is for everyone, all ages and levels of experience to feel welcome. Anna Kate’s teaching credits cover all ages. In schools she has taught at Head Start all the way to high school.  She also teaches family theater classes, has taught speech acting at the Laguna College of Art and Design and ran past workshops for the California Educational Theater Association and California State Thespian festivals. Anna Kate believes that the arts can ignite positive change within ourselves as individuals as well as within the community as a whole. As an artist who has struggled with managing an anxiety dis-order she has experienced first hand the therapeutic effects of engaging with others through music, theater, art and the celebration of community. She loves nothing more than sharing moments of joy with others through song, laughter and play.