As Nashville’s longest running actor-training program, our mission at Actors Bridge is to tell the stories that matter to Nashville. Now, through our corporate workshops, this mission is brought to organizations, as we help leaders across Nashville find their authentic voices. Our workshops help participants grow key 21st century workplace competencies.
Workshop topics:
- Impactful Storytelling for Leaders and Organizations
- Practicing Empathy: Creative Strategies for Connecting “Beyond Words”
- Meaningful Dialogue: Giving and Receiving Feedback at Work and Home
- Working Without a Script: Improv Strategies for Responding in the Moment
We can plan for a 90 minute session or combine some elements for a “deeper dive” in a 4-hour or 8-hour block. We can also customize an experience based on your goals for your group. Contact us for details and pricing.
Click below to download a flyer with more information, including workshop descriptions:
Actors Bridge Corporate Workshops
Instructors:
Vali Forrister
I am the artistic director of Actors Bridge Ensemble, a professional theater company and actor training program which I co-founded in Nashville in 1995. In that capacity, I have produced over 100 plays, have directed 25, acted in over 30 and authored six. Our company has trained more than 4,000 actors. In 2004, I created Act Like A GRRRL, a highly-acclaimed writing and performance program for teenage girls to gain public voice by articulating their lived experiences. Playwright/director jeff obafemi carr and I received the Tennessee Historical Commission’s 2008 Merit Award for our play ORDINARY HEROES, about Nashville’s role in the civil rights movement, which created an historic partnership between Fisk and Lipscomb universities who sponsored the play. I spent a decade as the director of communication and outreach at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center where I coordinated internal and external messaging to thousands of patients, caregivers, donors, physicians, scientists and other healthcare providers. I have a Master of Arts in Performance Studies and am adjunct faculty in the BFA acting programs at Belmont and Lipscomb Universities.
Heather Lefkowitz
A lecturer in the Department of Human and Organizational Development at Peabody College at Vanderbilt University, I teach and develop curriculum for the undergraduate capstone internship and teach a career management course for undergraduates. I utilize creative practices in teaching such as theater and improvisation, human-centered design, and storytelling. A two-time graduate of Vanderbilt University, I received my undergraduate degree in history and then completed a Master of Divinity in 2011, where I was the recipient of the Nella May Overby Award for Field Education. In my spare time, I enjoy public speaking, creative writing, and improv performance. I’ve studied theater and improvisation at Second City (Chicago), the Annoyance Theater (Chicago), and Actors Bridge Studio (Nashville), and completed the summer institute at the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science.
Contact us for more information on how we can bring the gifts and lessons of our creative practices to your office or boardroom:
(615) 397-1194