I am currently looking for my next Fellowship or Artist in Residence. The ideal situation is one where I get to engage with the local community, share my talents, and help them rediscover their own creativity and talents.
I’m ready to bring my gifts of voice, melody, writing, emotional integrity, compassion and play to a new project: A one woman show that will combine storytelling and original songs and take the audiences on a journey about life, about rediscovering their best qualities, and about learning to play again.
I will use the feedback from 40+ interviews I’ve conducted with people ages 18 – 72 to focus the show stories. For instance, one of the interview questions was: When you look back to your lowest point in life, what were the things that got you there … kept you there. One answer that came up for nearly every interviewee was: doing what I thought other people wanted me to do, being who they wanted me to be. This being such a strong topic, I can see it having a prominent place in the show.
Time at my next AiR or Fellowship will be spent defining show topics, writing the show vignettes, and writing the show songs.
I would be thrilled if I could offer the workshop to the community alongside writing the show. Reengage Your Creativity and Intuition, a Songwriting Workshop is a workshop I initially developed as part of my Artist Residency at Kalani in Nov 2012. I have taught the workshop to adult groups, and taught an extended version of it at the Forrest Bird Charter High School in Sandpoint, ID April – June 2013.
The Songwriting Workshop culminates in a performance of the songs written during the workshop. For my Kalani AiR, the participants shared their work in a show for the Kalani community. Some of the participants had lyrics to share and read them to the group. Some were not ready to perform for an audience, but asked me to perform their songs. Several participants performed their songs. It was a special evening that I can best describe by sharing what Jessie, a young audience member said, “that is the most moving thing I have ever experienced.” I believe her. The participants dug deep and shared special, emotional parts of themselves that touched everyone there.
Here is the feedback from Drew Delaware who was Marketing Director and one of the decision makers in awarding my AiR at Kalani:
Dawnya Clarine is a shining example of how a successful artist in residence can impact a community, and she was one of the most impactful artists Kalani has hosted.
Dawnya takes the time to understand and immerse herself in her environment, adapting her approach and sharing her craft to suit the unique environment she finds herself in. Her naturally uplifting music and lyrics inspired many within the local community to self-express, and her workshops empowered first-time and experienced songwriters alike.
I highly recommend Dawnya as an artist in residence who does what any resident program hopes for: inspires the best in people, and spreads the joy of artistic endeavors in creative, infectious ways. Drew Delaware
LJ Bates III, the director at Kalani wrote this beautiful recommendation:
Here is some feedback about the workshop from the participants:
Dawnya created a safe, fun, vibrant space which kept me wanting to come back for more. I never expected to write a song that I’m so proud of. Kay Furse
In a very simple, genuine way, Dawnya created opportunities for us to see just how creative we actually were, and then offered us tools to craft these newly revealed self-expressions into something honest and professional. From germs of ideas, to words, to stanzas, the flow was incredibly easy, almost unbelievably so, because after 3 and a half weeks, this person (me) who had no intention of writing a song (let’s be real, I’m not a songwriter!) had created a song which felt enough like an offering, that I felt good singing it in front of a crowd. All I can say is this is not something just anybody could have led. Dawnya has a real gift for coaching people into their light. Bravo! Jenn Brooks
One of my highlights at Kalani was the performance after your workshop. So incredible, really blew my mind. Nick Virtue
Your song writing class was the most amazing and infectious class that I have ever taken. Not only did you teach us that all people can and should express themselves freely, but that it’s ok to think and sometimes act like a little kid. You took an ordinary pencil and transformed it into a working and brilliant smile maker, for which I still have and will always think of when doing things like a stressful test, homework or writing an essay. Dawnya you are a spectacular, nice, important, cheerful, wonderful, bright , smart, pretty, and determined person and song writer. Thank you for being my teacher. Julia Buchanan (Forrest Bird Charter School student)
Dawnya brings a vibrant, non-judgmental space and a whole lotta’ energy to an AIR program. As a performing songwriter, Dawnya brought chutzpa and her own touching story which was an infectious agent of transformation for the rest of us. I felt open and safe with Dawnya leading us. I loved watching others in the class break out of their self-imposed walls. I would recommend this workshop to anyone who has felt that their inner artist was squelched over the years. Mora Judd
When I first walked into your Songwriting Workshop, there was an air of joy and creativity which let loose in bursts of laughter and self-expression. I enjoyed how you simplified our song writing process while maintaining creative freedom. Bryan Nova Brey
I recommend this workshop to anyone interested in songwriting, writing and creativity. Another great one, Dawnya. The creative juices are recharged and flowin’. POW! Heather McElwain
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