We at Tree Speech and Alight Theater Guild are incredibly grateful to Aaron Mair for joining us today. Aaron Mair is an environmental justice pioneer who has worked over the last 40 years in the spaces of health, environment, climate change disparities, and wilderness protection. He is an urban environmental activist and a regional and national environmental justice organizer and strategist who has advised two presidents and Congress, served on the national board of directors of the Sierra Club ...
Apr 15, 2022•36 min•Season 3Ep. 3
We at Tree Speech and Alight Theater Guild are incredibly grateful to Lee Stetson for joining us today. To learn more information about Lee’s performances or to have him perform for your company or event, find him at www.johnmuirlive.com . Lee's performances have brought the inspiration, humor, and conservation message of John Muir to many thousands of people. Since 1983, Lee has presented dramatic live enactments of John Muir in Yosemite National Park. He is often asked to provide Muir "voice o...
Apr 01, 2022•30 min•Season 3Ep. 2
To mark the beginning of our third season, we start right where we left off, with a vernal equinox walk in the woods. As we make our way on the trail, we’ll discuss the meanings and histories of this threshold into spring, and feature a variety of ways that the equinox is celebrated around the world. Special thanks to David Brandon Ross for composing and performing the meditation featured at the end of the episode. David Brandon Ross (he/him) holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Berklee College...
Mar 18, 2022•24 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Happy Winter Solstice to all in the northern hemisphere! For this episode, we’ll be exploring all the many ways that trees and nature play a role in winter holidays - specifically, the solstice. This is the last episode of this season. We wish everyone a Merry Yuletide and holiday season filled with light, and look forward to connecting in the new year! Wassail Recipe: This traditional warming drink is perfect for sipping during a solstice celebration (and it makes the house smell incredible). S...
Dec 21, 2021•27 min•Season 2Ep. 8
In our next episode we feature a collection of Sapling Stories, short tree-related tales that are sent in or collected from our listeners. Special thank you to Diana Zipeto @dzipeto , Slava Tchoul , Virginia Montalvo, Mountaine Jonas, Lisa Schmidt, Sophy Tuttle @sophytuttle , Tess George, Michelle Dyment @tribeofgoats and Jess @Je_ss_dy , Rick Hall @rickhallcreative , Karl Frey, @westernavearts , and Courtney Bottomley @canarycourt . For more information: THE MUSEUM OF JEWISH HERITAGE – A LIVING...
Dec 13, 2021•25 min•Season 2Ep. 7
In our next episode we examine the history of Boston’s Liberty Tree, including its origin story and how that story evolved over time depending on who was telling it. We have wonderfully spirited conversations with distinguished actor, singer, dancer, and educator, Mark Linehan and historian Maddie Webster, a Boston University PhD student in the American & New England Studies Program. Then, we seek to uncover what liberty and liberation means in the present day with activist and Applied theat...
Nov 27, 2021•53 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Our next episode features a conversation with David Meshoulam, PhD, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Boston nonprofit, SPEAK FOR THE TREES , an organization whose mission is to improve the size and health of the urban tree canopy in Boston, with a focus on under-resourced and under-canopied neighborhoods. David (pronounced Dah-veed) co-founded Speak for the Trees in 2018. Trained as a science educator, his work has focused on ways to increase understanding of the connections between scie...
Nov 12, 2021•37 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Gather round the campfire for a very special, supernatural episode. We have spooky, mysterious tree tales from around the world to get you into the Halloween spirit! Listen now, if you dare! Special thanks to actor, educator, and dialect coach Charles Linshaw for joining our episode today. Learn more about Charles at: https://www.charleslinshaw.com . Tree Speech’s host, Dori Robinson, is a director, playwright, dramaturg, and educator who seeks and develops projects that explore social conscious...
Oct 29, 2021•23 min•Season 2Ep. 4
This third episode of our second season features our look into Witches & Witchcraft. Our guests include Serefina Mesa, owner of Rue and Vervain, an etsy shop that sells "hand-made spell crafting supplies for the persnickety witch." Serefina is a self-described Bodhisattva, Green Witch, and empath who believes that there's primordial energy and magic in nature, and through her gifts that power can be harnessed and shared. We also spoke with Joshua Gray, a self-described practitioner of the wi...
Oct 22, 2021•43 min•Season 2Ep. 3
This second episode of our second season features the second part of our focus on the 9/11 Survivor Tree, a Callery Pear tree found during the excavation of Ground Zero in New York City. Our guests include Cheryl Somers Aubin, a writer, instructor and speaker who was inspired to write the book, The Survivor Tree: Inspired by a True Story in 2011. Also, we hear from George Middleton, a visual artist and retired Call Firefighter and EMT. Additional resources and for more information: Cheryl Somers...
Oct 08, 2021•27 min•Season 2Ep. 2
This first episode of our second season features the 9/11 Survivor Tree, a Callery Pear tree found during the excavation of Ground Zero in New York City. Our guest, Ronaldo Vega, shares his insightful and touching story of how he championed and helped nurture the tree from a wounded, burned stump to the powerful sign of hope and survival that it represents today. Additional resources: 9/11 Memorial Survivor Tree: https://www.911memorial.org/visit/memorial/survivor-tree Oklahoma City National Mem...
Sep 24, 2021•37 min•Season 2Ep. 1
We are grateful to have spoken with Rabbi Harold Robinson during today’s episode, as well as to hear the sapling stories of Seiki Imagica, Janelle Mills, and Johnny Nichols, Jr. Feel free to leave a voice message with your own Sapling Stories at: https://anchor.fm/treespeech or contact us at www.treespeechpodcast.com. Tree Speech’s host, Dori Robinson, is a director, playwright, dramaturg, and educator who seeks and develops projects that explore social consciousness, personal heritage, and the ...
May 14, 2021•20 min•Season 1Ep. 6
We are grateful to have spoken with Michelle Browder during today’s episode. Michelle is a nationally recognized artist and activist. Her work has been exhibited in four galleries, including the Rosa Parks Museum in Montgomery, Alabama. She uses her artistic talents to create restorative justice programs in juvenile detention centers, failing schools systems and after school programs for under-served youth. Michelle has mentored thousands of disadvantaged kids and created safe places for childre...
May 08, 2021•27 min•Season 1Ep. 5
We are grateful to have spoken with Guleraana Mir during today’s episode. Guleraana is a British award-winning writer, applied-theatre practitioner, and one half of The Thelmas, a female-led theatre company devoted to empowering women to redress the equality imbalance in the arts. She is passionate about telling authentic stories that celebrate, not stereotype. Guleraana regularly facilitates playwriting masterclasses in schools, community groups, and for emerging writers. She is leader of the N...
Apr 30, 2021•31 min•Season 1Ep. 4
We are grateful to have spoken with Navee Cohen during today’s episode. Here is a link to RIKMAH ENOSHIT ACHAT (A SINGLE HUMAN TISSUE): https://jewishmom.com/2016/05/10/the-song-i-will-be-singing-this-israeli-memorial-day/ Navee Cohen was born and raised on Kibbutz Ramat Yohanan in northern Israel. His early adulthood was spent as an elite Triathlete representing Israel in championship races around the world, including Croatia, Singapore, Turkey, France, and the United States. He retired from hi...
Apr 23, 2021•31 min•Season 1Ep. 3
We are grateful to have spoken with Nancy Smithner during today’s episode. Nancy Smithner, PhD, is a director, performer, devisor and Clinical Associate Professor in the Program in Educational Theatre at New York University, where she teaches Physical Theatre, Acting, Directing, Devising, Theatre History, Play Theory, Pedagogy and Community Engaged Theatre. A theatre director, she specializes in the devising of original performance works and plays, and has worked with populations of all ages, en...
Apr 16, 2021•29 min•Season 1Ep. 2
Learn more about the podcast at: www.treespeechpodcast.com, and IG: treespeechpodcast We are grateful to have spoken with Karen Hampton during our premiere episode. Hampton is an internationally recognized conceptual fiber artist, addressing issues of colorism and kinship. Hampton’s art practice is the synthesis of memory, history, time and cloth. A student of cultural relationships, seeks to break through stereotypes and address issues related to being a Black woman. Using her training in the f...
Apr 08, 2021•32 min•Season 1Ep. 1
Alight Theater Guild presents Tree Speech with Dori Robinson, a new podcast that gets curious about trees while building connections, raising awareness, and promoting understanding through hearing the unique stories and ideas of people whose lives have been impacted by them. Join us as we get to know one another and our world, one tree at a time.
Mar 27, 2021•56 sec
