ALLEN COUNTY COMMON THREADS PROJECT
February 2002 Workshops
Common Threads Conference 2001 participants were given two opportunities to follow up on converesations and questions posed at the conference. Michael Rohd, Artistic Director of Sojourn Theatre of Portland, Oregon and Dr. Patricia Romney, prfessional dialouge facilitator of Amherst, Massachusetts, led two identical workshops in February, 2002. The workshops utilized the questions that were raised by participants following the four monologue readings at the conference. Activities included the gathering of personal stories from many different perspectives on the issues of "trust among leaders" and "respecting differences," and an exercise to help workshop participants to understand and practice dialogue.
Workshop Schedule
Friday, February 8, 2002, 12-3 p.m.
Saturday, February 9, 2002, 9 am.-3 p.m.
Allen County Museum
620 West Market Street
Lima, Ohio 45801
419-222-9426
Workshop Presenter Biographies
Michael Rohd is founding artistic director of Sojourn Theatre in Portland, Oregon where his original work includes Cities on a Hill and Look Away (co-created with Laura Eason of Chicago's Lookingglass Theatre). He has recently created and directed productions in Virginia, Finland and New Jersey. Rohd's recent collaborations with Ping Chong, Truth & Beauty, will premiere in New York City in late 2001, and tour internationally. It is the featured script in the February 2001 issue of American Theatre magazine. Rohd is the artistic director of Hope is Vital, an international theatre and community dialouge resource he founded in 1992. He designs and implements outreach models, trainings and theatre projects in a variety of settings. Hope is Vital works with high schools, universities, social service agencies and arts organizations around the United States using performance process to facilitate conscience dialogue around community identified social issues. His book Theatre for Community, Conflict and Dialogue is a training manual used by practitioners around the world. His undergraduate theatre degree is from Northwestern University. He has an MFA in Directing from Virginia Tech, where he studied with Robert H. Leonard, founder of the pioneering Road Company in Johnson City, Tennessee.
Patricia Romney, Ph.D. is President and Clinical/Organizational Psychologist of Romney Associates, Inc. Previously she was in independent practice as a clinical psychologist, a staff psychologist at Patty Groves Health Services, Mt. Holyoke College, Director of the Afro-American Cultural Center at Yale Univesity, and a teacher in the New York City public school system. Currently she is Visiting Associate Professor at Mount Holyoke College and has held academic appointments from Smith School of Social Work and Hampshire Colege. She received a Ph.D. in clinical Psychology from The City University of New York in 1980, Interned in Consultation and Education and Family Therapy at Yale University School of Medicine, and received her undergraduate degree from The College of Our Lady of Good Council. She has performed consultancies for Animating Democracy Initiatives, 2000-2001, Advocates for Human Potential, First Steps and Healthy Families, Franklin County Council of Governments, Massachusetts Department of Mental Retardation, and numerous colleges and universities. She has authored over twenty articles and reviews on organizational consulting, family therapy, diversity and education. She is a published poet and memoir writer.
