Sicily Soul opens a rare space: three interwoven steps where nature, voice and story become one process. We commence with plant music and becoming engaged with the deep listening necessary to get in sync with the plants and to settle into your own quiet knowing.
The Moreno Action Methods combined with exercises from the Artist’s Way then unlock what resides within you, the stories you carry, ready to be born. With supportive story coaching, you then shape and hone your tale into a cohesive and authentic self-expression. All the while, Sicily Soul builds toward a final live performance and communal celebration of all that we have collaborated to create, sharing the stories that reflect this transformative week.
Letting go!
Photo of Cassis: © Anna Christina Beuermann
Mike:
”I honestly believe your input steered my story into a new, better direction. And made me a better storyteller. I was very hesitant to make it all about the humour aspect of my religious experiences, but as I worked your suggestions into my revised story - it all started to really click. I changed my body language, My depictions and incorporated my natural comic self into the performance (which had a lot more punch than my original version)."
Deepti Anupindi
Comedian, engineer
“Mike does a wonderful job making everyone feel comfortable, recognized and valued and gives on-point feedback. I’m a huge fan of his storytelling.”
Dyane Neiman
Founder of The Bear, Berlin’s preeminent storytelling show
“In Mike's workshop, he facilitates a safe, inviting, and fun environment in which to learn what makes stories work well. I had such a great time and I expect to use the skills I learned in his workshop not just for storytelling, but also for writing scholarship applications and pitching future projects to investors!”
Jesse Pinho
USC Screenwriting MFA
“Working with Mike helped me to take third place in my Toastmasters regional contest!! This is story-therapy! Mike uses his coaching skills to go to the heart of the matter - finding what matters to your heart within your story. Superficial ramblings are allowed in the service of humour and pace authenticity is the thing, and style and purpose.”
Wendy Buckley
Toastmaster & Leadership Consultant
Bella:
Over the past ten years, I have returned again and again to Isabella's psychodrama workshops at Life as Art Studio. Each time, something shifts. Using the action methods of J.L. Moreno, including role play, role reversal, and doubling, Isabella creates a space where the internal becomes external, where the characters living inside my fiction step off the page and stand in the room with me. I have argued with them, listened to them, and made peace with them in ways no amount of close reading or academic analysis could have done.
Isabella is, as one colleague aptly described her, a muse herself. She has helped me navigate the difficult creative choices that keep writers frozen, the ones that feel too risky, and guided me toward the place where those risks become the work worth making. As someone who also teaches creative writing, I have watched her methods illuminate something I now try to pass on to my own students: that the most powerful stories live not in the intellect, but in the body's memory.
Isabella's workshops help creatives to recover the artist within. Her work at Life as Art Studio is without equal.
— Lyle Jennings Colombo, Ph.D., Adjunct Faculty, Tulane University Honors Scholars Program; Creative Writing Instructor, New Orleans Academy of Fine Arts
Isabella has been very instrumental in helping to get my patients a better place: they all tell me how much they enjoy working with her. As musicians and artists feel safe and can relate to her creative and playful style with psychodrama.
Catherine Lasperches former FPN , New Orleans Musicians Clinic
A muse herself, Isabella is a master therapist , novelist, psychodrama practitioner and muse work facilitator. She brilliantly creates atmospheres of safety, connection, humor, and boundless inspiration. With her sharp guidance, I’ve reconnected with my own wisdom and muse in a way that I cab only describe as deeply healing and empowering.
Zohar Tirosh-Polk Playwright and Founder of Thrive Creative
Cassis:
• “Cassis created a unique atmosphere with her performance and interplay with the plants. At the Festival of the Agricultural Transition following the "We're fed up!" demonstration in 2026, she accompanied the programme in a wonderful way. Thank you!”
Imke Scheepstra, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, Berlin
• "Connected with the plants, with the sensor on the castor oil plant, hearing my own energy, listening to the sounds of the others, exchanging ideas on the 'car island' about all the things we cannot see and yet are there. Thank you for the wonderful afternoon!" Katja
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• "Today we were allowed to hear what we otherwise cannot see or feel. Thank you for the opportunity. The connection between the plant and its surroundings — including us — became audible, and with that, once again conscious! Much success in carrying this knowledge forward." Anka, Ulli
• "Six weeks ago I heard an interview on Radio 1 with Cassis B Staudt and quickly pulled over to find out more about the project. Deeply moved, I then put the event in my calendar. And two weeks ago a friend of mine, Oli, sent me something about today's gathering — from a completely different direction. The idea of making contact with plants is fascinating."
• Cassis schuf mit ihrer Performance und dem Zusammenspiel mit den Pflanzen eine einzigartige Atmosphäre. Beim Fest der Agrarwende nach der „Wir haben es satt!“-Demo 2026 untermalte sie das Programm auf wunderbare Weise. Danke!
Imke Scheepstra, Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, Berlin
• ‘Verbunden mit den Pflanzen, mit dem Sensor am Wunderbaum, meine eigene Energie hören, den Tönen der anderen lauschen, auf der ‚Auto-Insel‘ sich austauschen über all das, was wir nicht sehen und das doch da ist. Danke für den wunderbaren Nachmittag!’ Katja
• ‘Wir durften heute hören, was wir sonst nicht sehen oder fühlen können. Danke, für die Gelegenheit. Die Verbundenheit zwischen Pflanze und ihrer Umgebung, auch uns, wurde hörbar und damit einmal mehr bewusst! Viel Erfolg beim Weitertragen dieses Wissens.’ Anka, Ulli
• ‘Vor 6 Wochen hatte ich ein Interview auf Radio 1 mit Cassis B Staudt gehört und bin schnell rechts rangefahren, um mehr über das Projekt zu erfahren. Unfassbar berührt habe ich mir dann heute in den Kalender eingetragen. Und vor 2 Wochen hat mir ein Kumpel Oli was geschickt für das Treffen heute. Also von wo ganz anders her. Die Idee, mit Pflanzen Kontakt aufzunehmen ist spannend.’
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