Singer-Songwriter-Activist Holly Near: I Am Open, and I Am Willing

Holly Near has had a legendary performing career spanning over 50 years, that has taken her from Hollywood to Broadway to marches and rallies and concert halls all over the world. One of the most powerful, consistent, and outspoken singers and songwriters of our time, her music elevates spirits and inspires activism. Some of the topics touched on in this lively and wide-ranging interview are her childhood on a California ranch, her life-changing experience on the Free The Army Tour during the Vietnam War, her songwriting process, her collaborations with artists such as Ronnie Gilbert and Emma’s Revolution, what it means to her to be an elder, and what she’s been up to during the pandemic. The interview is interwoven with snippets of Holly’s music from the seventies to the present.

Music, Songwriting, ActivismTanya ShafferDecember 16, 2021music, musician, women's music, feminism, activism, Singer-Songwriter Comments

Actor-Writer-Filmmaker Shruti Tewari: Think Amorphous

Two decades ago, Shruti Tewari left a career as an investment banker to raise her children and pursue a life in the arts. Since then she has acted in projects ranging from independent films to Bollywood Blockbusters, as well as becoming a playwright, screenwriter, and filmmaker, committed to writing and developing authentic stories about the Indian American diaspora. In this episode, she talks with host Tanya Shaffer about the challenges of moving from the finance world to the arts, her passion for elevating women’s voices, and her personal mantra, “think amorphous.”

Acting, Writing, Directing, FilmmakingTanya ShafferOctober 19, 2021acting, writing, film, filmmakers, creativity, creative processComment

Writer-Editor-Podcaster Carol Lloyd: Creating A Life Worth Living

In this episode, I talk with Carol Lloyd, author of the ground-breaking book Creating a Life Worth Living: Career Counseling for the Creatively Inclined, which came out in 1997 and is still going strong. We reflect on the book’s insights and lessons, what Carol gleaned from her conversations with creators from a wide range of art forms, and how her ideas have evolved in the time since the book came out. Currently, Carol is the VP and editorial director for Great Schools, a national non-profit focused on parenting and education, and host of the podcast Like a Sponge. Before that, she was an award-winning real estate columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle for ten years and edited the education section of Salon.com. Her work has been widely published and anthologized, including in the NY Times Magazine and on the radio show This American Life, and featured on NPR’s Talk of the Nation, PRI’s The World and KQED’s Forum and To the Best of Our Knowledge. She’s also a mom of two.

Arts, WritingTanya ShafferJune 30, 2021creativity, arts, artists, writing Comments

Dancer-Choreographer Tonya Marie Amos: Dance for the Revolution

Tonya Amos is the founder of Grown Women Dance Collective, a company made up of internationally renowned dancers in their forties and fifties who have retired from full-time positions in the nation’s finest professional dance ensembles. Tonya combines her exuberant spirit, her passion for arts and community-building, and her expertise in dance, health, and wellness to celebrate Black history; build cross-cultural, cross-racial, and cross-class bridges; and bring arts and wellness services to economically disenfranchised communities all over the San Francisco Bay Area. In this podcast, she talks with host Tanya Shaffer about her extraordinary journey as a dancer, which took her from the racially discriminatory Bay Area dance scene of the 70’s and 80’s to New York and the Alvin Ailey Company. They also discuss Tonya’s work with Grown Women Dance Collective; how she became a choreographer by default; her passion for breaking down barriers between people of all classes, races, and generations; and her plans to train a new generation of health and wellness experts to bring Pilates, dance, and physical therapy into communities that have previously had little to no access.

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