Sarah Cole {autumn 2006}
previous schools attended and educational experiences:
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Charles University - Prague
Buddhist Monastery - Bern, Switzerland
significant professional and creative experiences:
Professional
• currently the executive producer of Roger LA - www.roger.tv - a motion graphics/design company.
• shooting a volvo commercial on the salt flats in wendover nevada.
• as a producer, i direct and organize large and small budget productions for commercials, tv networks, music videos & film titles.
Creative
• five years playing in a synth-pop band in brooklyn (keyboards, vocals)
• traveling to six countries in central asia 2 years ago, freelance writing
• taking four months off of work and with that time
o organizing a benefit for CUP (center for urban pedagogy)
o producing a 12min. short film
o leading a music class for young adults with manic depression
other cities have lived in:
born: bloomington, IN
lived in: marietta, GA; west bloomfield MI; ann arbor, MI; prague, Czech Republic; brooklyn, NY; los angeles, CA.
tell us about yourself, what are your interests, influences and ambitions?
six months ago i moved to LA from brooklyn because i worked too hard there for many years at a job that i didn't love but i was very good at and got raises and awards. but i moved because didn't see a way to do the other things that interested me. i'm a hard worker, a people person, an organizer, a listener, skills that give me the title of producer in my work world. yet, i wasn't going to apply to sundown because i'm already becoming wrapped up in the same work that i was doing in nyc. i'm trying to figure out if i need to accept and surrender to the work i do, or do i still have more exploration in me, more realms that i have never allowed myself to try. i know it's the latter. and i know sundown schoolhouse could be the place where it's safe to test my ideas, where new ideas are welcomed and encouraged. one of my greatest ambitions is to design and organize outdoor listening spaces in los angeles. a space that would allow any person to stop and listen to what was happening in their immediate surroundings. or one person would practice listening to another person. i'm influenced most by krista tippett, thich nhat hahn, james turrell, kim chernin and my 9 month old nephew ben cole-calderon.
why do you want to attend the Sundown Schoolhouse?
i want to attend the sundown schoolhouse because when i was young, too tall, gangly and full of fear, the thought of being a dancer seemed far from my abilities. two events – ‘the dancing convention’ and ‘this river is our parade’- helped me realize that i still carry a lot of that fear around in me. at both events i watched people test limits and boundaries and those experiences moved me to want to test mine. i know that i am skilled in my work world and i think the schoolhouse can be an opportunity for me to examine what else i am capable of. it’s incredibly exciting to know this is a space where dialogue and learning will happen even though the participants won't have all the answers.