October’s spotlight is on Fabrice Guerrier and his , (pronounced syll-a-ble). Guerrier, a 2015 graduate of the , started the business in August 2017 in Washington D.C. He is chief executive officer, and David Russell is chief marketing officer.

Syllble Studios – pronounced syll-a-ble – is a collaborative storytelling startup that publishes fiction books and original serialized stories through collaborative writing.

Here’s a few highlights of the business since it began:

• The first collaborative book was published December 2017.
• The studio hosted its first collaborative writing meetup in Washington D.C. in April 2018 at Social Tables.
• The first “One Book in One Week” titled “The Wall” was published July 15.
• Guerrier presented a few weeks later at the Street Entrepreneurs Community Driven Incubator Fundraiser, hosted at Amazon DC headquarters.
• The fourth book, titled Mike’s Coffee written by Taiwo Adesina, Valeria Lake and Brittney Jones, was published last month.
• The studio is completing the manuscript of a Novel titled “Caden and the Dangerous Fools” co-authored by four writers from four different continents (U.K., Palestine, U.S. and Brazil).
• To date, more than 112 writers from six countries are engaged in creative ventures with the studio.

  

Guerrier, a Haitian American writer and poet who also works for the U.S. Department of State during the day, brings a varied background to his business venture. As he explains below, he has always been attuned to storytelling, and his studies at CJP fed into that interest.

He has also worked at the United Nations advocating for Least Developed Countries; founded The LEEHG Institute, a social venture; and served as president of the board of directors at Coming to the Table, a national racial reconciliation organization. He earned his bachelor’s degree in international affairs and leadership studies from Florida State University.

Guerrier is a 2018 Gabr Fellow at the Shafik Gabr Foundation, and has been a PEN Haiti Fellow at the PEN American Center, a Senior Fellow at Humanity in Action, and a Seth Godin AltMBA participant.

Tell us how your business began.

At the age of 14, I moved to the United States from Haiti. And during my high school days here, I would often walk around these halls carrying in my small hands a small notebook filled with all sorts of business ideas I would conjure in and out of the classroom while dreaming of building something from the very ground up through perseverance.

I don’t really remember when exactly I ever decided to become a business owner. But I do believe ideas are alive and they are starving to find the right group of people to bring them to life. They absolutely found me early on. I just needed to find and sort out the right ones worth fighting for.

I have been writing my novel for about two years and with my passions for creative writing, storytelling and technology, building this creative company and if done right, I believe we can change the course of history but it will require hard work.

How did your EMU education impact your choice of career and business?

One might wonder how a master’s degree in conflict transformation can be relevant to business? I would say in today’s changing and disruptive technological age, more than ever it’s relevant in how business is conducted. I would argue bringing a different perspective to a field such as business is an advantage.

At the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, so much of what we studied has shaped key foundations for business acumen but most importantly how we relate with each other and how we live in right relationships with our customers.  For example, these concepts are all applicable: the theory of change, human centered design, strategic analysis, tenets of healthy organizations, implementing adaptive structures especially through Margaret Wheatley’s work and thinking deeply both on an international and interpersonal level through the lens of a reflective practitioner.

Storytelling is key to transforming the mindset and hearts of people, I learned that especially at CJP, also as a member of Inside Out Playback Theatre Troupe and working as national president of Coming to the Table. You see it in our dialogues, our novels, our TV shows and movies, they remain a key aspect on our capabilities to transform our collective psyche.

Creative writers can spend years writing to finish a book, get seen or even get published. We believe collaboration is the future of fiction. Through a sharing-economy-based approach, we connect writers locally and all over the world to build peer-to-peer production houses and get them to finish a compelling story in just a few weeks.

How do your values impact your business operations?

Values are the DNA of the company culture and what you are building. Values are the ways your business and team interrelate chooses to show up in the world and the impact you intend to make. You have to be clear on those values. A value-based approach of conducting business is the way of the future. At Syllble’s early stage now, values show up for me when I work directly with my cofounder David and all the creative writers we engage.

Share 3-4 “best business” insights.

• Execute: One of the best business insights I learned working on an early-stage startup is that you have to execute. It doesn’t have to be perfect but you have to ship and ship often, talk to your customers and bring them something they want!
• Team: The team and group of people you surround yourself with is key. If you don’t have the right team nor invest in the people you serve and work for, your company will not thrive.
• Vision: You need vision that can drive the direction of a company to inspire a shared vision for future employees and customers. My vision for Syllble is to have millions of writers all around the world collaborating, publishing many books, telling new and great stories and for our platform to be the center point of Hollywood’s next hit movies, tv shows, animation and more! But what remains key to ‘vision’ is having the ability to exactly show small step-by-step how to reach this vision. That is the challenge.

Read another Business Spotlight on The Emotional Health Center in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

The six-year-old troupe, co-founded by theater professor and applied social sciences adjunct professor , includes current undergraduate and graduate students and alumni. It specializes in improvisational theater that includes the audience and actors in storytelling sessions, “played back” through action, dialogue and music, that encourage connections and conversation about difficult social issues and challenges. Inside Out has engaged with students returning from study abroad experiences, international peacebuilders, descendants of slaves and slaveholders, sexual abuse survivors, ex-offenders and migrant workers, among others.

The grant, funded by the Phoenix, Arizona-based (CPCP), provides mentorship and guidance as Inside Out develops a partnership with the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia to confront issues of race, immigration and reconciliation in communities around the state.

A grant from the donor-advised  will fund engagement with the Shenandoah Valley’s Hispanic and Haitian migrant workers, building on previous work on the Eastern Shore with similar populations. The grant also provides funds to develop and disseminate a “toolkit” for participatory arts organizations around the country to engage in similar partnerships.

Both grants will enable Inside Out members with unique opportunities to interact with well-known and inspiring mentors in the field: Hannah Fox, program director of the , and Michael Rohd, founding executive director of the Center for Performance and Civic Practice.

“These two grants build upon our previous work, strengthen our capacities and challenge us to work intentionally with partner organizations,” said Vogel. “EMU students are able to practice their art in direct connection with social justice action networks. This is a game-changer in our ability to practice arts for change.”

The Catalyst Initiative: racial healing in church communities

Inside Out is one of six grantees around the United States to receive the recent round of Catalyst Initiative grants. The $6,000 grant “supports place-based project teams comprised of an individual artist and a civic partner to conceive and execute a small-scale local arts-based project created in response to an expressed need by the partner,” according to the organization’s website.

Inside Out is partnering Father Daniel Robayo, rector of Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Harrisonburg and a new member of the.

Vogel and Robayo recently returned from a two-day workshop in Phoenix with CPCP staff to begin developing their project focused on building awareness and insight into white supremacy and privilege.

“I don’t think anyone would deny that these kind of conversations need to happen, but it’s often difficult to find a welcoming space,” Vogel says. “Father Robayo and the diocese have offered this space to promote cooperation between congregations, denominations and ethnicities. Our project will most likely consist of storytelling sessions at churches around the state bringing together diverse groups.”

The project will be implemented from January to October 2018. CPCP staff will make site visits to monitor the project and give guidance and critiques.

JustPax Foundation: Building Just Communities

In 2017, collaborating with Charlottesville-based  and funded by the the nonprofit (USDAC), Inside Out hosted storytelling sessions with migrant workers on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. They also produced a “toolkit” for participatory arts organizations around the country to engage in similar partnerships.

The JustPax Fund grant provides more funds for Inside Out to work with regional migrant workers, and to continue developing and disseminating the toolkit.

Part of the grant will be used to host a Jan. 5-8 training workshop with Hannah Fox, program director at The Centre for Playback Theatre. The organization was founded by her father, Jonathan Fox, and Jo Salas, two co-founders of the playback theater concept.

“All of our members have been trained but some have not had the benefit of the formal training that is the gold standard for playback theater,” Vogel said. “With actors coming from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Richmond and Washington D.C., this should be a phenomenal opportunity to learn and practice new skills with truly gifted actors.”

This is not the first time EMU has hosted playback theater trainings with celebrated practitioners; movement co-founder Jo Salas and playback director Ben Rivers, who works in Israel/Palestine, have led trainings and special Summer Peacebuilding Institute classes.

Twenty spaces are available for the course. Email insideout@emu.edu for more information.

Course offered at 2018 Summer Peacebuilding Institute

Vogel and Foster will co-facilitate a course on participatory theater June 11-15 at the 2018 Summer Peacebuilding Institute at EMU. For more information, see the course description . To learn more about SPI, click

“We wanted to hear from outside the community how this abuse is manifested and focus on how we can better support those who have experienced it,” said senior Katrina Poplett, who led the program planning for the second year with senior Jonatan Moser.

In an opening event focused on intersectionality, representatives from five campus groups — , , the , and — were invited to share “stories and statistics about how sexual assault affected that particular group,” said Poplett. “It was powerful and personal and we closed with a candlelight vigil as a witnessing.”

Take Back the Night events are held around the United States and around the world. The first march was held in 1975, commemorating the death of a woman who was murdered while walking home alone at night in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

EMU has a long tradition of hosting the annual program, according to Professor , faculty advisor to the planning committee.

TBTN hosted several events around campus, including a Wednesday chapel that involved the sharing of stories and poetry.

About 20 participants in the men’s only discussion Wednesday evening “took the conversation to some really interesting and insightful places,” said Ben Rush, who co-hosted “How Language Legitimizes: A Second Look At What We Don’t Think of Twice” with Joseph Mumaw and Professor . “Our goals were to take the conversation away from the overt, symptomatic examples of sexual violence and point it towards a conversation about the way subtle things embedded in language and societal assumptions contribute to the problem.” [Read Ben’s blog post about leading this event.]

A Thursday coffee house offered space for expressive arts and sharing, followed by a session with the playback theater group. Sarah Regan and Ana Hunter-Nickels, representatives of the Social Work is People (SWIP) club, were the hosts.

Friday’s chapel, planned by the EMU , featured Sabrina Dorman, executive director of the local anti-sex trafficking organization New Creation, Inc. This was followed by a walk-through reflective exhibit in the Campus Center.

Eastern Mennonite Seminary also hosted a Tuesday chapel service to engage with themes of #metoo and #Ibelieve you.

This year’s TBTN events were in the second year of a three-year thematic exploration of sexual violence at the micro-, meso- and macro levels, Poplett and Moser said.

“Last year was on a micro-level, focused on what was going on here on campus, opening a space for conversations we didn’t see happening,” Poplett said. “This year, we’re focusing on the meso-level, with organizations and community, and next year will be more of a macro level.”

The leaders situated TBTN events within recent national events, including U.S. Department of Education decisions related to Title IX.

At all events, counseling center staff were present and other resources were available if students or community members were in need of support.

Many of the students involved in Take Back the Night come to their volunteer work by learning more about systemic issues in their coursework and through clubs such as SWIP or . Moser, a double major in and , says a combination of factors raised his awareness as a first-year student.

“I had just learned about sexual violence and sexism and how often it happened and I was really horrified by that,” Moser said. “Getting involved in Take Back the Night has been a way to give back.”

Poplett, a major who is also in the accelerated MA in restorative justice program, began attending TBTN events her first year on campus and became a leader as a sophomore.

“I think a lot of my passion lies in giving voice to people whose stories aren’t normally told,” she said.

The event — which includes speakers and interactive arts-based opportunities for reflection, learning and healing — is Saturday, March 19, from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in EMU’s Suter Science Center. It is free and open to the public as well as the campus community.

“Sexual violence doesn’t just impact individuals,” Stauffer says. “It is a breach of relationship. How can we rebuild community in the face of violence? If we can build toward a healthier definition of community, I think we’ll all feel safer and provide an environment for profound healing.”

Stauffer’s project, titled “,” began in 2012 with research among domestic abuse survivors from within communities of homeless women, undocumented Latinas and Mennonite women from Old Order or conservative church communities. Stauffer employed a strengths-based approach, with particular focus on the resilient ways in which women survive in spite of gaps in societal support networks. Her project employed strategies that empowered study participants, integrating storytelling interviews with circle processes and healing arts workshops.

Last spring, MA in biomedicine students were integrated into the project with a about adverse childhood experience. Most of the students are future health care providers, and the experience asked them to reflect on the symptomatic and diagnostic implications of personal narratives as they participated in storytelling, communication activities and playback theater events with co-facilitators, some of whom were domestic abuse survivors.

Stauffer and the planning committee have included some of these same components in the symposium, she says. “This is an interdisciplinary event with planning, support and participation coming from various groups and departments across campus,” she added, the representation of which is important to the idea of both community response and support.

Plenary presenters include , assistant professor of restorative justice and peacebuilding at EMU’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, and University of Notre Dame doctoral researcher Sheila McCarthy. Turner will speak on “Healing in Community” and McCarthy on “Sexual Violence through the Lens of Moral Injury.” , an EMU graduate whose published writing has explored her identity as a survivor of sexual abuse, will share her poetry. Inside Out, a campus theater group which has also participated in other parts of Stauffer’s multidisciplinary project, will host a session on the innovative and healing art of playback theater.

“To me, this type of witness moves our peace stance from the rubric of a privatized individual journey to a much more collective awareness of the church’s role in embodying the challenge to ‘speak truth’ to abuses of power,” Stauffer says. “It invites us as a community of faith to higher levels of transparency, truth and grace for all parties involved.”

Afternoon breakout sessions in two 90-minute blocks options provide attendees with a variety of options, including:

• “How to Appropriately Respond to Disclosures,” by Mike and Lavonne Yoder of in Milton, Pa.;
• “Body Work and Response Mechanisms of Memory Storage and Release,” by , director of EMU’s (STAR) program;
• “Arts Approaches to Trauma Recovery,” with Janine Aberg;
• “International Perspectives on Sexual Violence,” by Diana Tovar Rojas and Myriam Aziz of EMU’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding;
• ”Unpacking Consent, Unhealthy Relationships and Sexual Assault,” by Chris Ehrhardt and Laurel Winsor of James Madison University’s (CARE) program;
• “Safe Church Protocols of Prevention,” by Ross Erb and Jackie Hieber of , which provides sexual assault crisis services and other programs in Harrisonburg;
• “Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA),” by Sarah King and Daniel Foxvog;
• “Restorative Justice Dialogues in Crimes of Severe Violence,” by , restorative justice coordinator for Mennonite Central Committee;
• “LGBTQ Perspectives on Sexual Violence,” by , assistant professor of education at EMU;
• “I Am Your Broken Place: The Grief of Sexual Violence,” by , director of at EMU.

Stauffer says the project has involved “many hands coming together.” Members of the faculty and staff planning committee include Mansfield, the STAR director; Comer, director of counseling services; Roger Foster, co-founder of playback theater troupe; , history professor and department chair; Teresa Haase, director of the graduate program in counseling; and , professor of social work. The student-led has also helped to advise and support the symposium, and students are being encouraged to attend.

“Having students as an integral part of what we’re doing is key,” Stauffer says. “The investment and energy that students bring adds huge value to the whole process.”

A final educative component, designed for EMU faculty and staff and focusing on institutional dynamics, is being planned for this coming fall.

The “Silent Violence” project has been funded by a JustPax Fund grant since 2014. focuses on individuals and organizations working for effective change through innovative approaches to societal challenges relating to gender, environmental and/or economic justice. The fund is administered by through the Everence affiliate, Mennonite Foundation. Due to that support, the event is free and open to the public. No pre-registration is required.

Fitting, especially, for , which hails from an institutional home with Anabaptist peace-oriented values.

Then, a quick connection with the act to follow – pastor , author of “Flipped” – resulted in a thematic “flip” of their own for this weekend’s performance in Hot Springs, North Carolina. No matter for this experienced group of actors, who rely on their quick thinking, improvisational and artistic skills, and a deep intuitive confidence in each other to spontaneously re-enact stories offered by volunteers in the audience.

Wild Goose, here we come!

A conversation in common

Always seeking new spaces and places to build community through storytelling and theater, Inside Out heads south to camp out and join the fun at the Wild Goose Festival beginning Thursday, July 9. That leaves plenty of time to catch, and enjoy, the vibe for this well-rounded group of EMU faculty, alumni, and graduate and undergraduate students.

The festival “is a place where artists, activists, thought leaders and seekers gather in both joyous and serious conversations about living into social justice,” says Inside Out co-founder . “We are so excited to be part of that conversation.”

Billed as a celebration of justice, spirituality, music and the arts, Wild Goose’s myriad of speakers, poets, musicians and performance artists “invite respectful – but fearless – conversation and action for the common good,” according the website.

“Wild Goose seems the perfect place to find folks who share our pursuit of community and justice,” adds co-founder . “These are EMU values too!”

Connecting communities in story

Inside Out takes the stage on the last night, at 5 p.m., Saturday, July 11, in the Performance Café. The hour-long “performance” begins with fun, simple audience interactions, followed by an invitation to audience members to share a real story from their lives. The actors then provide an unscripted improvisation of the story.

“The playing back provides the storyteller a chance to witness their own story from the outside, discover new meanings and be affirmed by the community response,” says Vogel. “We are all connected, teller, performers and audience. We all witness the transformation together.”

Stories and their tellers are honored in a safe space “formed with respect and dignity,” Foster says.

In a happy coincidence, Inside Out provides what Vogel calls the “warm-up act” for Pagitt. She and her husband, David, worked with Pagitt when he was the youth pastor at Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. The couple produced dramas for Wooddale’s popular weekly youth events, and also produced and directed a nationwide tour of “Living on the Edge,” a youth-oriented and youth-performed musical.

After Inside Out’s storytelling event, Pagitt takes the stage to talk about concepts from his new book, “Flipped.”

“His book challenges assumptions and knowledge of God, looking to Jesus’ teachings for what we may have missed,” Vogel said. “Before he speaks, we’ll ask the audience to share moments when we were upended, when our lives changed forever. What we share and learn together in ‘playing back’ those experiences will help us be ready to explore Doug’s message.”

Since its founding in 2011, Inside Out has worked on and off campus to promote storytelling and playback theatre as a movement toward social change and personal transformation. Actors have a range of backgrounds, from theatre arts and music to conflict transformation, and many have also been through EMU’s (STAR) program.

A two-day transdisciplinary seminar melding theater and narrative arts and the health sciences in April at ˛ÝÝŽÉçÇř (EMU) drew students into interactions that explored these questions, using strategies of responsive listening and collaborative teaching. The event was part of the , led by professor and supported by a grant, which focuses on abuse and strategies of resilience.

The community of approximately 60 learners included graduate students in the , undergraduate students in various health science courses, trained facilitators from the Pennsylvania-based non-profit , and a group of actors from , EMU’s playback theater group.

The focus of the workshop, said Stauffer, was the mind-body connection from a health sciences perspective. “All life experiences are filtered through our neurological and biological systems. If we are not intentional about addressing unresolved issues, they play out in very negative ways on our health. Our goal in this seminar was to help students make that connection. When we surface and share our stories, we can build community and work towards resolution and resilience in ways that then offload the negative impacts from our bodies.”

The transdisciplinary emphasis brought together Stauffer, who teaches in the MA in biomedicine program, and playback theater troupe co-founders and , also a professor of theater.

“The collaboration between people who would identify as scientists and people who identify as artists is very exciting,” Foster said, pointing out that the workshop created a space where both are valued equally.

Listening as a ‘diagnostic tool’

After the event, students talked about connecting with their fellow students in ways they’d never experienced, and how sharing their own stories helped them move toward healing in their own lives.

The ability to listen and show empathy is a unique diagnostic tool with a different sensitivity than a blood pressure cuff or an EKG machine, said one student.

“By listening to stories of others, I have been able to see the impact of ACEs on the individuals they are today,” said Wally Al-Kakhan, MA ’15 (biomedicine), adding that the experience helped him understand both himself and his fellow classmates better.

The workshop helped biology major Grayson Mast understand the benefits of a holistic approach to healthcare , as well as contributing to a foundational understanding of psychosocial trauma. “We all have moments in our past that have torn us down and made life more difficult. Learning how to affirm someone’s ability to discuss a traumatic event in their life is really important,” said Mast, who hopes to go to medical school.

When contacted for an interview several weeks after the seminar, Mast said that the workshop was “one of the most important educational events of my first year at EMU.”

Sharing ‘deep’ stories

The seminar began with a playback storytelling event that surfaced stories of adverse childhood experiences (known as ACE’s). Playback theater is a kind of collaborative art in which members of the audience volunteer to tell a story and then watch as the actors “play back” an interpretation of the event. But before that happened, the group led a series of informal interactions that helped to build community, and to voice and normalize natural tensions and unease about the topic and the format.

“We heard everything from ‘I don’t understand’ to ‘It’s really difficult to talk about this’ to ‘This makes me nervous’ and even ‘I’m irritated that I have to give up my weekend for this,’” Foster said.

Although specific stories cannot be shared because of confidentiality, Foster says one general story about a father spending time with his children provides an example of what the audience heard. “This seemingly positive story of a really good day was actually very painful, because that parent had been very neglectful, and that one wonderful day was a marker of what this person had been without,” Foster said. “The story really opened the audience to the possibilities and the idea that all stories have meaning.”

The next day was dedicated to work in small groups — telling, listening, and responding to stories. Mike Yoder, co-founder of Guidespring and a facilitator of similar events for 14 years, says he was moved by the depth of responses from the students.

“To watch them share with their friends and embrace them with really powerful responses was a very moving experience,” Yoder said. “I heard them say things like ‘I didn’t know that happened’ or ‘That breaks my heart’ or ‘I’m amazed that you lived through that but it hasn’t defined you.’ Watching them make those connections, to show sadness for what they’d experienced but then also identifying with their strength—they were truly thrilled by the experience of building those relationships of trust.”

At the end of the seminar, the group participated in a second theater event that focused on audience members’ stories of change and resilience.

“We wanted them to think about strategies to move forward, and the networks of people they rely on to help them move forward,” Stauffer said, linking the students’ experiences to what she’s learned from her research of resilience strategies among domestic violence survivors in communities of homeless women, undocumented Latinas and Mennonite women from Old Order or conservative church communities.