S1 E08: Sarah Jane Johnson & Patrice Miller on Devil In A Box, Collaborative Magic & Learning to Heal

Artist and Chief-of-Staff at The Moth, Sarah Jane Johnson, and Patrice Miller, director, joined Hope Singsen to discuss their project, Devil In A Box, which was presented to sold out houses at The #HealMeToo Festival.Equal parts poetic theater and feminist stand-up, Devil in a Box follows the journey of a young American woman from sexual assault, through the French justice system and into life after trauma. A frightening yet joyous tale, Sarah Jane chronicles the complexities of it all with disarming honesty, beaucoup d’humour, and a 24 oz. can of Miller Lite.By turns frank, hilarious, and inspiring, Sarah Jane and Patrice share with Podcast listeners about:The story of how Devil in a Box started as a performance art piece and evolved over years in tandem with Sarah Jane's court case and recovery processWays that working on the piece both were and weren't always healing for Sarah JaneHow the Devil in a Box team has developed a method of collaboration that engages them all in a healing process Patrice's insights as a self-declared “lazy witch” on the magic of imagination and the healing similarities between making magic and making artThe “go to” skills that help Sarah Jane, Patrice & Hope in moments of challenge, like:Finding friends you can really talk to, “Trying on” ideas for yourself to act “as if” you were already “healed”, Stretching yourself by taking a “contrary action,” Learning ways to step back from dark thoughts that might otherwise spiral and seem larger than they areHow to honor your own ways of surviving and start seeing the next things you could do to have a fuller life, even while healingComing to accept that being a survivor will always be in one’s life, but it doesn’t have to control things, as you figure out how you want to dialogue with itObserving tricky moments “in neutral” in order to avoid making things worse, and come back to it later The #HealMeToo Podcast is hosted by Hope Singsen--the artist, creativity researcher and survivor-activist who founded the #HealMeToo Festival in NYC this Spring. On the episode details page for this interview, you'll find many testimonials about Devil in A Box, as well as a video teaser for the show. While you're there, you can also link to other  #HealMeToo Festival performance videos, and sign up on our email list to hear about future pop-up #HealMeToo Festival events.Subscribe now. Let's talk about how we can #HealMeToo.Find the #HealMeToo Podcast on Apple Podcasts at bit.ly/hm2pod. Or visit healmetoopodcast.com to find links to other platforms. Interview recorded & prepped by Delaney HafenerEdited by Hope SingsenMusic performed by Micah Burgess: If I Can by Hope Singsen & Dillon KondorRockabye by Hope Singsen, Dillon Kondor & Micah BurgessGorgeous Fire by Hope Singsen & Dillon KondorSupport the show