Show Description: Zappo’s solo performance covers a spectrum of his extraordinary life experiences. From growing up as a kid in a hippie commune to his work with children in schools, hospitals, and orphanages, he peels into the rich fruits of joy and pain. The show ebbs and flows through joys and hilarity of his unique childhood, the unanswered questions relating to abandonment by his father and the profound grief he continues to navigate since his mother’s passing many years ago. Zappo goes into comical antics of growing up around rock & roll festivals and his collection of short stories and quotes from the many kids with whom he has worked. Through hysterical comedy, storytelling and original songs, Zappo reflects on his path to healing through loving-kindness and service toward young people in crisis. Forgiveness and reconciliation are a recurring theme as he makes efforts to reconnect with his dad and leaning into his paternal Jewish ancestry. Exploring how life’s challenges call us into the healing of mind, body, emotion, and spirit, Zappo stumbles through the gauntlet of recovering health and his once joyful life after 12 years of ongoing negotiation with Lymes disease. Like life itself, this performance leads to deep meaning as it moves along a roller coaster of hilarious, heart-opening storytelling.
Workshop description: A Practice in Human Kindness. After creating an atmosphere of trust and safety through stories and spoken word, humor and group games, we begin to meet one another on a level deeper within the realm of the heart.
A Practice in Loving Kindness explores the importance of giving and receiving appreciation, understanding, and kindness as a way to not only survive but to thrive through any challenging time. This is achieved through a series of exercises and follow up discussion to build connection and empathy between participants. This paramount portion of the workshop highlights the importance of cultivating a clear action plan for intentionally showing love to ourselves, our communities and to the planet. Or as a wise old bumper sticker once said, to “think globally, and act locally.” Participants are encouraged to set goals for their own self care and to a life affirming sense of belonging and purpose through service to others. By means of skillfully guided practices in person-to-person connection, meeting one another with gentle, caring eye contact, heart opening appreciation of one another, and loving affirmations and mantras, the Practice in Loving Kindness exercises have been developed over my decades of deep and direct work with masters of compassion Wavy Gravy, Patch Adams, Ram Dass, Thich Nhat Hanh and countless other inspired teachers. In truth, the vast majority of my most inspirational and life changing teachers have been the brilliant children I’ve been blessed to work with. The longest journey a person can take is the short distance from the labyrinth of the head down into the garden of the heart. Artist Biography Through the practice of engaging one another with the intention of loving kindness and human connection we are able to help one another heal our hearts and minds from the traumas we’ve all experienced during the Covid pandemic and the seemingly insurmountable anxieties of today’s world. Intentional, strategic compassion is the remedy for the individual and collective suffering we experience as human beings. Love, in all of its forms, is the key that liberates those precious members of our human family afflicted by fear, grief and anger. As a comedian, storyteller and solo performer, and as a person who has experienced immense grief and loss, I understand the value of laughter as medicine to our emotional wounds and traumas. I use humor not only as a remedy for sadness but also as a path to creating an atmosphere of openness as we begin to open our hearts, let down our shields, share in our truths and be both vulnerable and supportive with one another. When a group of people gather in a space and begin to laugh and smile together, there arises an energy of safety and belonging within the group that is so very soothing to the heart, calming to the mind and even healing to the body. “Zappo Dickinson is a beacon of light in the lives of our youth. His teaching is filled with insight, compassion and understanding. Give him your kids and I believe he will help to transform them into universal human beings who spread peace and love throughout their lives.” – Wavy Gravy,
40 attested each performance
