Writing Workshop with Mylène Dressler
On Friday, September 26th, Mylène Dressler read a selection from her first novel, "The Medussa Tree," which reflected her experience as a ballerina. Her second selection came from her upcoming novel, "The Wedding of Ann Frank."
The following day (September 27th) Mylène led a writing workshop at the MARC. Her workshop was titled: "The Empathic Writer: Embracing Yourself, Your Work and the Creative Process."
In her four-hour workshop, Mylène used a series of exercises and discussions to challenge the participants to look deep inside themselves to bring out the empathic writer within. The first two exercises dwelt on the darker side of life experiences followed by the lighter side using an event that expressed a time of joy.
This emotional workshop reflected a range of ages and perspectives from the youngest twelve-year-old participant all the way through to the seniors of the group. Mostly viewed from the eyes of ten women, the only male in the group offered the counter balance of a man’s point of view.
Mylène led the discussions but stressed she wanted to be a participant more than the “perceived teacher.” The high comfort level, which removed the hesitation to strongly speak out, showed she had achieved her goal, as all participants in their own way learned how to put more empathy into their writing.
