Retreat with us online

Saturday 28th November 2020

Let us guide you through a creative process of discovery, exploration, and celebration of your own amazing autobiographical memories.

- A carefully curated programme of self-guided creative activities,

- Three short live group zoom sessions at the start, middle & end of the day to share & reflect, lead by our team.

Creative activities include: constructing and walking a labyrinth; creative writing; experimenting with scents to trigger memories; guided meditation; and creating a mood board of your chosen memory.
Join the retreat
Calming photo of notebook, printed photos, candle, and eucalyptus leaves in a glass vase

Retreat Creators & Facilitators

Get to know our team

Co-Creator, Concept Lead & Director

Katie Day

Katie Day is Artistic Director of The Other Way Works, developing work where theatre meets new technologies with the aim of creating magical, immersive experiences. In this role she develops new concepts and directs the creative processes and productions. Katie is also a 2020/21 BOM (Birmingham Open Media) Fellow, a regular speaker at conferences and events, and a visiting lecturer on various University courses.

Co-Creator, Live Session Facilitator & Wellbeing Lead

Lou Platt

Lou Platt is a UK based pioneer of Artist Wellbeing. Being an Artist Wellbeing Practitioner is a unique synthesis of Lou's 16 years working as a qualified & registered integrative therapist, clinical supervisor and independent theatre maker/performer.

Co-Creator & Writer

Katherine Maxwell Rose

Katherine Maxwell-Rose is a communications specialist with a wide variety of experience in the arts and charity sector, and is currently Digital Communications Manager at charity IMIX. After working as co-artistic director of her own theatre company for a decade, she decided to use her passion for storytelling to campaign for social change. Katherine is a poet and novelist as well as a contributor to BBC Radio 2’s Pause for Thought on the early morning breakfast show.

Co-Creator & Scenographer

Xristina Penna

Dr Xristina Penna is a performance practitioner, lecturer and researcher, currently Programme Leader for BA(Hons) Costume and Set Design, University of Derby. She has contributed to international academic conferences and symposia in the fields of performance, humanities and cognition such as the Cognitive Futures in the Arts and Humanities, Worlding the Brain, AISB, IFTR. Her performance installation work (aswespeakproject.org) has been presented internationally (USA, UK and Greece).

Ready to sign up?

Before you click to register, please check that the statements on the right apply to you. There will be a chance to inform us of any access needs when you register, and we'll also ask for your postal address so we can send you some materials (UK only). We ask that you are open, respectful & encouraging with your fellow participants whilst on the Retreat.

  • Able to set aside several hours to participate on Saturday 28th November 2020 between 10am and 5:30pm GMT

  • Have an internet connected device to access the retreat content on a website, and the live sessions via Zoom (ideally a computer/laptop, but could be a tablet or smartphone)

  • Ready to join three live, 30 minute, group sessions on Zoom, facilitated by our team at 10am, 1:30pm & 5pm GMT on Saturday 28th November

Join us on Retreat

Infuse a winter Saturday with some peace & creativity! It is completely free to participate, and no previous experience or creative expertise is required

Register now

Retreat Activities

  • 1

    Welcome to Afterlife

    • An introduction

    • Creating a welcoming and supportive online space

    • What's the story?

    • What to expect from the retreat

    • Understanding your expectations
  • 2

    Let us show you around

    • Join the community

    • Are you ready?
  • 3

    Welcome to Retreat Day

    • Good Morning

    • Share your feedback with us (morning)
  • 4

    Morning Activities: Uncovering Memories

    • Morning Activities: Uncovering Memories

    • Creating a Labyrinth

    • Walking the Labyrinth

    • Labyrinth feedback

    • Word Association

    • Word Association feedback

    • Scent of Memory

    • Scent of Memory feedback

    • Memory & Place meditation

    • Memory & Place meditation feedback
  • 5

    Selecting your Memory

    • A lunchtime catch up with the group

    • Share your feedback with us (lunchtime)
  • 6

    Afternoon Activities: Exploring Memories & Creative Responses

    • Mood Board Collage

    • Mood Board Collage feedback

    • Mapping the Memory

    • Mapping the Memory feedback

    • Memory as Myth

    • Memory as Myth feedback
  • 7

    Reflections & Closing

    • Your feedback

    • Our final session together

    • Share your feedback with us (afternoon)

    • Credits

Funders & Partners

who have made this online retreat possible

Produced by - The Other Way Works - Supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, with Derby Theatre/University of Derby, and BOM (Birmingham Open Media).