community offerings

“Liberated Improv! Unpacking Unconscious Bias: A Healing Justice Workshop for Improvisers!”

Ever had a moment on stage where something just didn’t sit right, or you were frozen or stuck on how to respond? This specialty workshop is for improvisers who want to elevate their craft by playfully unpacking those tricky, uncomfortable moments with courage, curiosity, creativity, and care. Together, we’ll explore unconscious bias in character and storyline choices, learn essential life skills to navigate tension and uncertainty, and rehearse liberated strategies to generate more inclusive and elevated improv for all. Join co-facilitators, Kulkiran Nakai, Psy.D. and Michelle Weiss, M.A. in a supportive, fun, and brave space where we will transform unconscious bias through relational and intentional play!

📆 Saturday, Febuary 22, 2025 

🕰️ 1-4:30pm

💲 $60 per person with scholarships and audits available

📍 Hear.Say Theater (Ann Arbor, MI)

♿️ The building is ADA compliant and accessible. There are gender neutral bathrooms with accessible stalls. Masks encouraged. Air purifiers provided.

🪑 15 spots available (must be 18+ to register; must have some improv experience)

💞 Designed and Facilitated by: Michelle Weiss & Kulkiran Nakai 

💫 Hosted By: Hear.Say Theater & Azaad Healing Justice Studio 

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We had 8 people attend this event!

Testimonials:

“I really appreciated being a part of this pilot! This is such important and vulnerable work, and seeing folks navigate risk, intent, and impactful mindfully, in the moment, showed that this is justice work done the way I respond to best. Kulkiran and Michelle come to this work from a position of humility, curiosity, and exploration, and I was grateful to accept their invitation.” - T.W.

“Every improviser should take this. Every. Single. One.” - C.F.

TRAUMA INFORMED PRINCIPLES OF CULTURAL SAFETY WORKSHOP as part of the first annual Online Symposium Learning Forum presented by the Sociatry and Social Justice Committee of the American Society of Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama and Tele’Drama International called “Transforming the Power of Culture with Love and Compassion: Standards and Practices for Creating Anti-Oppressive Spaces.”

Co-designed and co-facilitated by Kulkiran Nakai, Psy.D., LP (they/them) Scott Giacomucci, DSW, LCSW, BCD, CGP, FAAETS, TEP (he/him), this workshop employs trauma-informed care and anti-oppressive practice to implement playfulness, critical reflection, sociometry, and role playing as a means to elevate the significance of and consideration for cultural safety in psychodrama spaces. We increased participant knowledge, awareness, and empathy for ourselves and for others from different backgrounds by exploring the building blocks of cultural safety and other related factors that can help or hurt a sense of cultural safety in psychodrama spaces.

Learning objectives:

Describe the importance of trauma informed principles in psychodrama.

Define Cultural Safety and demonstrate its impact on the group process.

Details:

📆 Saturday, February 8th, 2025

🕰️ 1-3pm EST

💲 Green Bottle Initiative

📍 Via Zoom!

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± 19 people from across the world joined!

This specialty workshop is designed for adults who identify as change-makers and cycle-breakers seeking to playfully explore and build capacity for navigating one’s own internal landscape to better engage with one’s interpersonal tensions during the post-election holiday season with more curiosity, courage, and care.

This trauma-informed and anti-oppressive space uses theater modalities and experiential action methods to respectfully honor the nuanced terrain of humanity as we aim to navigate challenging intraspsychic and interpersonal dynamics differently.

This workshop is for you if:

✨ You feel dread, torn, or stuck about navigating interactions with certain loved ones during the holiday season (and beyond)

✨ You have the capacity to explore your inner world

✨ You are willing to elevate the current culture through embodied play

* Note: This space is not about convincing others nor deciding who’s wrong or right, nor about staying stuck in our heads, arguing with each other, or having a political debate. No acting experience required.

Details:

📆 Saturday, December 21st, 2024

🕰️ 1-4pm

💲 Free!

📍 Ann Arbor, MI (details of the exact location will be shared after registration)

♿️ The building is ADA compliant and accessible. There are gendered bathrooms with accessible stalls. Masks encouraged.

🪑 15 spots available (must be 18+ to register; must have 7 to run)

Join the cause for collective liberation and creatively move through socio-political tension this holiday season and beyond.

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(This workshop didn’t run due to low registration and collective fatigue.)

🌿 New Soft N’ Slow Service Announcement: “Community Care Circle for Therapists, Healers, Activists, and Organizers”! 🌿

Dear “Keepers of the Flame”,

We give so much—our energy, our hearts, our time—to dismantle empires, uplift our communities, and champion the causes that matter most. But even those who hold others also deserve to be held. At Azaad Healing Justice Studio, we honor your work and your humanity. We see you, and we got you.

As we approach 2025, with its challenges and opportunities, we’re reminded of the powers of slowing down, staying grounded, and keeping connected. This circle offers a moment to exhale, share openly, and find strength in the care and camaraderie of a community that understands the beauty and weight of this work. Together, we’ll co-create a soft landing place to rest, reflect, and rejuvenate our resilient spirits to care for all of who we are and all of what we do.

Join other local trauma therapists to honor our humanity and nurture a new and brave, liberating world where all emotions, truths, and experiences are welcome.

This is our time to be held, too.

📆 Saturday, December 28th
🕰️ 2-4pm
💲 Free!
🎟️ 18+ (must RSVP and identify as a therapist, healer, activist, and/or organizer; space is limited to 30; 15 spots are still available)
📍 Ypsilanti, MI (exact location shared after registering)
♿️ The building is ADA compliant and accessible. There are gendered bathrooms with accessible stalls. Masks encouraged.

💞 Co-Facilitated by Trauma Therapists: Skylar Sedgewick, Radha Bhatt, & Kulkiran Nakai

The doors will close to latecomers 15 minutes after start time to maintain the container. Please bring what you need to be comfortable, including blankets, snacks, water, and art supplies. Air purifiers will be provided. Resources will be shared afterwards.

[Note: This is not a space for political debate nor intellectual arguments, nor is this a client consultation or supervision space.]

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± 5 people joined!

Testimonials:

“The facilitators felt like participants and that was wonderful to feel such equity.” - Anonymous

Azaad Healing Justice Studio is delighted to serve alongside the community at the first ever “Anti-Capitalist Black Friday Free Market + Show”, produced by “The Misanthropist’s Friend” Anna Potter!

This FREE event goes from 6-9pm on Fri 11/29 at the Regal Beagle in Ypsilanti, MI and is jam packed with different offerings that invite a celebration of community and a rejection of capitalist consumer culture.

From 7:15-8:15pm, Azaad’s workshop called, “Conflict + Loving Justice”, will use improv games and experiential action methods for participants to play with conflict styles and learn the macro skills of Loving Justice Model (founded by Kai Cheng Thom that expands on Restorative and Transformative Justice).

No registration required!

Other services include live clothing repair, 10-minute massages, liberatory workshops, community potluck and extra food by Vegan Food Bistro, and a specialty FREE store where folx can bring unwanted goods for redistribution, including collecting supplies for unhoused people this winter to donate at the local warming center! Local punk rock bands will close us out after 9pm to musically feed our souls. Donations for the bands are welcomed, not expected.

To support this cause, either DM @applejooose on IG, or email autawar@gmail.com, to arrange drop off or collection. Thank you!

Check out the facebook event description for more information.

Relationships are NOT Transactional!  Community Care is for Everyone!  Come as you are! See you there! Masks encouraged! 🔻🌍🐉💞🙌🏽💫

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± 30 people joined!

Testimonials:

“The community really needed this. I hope this workshop happens here again.” - Anonymous

🌿 Pop-Up Support Group Alert! “Community Care Space for Post-Election Solidarity” 🌿

In the wake of the election results, community care is a powerful tool that’s at the heart of healing, resilience, and resistance. Whatever you're feeling, you don’t have to go through it alone.

This free in-person support group*, led by four local trauma therapists, is designed to offer a community care space where we can all process, reflect, and uplift one another as we move into this next chapter with courage, compassion, and clarity. 

Whether you’re looking for an outlet, or simply a place to just be in solidarity, join us in co-creating a brave and liberating space where all feelings and all human beings are welcome. (This is not a space for political debate nor intellectual arguments.)

📆 Sunday, November 17th
🕰️ 10:30am - 12:30pm

💲 Free!

🎟️ Open to all (must RSVP; space is limited to 30)
📍 Ypsilanti, MI (exact location shared after registering)

♿️ The building is ADA compliant and accessible. There are gendered bathrooms with accessible stalls. 
💞 Co-Facilitated By: Kulkiran Nakai, Radha Bhatt, Ghida Youssef, & Skylar Sedgewick

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± 12 people joined!

Testimonials:

“I loved the accommodations used to allow for masked folks.” - Anonymous

Access the resource list here!

This specialty workshop is designed for adults who identify as change-makers and cycle-breakers seeking to playfully explore and build capacity for navigating one’s own internal landscape to better engage with one’s interpersonal tensions during the post-election holiday season with more curiosity, courage, and care.

This trauma-informed and anti-oppressive space uses theater modalities and experiential action methods to respectfully honor the nuanced terrain of humanity as we aim to navigate challenging intraspsychic and interpersonal dynamics differently.

This workshop is for you if:

✨ You feel dread, torn, or stuck about navigating interactions with certain loved ones during the holiday season (and beyond)

✨ You have the capacity to explore your inner world

✨ You are willing to elevate the current culture through embodied play

* Note: This space is not about convincing others nor deciding who’s wrong or right, nor about staying stuck in our heads, arguing with each other, or having a political debate. No acting experience required.

Details:

📆 Saturday, December 21st, 2024

🕰️ 1-4pm

💲 Free!

📍 Ann Arbor, MI (details of the exact location will be shared after registration)

♿️ The building is ADA compliant and accessible. There are gendered bathrooms with accessible stalls. Masks encouraged.

🪑 15 spots available (must be 18+ to register; must have 7 to run)

This workshop fights for the cause of collective liberation by creatively moving through socio-political tension this holiday season and beyond.

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(This workshop did not run due to low registration)

Kulkiran is also working with two local improv theaters, Whatabout Theatre in Ypsilanti and Hear.Say Theater in Ann Arbor, to facilitate healing justice workshops on unpacking unconscious bias in improv, both on and off stage.

For Whatabout Theatre, co-facilitators Kulkiran Nakai and Michelle Weiss, developed this workshop to further the DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging) and instructor training programs. We held the pilot workshop on Saturday, September 28, 2024 from 1pm-4pm at Riverside Arts Center in Ypsilanti.

This workshop is designed for instructors and leaders in the improv space. It's for anyone who has ever had a moment related to improv where they didn't know how to respond to something that made them uncomfortable.

We used embodied play from Sociometry and Theater of the Oppressed to see, understand, and intervene when unconscious bias presents itself on the improv stage. We learned and applied self-regulation and co-regulation skills when in a moment of freeze in reaction to bias. We discussed common vocabulary and explored typical improv tropes related to unconscious bias, power, privilege, marginalization and oppression. We utilized the power of collective imagination, spontaneity, and creativity to alchemize the reactive body into an empowered body with access to more authentic choices to pivot the scene and liberate improv.

We closed the workshop with a group high five celebrating progress towards personal and collective empowerment to transform bias in improv and beyond. Each participant also received a specialty zine made by and for improvisers as a workshop souvenir.

Deep appreciation to the co-facilitator’s consultation team who encouraged, challenged, and inspired them both to build a solid workshop experience: Ariana Barnes from London, Michelle Nicole from Atlanta, and Lisa Kay from Seattle.

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± 12 people joined!

Testimonials:

“Such a timely and valuable workshop. I would hope all improvisers attend this event-especially coaches and folks hosting jams and shows.” - U.A.

“This was an excellent workshop for anyone interested in making improv stronger, healthier, more inclusive and better all around!” - J.K.

Kulkiran partnered with Healing by Choice! Detroit and 482 Forward to design specialty workshop series for Detroit youth to devise and produce a play for local elected officials on solving community issues.

The 1st workshop of this series called “Discover and Dream”, supported participants in using their voices & getting into their bodies to discover the stories & meanings from lived experiences of community issues, while also planting seeds of collaborative imagination to dream of empowered & liberated solutions.

The 2nd workshop, called “Activate & Advocate”, supported participants to engage in fun warm ups with improv games & feel more emboldened to step into their role as an activist & leader by engaging with different Self-leadership qualities.

They showcased a series of group gifs (or moving images) from 2 different scenes that the youth from 482F wrote in preparation for the play. They experienced the art of brave & real performance expression, & how to effectively register the heart of their message to the audience. They also learned lifelong skills on how to anchor into embodied agency when encountering challenging content, both on & off stage.

Deep appreciation to the facilitator’s consultation team: Amy Johnson, Director of Education with Matrix Theater, a Detroit-based social justice theater company specializing in performance artivism, & Miriam Zachariah, a Toronto-based educator & psychodramatist specializing in social justice performance artivism using Theater of the Oppressed. We spent months thoughtfully curating a workshop designed for multi-cultural and intergenerational participants at all levels across activism & theater experiences.

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± 15 people joined!

Testimonials:

“I loved stepping out of my shy zone and stepping up as a leader. I needed that.” - B.W.

“Highly recommend Kulkiran and their team. So intentional and collaborative!” - L.M.

Celebrate Pride by joining an electrifying extravaganza for the 4th Annual “Ypsi Pride Queeraoke Fundraiser”, sponsored & presented by @ypsipride, @734brewing, @azaad.healing.justice.studio, & the beloved @mx.mdmkk.vnsmnd! Get ready to be captivated by a night of interactive entertainment that promises joy, laughter, song, dance, & play!

🦄 Born from the creative vision of trailblazer & drag artivist, Mx. Madame Kiki, Queeraoke has adapted & blossomed into a cherished Ypsi Pride Fundraiser by bringing joy & support to our vibrant community. This year, we’re evolving & expanding Queeraoke with a dazzling, never-seen-before Variety Show! We’re delighted to showcase the unparalleled talents of local performers as we unite for a cause that’s close to our hearts while spreading the fun of resisting oppression.

🎟 Friday May 24, 2024 from 6-11pm+ at 734 Brew

💸 Donation: $5 (digital & cash accepted;
50% of proceeds go to Ypsi Pride & 50% to the Juneteenth Reparations Fund for Black contributors!)

🎭 Variety Show Menu (performers tagged in comments):
6pm: Improv Jam + Troupe Show
7pm: Stand Up Comedy Show
8pm: Community Karaoke
10pm: Queeraoke Drag Show
11pm+: DJ’d Dance Party (by surprise guest!)

🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ Your presence and generosity at this annual pride fundraiser not only contributes to the vital work of empowering our precious community, but also shows solidarity in honoring & protecting the rich tapestry of 2SLGBTQIA+ life & rights.

💖 Bring your loved ones, your spirit of play & inclusivity, your donations, & of course, your singing voices & dancing shoes – because together, we’re making a difference & creating unforgettable memories to last a lifetime! See you there and again at the main Ypsi Pride event on Friday June 7th from 5-10pm in Depot Town!

Hosted by QTIFS and Azaad Healing Justice Studio, “Charts + Parts” is a one-of-a-kind healing justice workshop series that integrates astrology, IFS/parts work, and psychodramatic theater. The co-Facilitators, Sand Chang, Ph.D. (they/them), and Kulkiran Nakai, Psy.D. (they/them), were delighted to bring this workshop back in support of participants to encounter and befriend the light and shadow of our inner family systems related to the themes and archetypes of the Summer Solstice and Cancer Season!

On Friday June 21, 2024 from 10am-12:30pm PT / 1-3:30pm ET via zoom, participants were invited to immerse themselves in an experiential play space with other divine beings who share the collective calling to evolve old roles into new ones for the greater good.

This workshop raised $236.65 for “Friends of the Congo” to support lasting change and peace in the Democratic Republic of the Congo!

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± 17 people joined!

Testimonials:

“This workshop was such a joy and I was delighted by the affirming and encouraging environment the facilitators provided.”

~ Ari Santos (they/she) Mental Health Coach, Crystal Queer Paths

“This course helped me to explore my relationship with Aries energy in a compassionate group space. It was powerful to tie in the internal parts work with collective astrological archetypes.”

~ Rainbow Winnike (they/them) Neuroqueer Gender Doula

Drag is an anti-oppressive art form that’s existed throughout human history. Drag has served as a courageous catalyst for our creativity to generate new conserves and change the culture of identity and expression for gender and sexual minorities.

In this workshop, psychodrama is applied to drag ritual and liberation movements through Joseph Moreno’s Role Theory, Augusto Boal’s Theater of the Oppressed, and Dr. Leticia Nieto’s Developmental Model of Liberation. Participants from all identities will warm up to healthy spontaneity and experience how role conflict invites us to widen our role repertoire and liberate ourselves to unmask authenticity through creating rituals and embodying drag art for collective healing and belonging.

In this 4-hour workshop co-facilitated by Kulkiran Nakai, Psy D., (they/them), Daisy Martinez-DiCarlo, LMHC, LCP, CP, PAT (she/her), and Whitney Bell, MA, P-RDT (she/her), participants engaged in a musical warm-up activity to bring us into our bodies and into our sense of identity and inner knowing. This workshop was held in October 2023 in Sarasota, FL with the Theater for Social Justice, and again in April 2024 at the 82nd psychodrama conference.

Throughout the workshop, we used self-reflection, group conversation, and craft supplies to create two pieces of wearable art that inspired two different gestures / postures / body sculpts / movements, and mantras to showcase the story arch of unmasking oppression and liberating our authentic selves.

Click here to watch a video and learn more about it!

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± 16 people joined!

Testimonials:

“A workshop can be instructive, illuminating, provocative. These presenters co-create conditions for all of the above but also for transformation and joy. They bring care, good design, integrity and the authority of lived experience.”

~ Dr. Leticia Nieto, Olympia, Washington

Participant at the 2024 ASGPP Conference

“Kulkiran, Daisy, & Whitney were some of the best facilitators I have ever experienced (and I've been part of a lot of workshops!). Their fierce calmness and presence were a healing balm and allowed me to trust and connect with my own spontaneous creativity.”

~ Melvin Escobar, LCSW (he/him)

Participant at the 2024 ASGPP Conference

This workshop was customized for the United Way of Southeastern Michigan team on “Mental Health First Aid: How to Support People in Crisis, Sans Police.” This 3-hour workshop was held virtually in December 2023 and January 2024. It was designed and facilitated by Kulkiran Nakai, PsyD., with emotional support offered by Janai Williams, from Healing by Choice! Detroit. 

Participants were invited to engage in self-reflection as well as small and large group discussions about mental health crises and support experiences. Video demos of Kulkiran and Janai were platformed to showcase desirable and undesirable approaches to mental health crises. Participants also learned and practiced how to skillfully and appropriately respond to mental health crises through applicable role-play scenarios. The workshop offered additional resources and concluded with time for integration and Q&A. 

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± 15 people joined!

Testimonials:

“It was a great session and I enjoyed the attention and energy of both presenters.”