Shante’ Zenith

Curriculum Vitae

EDUCATION

PhD Student in Human Development, with concentration in Somatics, Phenomenology, and Communicative Leadership, Fielding Graduate University (Current) with research focus on Relational Field Sensing, Cosmology for Creators, and the connection between Imagination and the Imaginal

MA in Health Arts and Sciences, Embodiment Studies Concentration, Goddard College (2023), with research focus on Animist Somatics, Ancestral Healing, and Nervous System Nourishing

MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts, Goddard College (2019), with research focus on Grief Circles, Ritual Theatre, and Ecological Imagination

BA in Inter-College Program, University of Minnesota (2014), with research focus on Theatre Arts, Applied Business, and Cultural Studies 

TRAININGS AND CERTIFICATIONS

Systemic

Certified Warm Data Host through the International Bateson Institute

  • Month-long training in Warm Data Labs, People Need People sessions, and Batesonian theory with Nora Bateson, studying such concepts as aphanipoiesis, symmathesy, transcontextual mutual learning, submergence, and ready-ing (2022)

Certified Systemic Constellations Facilitator

  • Certified Constellation Facilitator with Katherine Curran of Minnesota Center for Systemic Constellations after two year training program + apprenticeship year (2022-2024)

  • Systemic Constellations facilitation intensives with Sarah Peyton (2021)

  • Training with Francesca Mason Boring in Nature Constellations through REAL Academy (2022)

  • Constellations workshops with Elena Veselago, Jan Jacob Stam, and Francesca Mason Boring (2021-2022)

Emergent Systemic Process Facilitation 

  • Teaching Assistant and Curriculum Designer for Foundations Course with Bree Greenberg of The Movement of Existence (2025)

  • Advanced Practice Group, Vibrancy Incubator, and Doublebinds Immersion and mentorship with Bree Greenberg of The Movement of Existence (2022-2023)

  • A year of study in holding space for transformations in systemic metaphor with the Academy for Soul-Based Coaching nine month training (2020-2021)

Somatic

  • Year long professional application course with Liz Koch of Core Awareness (2020)

  • Workshops and Monthly classes with Larissa Kaul and Dare Carrasquillo of Animist Arts with a focus on embodied expression, nervous system nourishing, and connecting to wider fields of support (2021-2024)

  • Studying nervous system resourcing through workshops with Deb Dana, Sarah Peyton, Amber Elizabeth Gray, and Raja Selvam (2019-2021)

  • Six years of conscious movement practice in various dance modalities (2007-2024)

Eco-Poetic

Nature Connection

    • The Work that Reconnects: Earth Leadership Cohort with the Interhelp Network (2019)

    • Permaculture: Open Hearth PDC with a final project about ecological grief circles, nine month permaculture design program from Land by Hand (2018)

Earth-Based Grief Circles

    • Intensive Training in Grief Composting Circles Facilitation with Azul Valerie Thome (2018)

    • Studies in Grief Ritual with Francis Weller through weekend intensives and online courses (2017-2019)

Ecological Embodiment

    • Short courses with David Abram, Stephan Harding, Andreas Weber, Bayo Akomolafe, Martin Shaw, Colin Campbell, and Carolyn Hillyer at Schumacher College (2016-2017) 

    • Nature Constellations with Francesca Mason Boring through REAL Academy (2022)

Theatre Training

A Masterclass with Complicite, Theatre de Complicite, Edinburgh, Scotland, 2015

Developing Artistic Entrepreneurship, A Five Day Summer School from International Festival Encounters, Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Edinburgh, Scotland, 2015

Homo Stupidens: Search for the True Clown, Pierre Byland, Locarno, Switzerland, 2012, 2013, 2015

Summer Performance Intensive, Robert Rosen & Barbra Berlovitz, Minneapolis, Minnesota 2013

Neutral Masque and Greek Tragedy, Philippe Gaulier, Etampes, France, 2013

The Roots of Theatre: exploring openness and readiness for the stage, Dominique Serrand and Nathan Keepers, The Moving Company, Minneapolis, Minnesota 2012

The Director in the Devising Process, Told by an Idiot, London, United Kingdom, 2011

Shakespeare's Heightened Language, Patsy Rodenburg, NYC, New York, 2010

Clown Workshop, Jon Ferguson, Minneapolis, Minnesota 2010

Crosstrain: Viewpoints, Lecoq, and Patsy Rodenburg, Barbra Berlovitz, Shawn McConneloug, Robert Rosen, Irve Dell, Studio 206, Minneapolis, Minnesota 2010

Voice and the Physical Actor, Barbra Berlovitz, Studio 206, Minneapolis, Minnesota 2010

Introduction to Physical Theatre and Creating the Performance, Barbra Berlovitz and Nathan Keepers, Theatre de la Jeune Lune, Minneapolis, Minnesota 2007-2008

PUBLICATIONS AND INTERVIEWS

Earth Poet Edge Weaver Substack, 2023-2025

"Standing on First Stone" republished essay in the book Dark Matter: Women Witnessing/Dreams Before Extinction, Natureculture, 2025

”I Just Want to Feel that I Belong” in Dark Matter, Women Witnessing, Issue #16 (May 2023)

"Making Your Body the Prayer" and "The Long Body” on the Magical Mystery Tour (March 2023)

“Standing on First Stone" in Dark Matter, Women Witnessing Issue #14 (April 2022)

Long Body Prayers: An Animist Oracle, An Oracle Deck of 24 cards of poetry and paintings created through channeled encounters with nature beings, deep time ancestors, and wild animal body. (August 2021)

"Conversation with Water, Shante Sojourn Zenith and Azul Thome: parts one and two" on Azul Thome's youtube channel (November 2021)

"e38 zenith – art as medicine to metabolize charge" on Conscient Podcast (May 2021)

"Embodying and Releasing Climate Grief" (cowriter) in Transition US Stories to Action (March 2021)

"Fruiting Bodies: Collapse as Medicine, Liminal Portals, Mycelial Entanglements" in DarkMatter, Women Witnessing Issue #11 (October 2020)

"Deep Listening, Earth Grief & Cultural Initiation with Shante' Sojourn Zenith" on the Living Hearth podcast (August 2019)

“Grief-Tending and the Ecological Imagination” in the Phoenix of Phillips, Semilla Center for Healing and the Arts (April 2018)

CREATIVE LEADERSHIP EXPERIENCE 

Relational Field Consulting

Relational Field Consultant for The Movement of Existence and the New Physics of Creation, projects under development by Bree Greenberg (2022-2025)

Relational Field Consultant for Dreamboat Journey, A decolonial clowning ritual theatre project under development by Phlaurel Possible (2023-2025)

Ritual Consultant and Script Co-Creator for Lost and Found: A Processional Performance of Storytelling, Ritual, and Remembrance by Wonderlust Productions (2023)

Ritual Facilitation

Earth Poet Edge Weaver

      • Mundane Magic Gatherings (2024-2025)

      • The Weavers Guild: Animist Practice Group (2024)

      • The Mundane Mycelium: Online Ritual Membership (2024)

      • Ecosystem Spoons: Somatic Support Group (2023-2024)

Goddard College

      • "The Sit Spot: Your Body as Ecosystem" (2022)

      • "Animist Somatics: A Relational Ecology of Subtle Bodies" (2020)

      • Earth Grief: Clown Performance and Grief Composting Ritual (2018)

Community Grief Tending

      • The Sacred Dance of Grief: Earth and Embodiment Medicine, Two-Day Immersion (Minneapolis, 2019)

      • Community Grief Circles at multiple venues including Sprout House, Semilla Center, Media Transition Town, Villaging for a New Story Gathering, and Planetary Healing Gathering (2018-2019)

Direction and Creation

Direction, Creation, and Performance of Long Body Prayers Performance Art Podcast for Earth Poet Edge Weaver (2021-2022) including the episodes: 

      • "Make Your Body the Prayer," hosted by Maitake Mushroom (March 2022)

      • “A Messenger from What is Still Connected" Conversation with a Mushroom (October 2021)

      • "Everything is a Being" (September 2021)

Direction and Creative Witnessing for Post-It, Baby: A Postpartum Journey through Anxiety and Depression, Written and Performed by Lauren Drasler (2019-2020)

Direction, Creation, and Performance of Earth Grief: A Clown's Ritual for Reconnection while Artist-in-Residence at Semilla Center for Healing and the Arts (2018)

Direction, Creation, and Performance of Vulneraries for the Naked Stages Fellowship, Pillsbury House Theater (2016)

Director of Why Theatre Project, a practice-based research project exploring actor-audience connection (2014-2015) 

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

Earth Poet Edge Weaver (Relational Field Consultant and Ritual Facilitator) 2018-present

      • 1-1 Consulting on visionary creative projects, ritual facilitation workshops

Minnesota Center for Systemic Constellations (Teaching Assistant and Co-Facilitator) 2025-present

      • Supporting 2025 Constellations Growth-Group Training as a TA and Co-facilitator

The Movement of Existence (Tech Host, Curriculum Designer, and Teaching Assistant) 2023-present

      • Supporting the organization of all of Bree Greenberg’s intellectual property for future book and curriculum projects

      • Video design and editing

      • Community design and hosting

      • Teaching Assistant for The Foundations of Existence

In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre (Dramaturg) 2013-2016

      • Researcher and dramaturg for workshops about children's book author, Taro Yashima.

The Moving Company (Artistic Assistant), 2009-2015

      • Assistant director and dramaturg with readings, performances, and workshops.

      • Attend every performance of Minnesota shows, either leading backstage crew or taking notes on the show from the audience.

      • At various times, I have also been their house manager, helped with their social media, designed their programs, assisted with their events, coordinated their volunteers, and assisted with marketing.

Word Play LLC (Owner & Word Nerd in Chief), 2013-2014

      • Specializing in dramaturgy, editing, copyediting, and research

Performing Arts Archives at Andersen Library Manuscripts Division (Archivist), 2011-2013

      • Catalogued over 100 boxes of the Theatre de la Jeune Lune Collection.

      • Facilitated large-scale digitization project of performing arts production footage.

      • Assistant curated exhibit, "Behind the Scenes: Twin Cities Performing Arts and 50 years of the Guthrie Theater.”

Playwrights' Center (Membership, Outreach, and Production Intern), 2008-2010

      • Assisted with readings, performances, and workshops.

      • Special Events Intern for the 2010 Playlabs New Play Festival

Theatre de la Jeune Lune (Production Intern), 2007-2008

      • Assisted with readings for The Deception and Fishtank, as well as pre-tour rehearsals for Don Juan Giovanni and Figaro.

      • Assisted with the development workshops for Fishtank.

      • Assisted with the development of two projects for Jeune Lune's unproduced 2008 season, which were both put on hold after the company went bankrupt. The Moving Company ultimately produced these projects as Come Hell and High Water and Love's Labour's Lost.

PRODUCTION HISTORY

Assistant Direction

Forget Me Not When Far Away (Asst Director), Directed by Michelle Hensley, Ten Thousand Things (2015)

Love's Labor's Lost (Asst Director), Directed by Dominique Serrand, The Moving Company, Actor's Theatre of Louisville & The Lab Theater (2014)

Out of The Pan Into The Fire (Asst Director), Directed by Dominique Serrand, The Moving Company (2013-2014)

For Sale (Asst Director), Directed by Dominique Serrand, The Moving Company (2013)

Nice Fish (Directing Intern), Directed by Mark Rylance, Guthrie Theater (2013)

The War Within/All's Fair (Asst Director), Directed by Dominique Serrand, The Moving Company (2012)

Werther and Lotte (Asst Director), Directed by Dominique Serrand, The Moving Company (2012) 

Other Production Roles

The Story of Crow Boy, (Performer, Researcher), Directed by Sandy Spieler and Steven Epp (2016)

Workshop assistant for Homo Stupidens: Search for the True Clown, a workshop taught by Pierre Byland, Switzerland, 2015

The Unsinkable Molly Brown (Stage Manager and Production Asst), Directed by Michelle Hensley, Ten Thousand Things (2015)

Much Ado About Nothing (Rehearsal Observer), Directed by Mark Rylance, The Old Vic (2013)

Liberty Falls, 54321 (Artistic Assistant) Directed by Dominique Serrand, The Moving Company (2012)

Love's Labor's Lost (Script Advisor & Researcher), Directed by Dominique Serrand, The Moving Company, Actor's Theatre of Louisville & The Lab Theater, 2008-2014

For Sale (Dramaturg & Script Advisor), Directed by Nathan Keepers, The Moving Company, The Lab Theater, 2013

Werther and Lotte (Dramaturg), Directed by Dominique Serrand, The Moving Company, The Lab Theater, 2012

Come Hell and High Water (Researcher & Dramaturgical Assistant), Directed by Dominique Serrand, The Moving Company, The Southern Theater, 2011

Journey, (Production Asst) Elemental Ensemble, Directed by Mohammad Ghaffari, Rarig Center & the Children's Theater, 2011

The House Can't Stand (Researcher & Dramaturgical Asst), Directed by Dominique Serrand, The Moving Company, The Southern Theatre & Rarig Center, 2010

Fissures: Lost and Found (Researcher & Dramaturgical Asst) Directed by Dominique Serrand, Workhaus Collective, Playwrights' Center & 34th Humana Festival of New American Plays, 2009-2010

Performance Experience

Come Hell and High Water (Chorus), Directed by Dominique Serrand, The Moving Company, The Southern Theater, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2011

Taming of the Shrew (Lord, Biondello, Curtis, Tailor), Directed by Immanuel Elliot, Gadfly Theater, People's Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 2010

Skin of Our Teeth (Chorus), Directed by Ben McGovern, Girl Friday Productions, Theater Garage, Minneapolis, Minnesota 2009

Minnesota Renaissance Festival (Street Performer), Shakopee, Minnesota 2003-2007