Janna Sobel
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About Janna
About Janna
I have a background in theater and education. For over 17 years, I've been making and producing theater, while teaching performance and creative collaboration to adults and young people, at places like The Second City, Chicago Dramatists, The Innovation Academy at The University of Notre Dame, and The Leadership Studio at The University of Chicago's Booth School. I use training methods that help people to become free, confident, and happier to be themselves and be with each other, and I believe that these tools should belong to everyone, and not just to performing artists.
I grew up in the desert, where I learned things about listening. I live in Chicago now, where I teach things about it. I use the tools of Applied Improvisation, Applied Storytelling, and theatrical training exercises to help people to become more confident, authentic communicators, and more inspired, innovative collaborators. Online or in person, this work is playful, dynamic, and full of laughter. Time flies in a workshop or coaching session, and our goals for growth are met.
The Applied Improvisation tools I use are best known through American comedy. Shows like Saturday Night Live, Whose Line is it Anyway, Key & Peele, Portlandia, Parks & Rec, The Daily Show and many others were built using collaborative improvisation tools that were created nearly 100 years ago. These tools were designed to unite and heal a fractured citizenry, so that people could rebuild the City of Chicago at the end of the Great Depression. After many years of enjoying teaching improvisation (and Improv for Anxiety and Improv for Wellness) to professional performers, business leaders, attorneys, artists and educators, in 2016 I began adapting these tools to serve teams and groups who already work together, and brought this work to companies. This has been an incredible joy.
I am also a professional storyteller, and I produce a large, well-known Live Storytelling show called Here, Chicago. This show is a creative community-building event designed to bring together great people with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. I've curated and hosted nearly 100 sold-out live shows, featuring nearly 1,000 Chicagoans who share true stories with each other. I co-founded and teach in the Live Storytelling programs at The Second City and Chicago Dramatists, and because I see the way that this training helps people to speak authentically and powerfully, I also bring the tools of Live Storytelling to my work with organizations.
My interest in sharing these tools with people in business has led me to work frequently with innovation leaders. In these partnerships, I provide experiences that help teams build the crucial relational skills needed for psych-safety and effective innovation. These are the skills of Listening, Empathy, Give & Take, Right Brain Thinking, Yes-And, Ensemble Work, and Storytelling. These skills also help people in organizations who want to change older business models based in hierarchy and exploitation, to models more agile, humane, contributive, and genuinely life-nourishing to all stakeholders: employees, partners, investors, clients, and surrounding communities.
When not teaching and facilitating, I run a couple of unique creative projects. See here to learn more about them! To learn about my performance and public speaking, see here, and here for a bit about my writing.
I teach ongoingly with:
I teach ongoingly with:
and I've provided coaching and workshops for individuals and teams within:
and I've provided coaching and workshops for individuals and teams within:
"People talk about community all of the time, but Janna lives it, she radiates it. She creates an environment where even the most frightened find strength to share. She opens doors for people to change the way they connect; in real, grounded and respectful ways. She opens her self in a way that shows all of us it's okay to do the same. Here Chicago has become my default “you must go see this show” for storytelling, and she's the reason why."
- Deanna Moffitt, Executive Coach & Facilitator
- Deanna Moffitt, Executive Coach & Facilitator
"I had a brand new team of people with widely ranging backgrounds who'd be collaborating intensely for 3 months. I brought Janna in the first week to help the group bond and build off each other’s ideas. In a fearless and nurturing way, Janna lead the team through a series of exercises that created an incredibly supportive environment that allowed each person to share their creativity and be vulnerable. She had a profound effect on each person individually and on the group dynamic - setting the tone for how we’d work. She was the first of 25 guests we had with us over the course of 3 months, and when I asked the team who stood out and really made an impact, it was Janna’s workshop they said would stay with them the most."
- Maria Scileppi, Founding Director of 72U at 72andSunny
- Maria Scileppi, Founding Director of 72U at 72andSunny
“Janna Sobel coaches with great insight and discernment. I'm an excellent public speaker and storyteller, but wanted support on an IT industry presentation for an international conference. We met for two sessions and her insights were profound, and profoundly helpful. I’m in SF and she’s in Chicago, so we met remotely on Skype, which worked fine. My presentation today was joyous, playful, smart, well-constructed, and authentic. I’m grateful Janna came along when I needed her intelligence, compassion, and unerring intuition. Thank you, Janna!”
- Mark Baum, Senior Application Developer at Soliant Consulting
- Mark Baum, Senior Application Developer at Soliant Consulting
“I’ve never met anyone who can make you feel more comfortable — or happy about — getting out of your head and in touch with the creative kid in you that knows how to play. Janna can bring a group together like no one else. She can take a room full of shy strangers and in 10 minutes they are rolling on the floor laughing together. This atmosphere of fun is the essence of learning, and it’s why I sought out classes with her not once but twice.”
- Jackson Cusick, Copywriter at Money Map Press
- Jackson Cusick, Copywriter at Money Map Press
“Janna helped me craft a personal tale into a Moth Grand Slam winning story! With a few specific and pointed questions, she clarified my intention honestly and humorously. She invites vulnerability and encourages strength at the same time. Not only an incredible coach, she's an inspiration.”
- Caitlin Costello, Operations Manager at City Staffing, NYC
- Caitlin Costello, Operations Manager at City Staffing, NYC
“Janna is a wonderworker. The magic of her teaching is learning to let your own life speak. Whatever your occupation, and whether you’re a seasoned speaker or trying to get more comfortable with public presentation, Janna is an expert guide. She builds my confidence and sharpens my tools. You will be stretched, and you will grow in your own wisdom, having more fun than you can imagine in the process.”
- Elizabeth Moriarty, Lead Organizer for Industrial Areas Foundation & United Power, Chicago
- Elizabeth Moriarty, Lead Organizer for Industrial Areas Foundation & United Power, Chicago
“Working with Janna on my keynote address for a pivotal leadership summit was both a joy and a valuable learning experience. My presentation was a success, and Janna was a huge part of that. She coached me as I developed the talk, and she helped me maintain a balance of professional content and meaningful human connection. Janna is knowledgeable, professional, empathetic, gentle and fun. Two thumbs up!”
- Moises Norena, Vice President of Innovation at Moen and Fortune Brands
- Moises Norena, Vice President of Innovation at Moen and Fortune Brands
“Janna is one of those rare teachers who can teach about the world, while learning a world from her students.
She will listen to you as well as she listens to nature.”
- Viveca Malave, Singer/Songwriter
- Viveca Malave, Singer/Songwriter
“Janna Sobel is among the most uncommonly generous artists it's been my privilege to know. She is that rare person that's every bit as concerned with the craft and care so evident in her own work as she is with contributing to a broader artistic community. Her spirit of wonder, her unfailing candor and courage, and her stubborn refusal to abandon innocence combine to make her work nothing short of dazzling. The fact that she brings this energy and sense of artistic purpose to her work as curator, teacher, and citizen of Chicago's creative community is to our lasting benefit and good fortune.”
- Ian Belknap, Founder of Write Club, a national competitive live-lit series
- Ian Belknap, Founder of Write Club, a national competitive live-lit series
“Janna's Intuitive Treasure Hunter is one of the most joy - causing exercises I've ever seen in practice. It causes humans to slow down and connect and let synchronicity work its way to them. DO IT IF YOU HAVEN'T - I've watched over a hundred folks now try this and come back with awesome stories to share.”
Tara DeFrancisco~ Founder and Artistic Director of The Nest Theater
Tara DeFrancisco~ Founder and Artistic Director of The Nest Theater
CONTACT
CONTACT
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I look forward to speaking with you!
Janna