Storytelling/ Art for Healing
Michelle Courtney Berry — the Workplace Doc™ and creator of the Working Well, one day at a time method™ (a research-informed approach to helping people recover, reset, and lead with greater resilience in stressful workplaces)— is a leadership strategist, doctoral scholar, and keynote speaker whose work sits at the intersection of workplace culture, psychological safety, communication, and organizational wellbeing. Michelle is also a multidisciplinary artist, performer, playwright, poet, speaker, writer, nationally-recognized spoken world artist, best-selling author and second Poet Laureate of Tompkins County whose work explores storytelling as a pathway toward healing, resistance, connection, memory, and transformation. Her work lives at the intersection of storytelling, healing, leadership, and social transformation. A globally-experienced speaker on four continents, her creative practice spans non-fiction, memoir, journalism, poetry, theatre, performance art, comedy, wellness, and public scholarship. She is the recipient of numerous regional and national awards and the following local people’s choice awards from the Ithaca Times (“Best New Common Council Member,” “Best Local Legislator,” and “Best Actor/Actress”).
Blending theatre, spoken word, comedy, poetry, memoir, music, and public conversation, Michelle creates intimate experiences that invite audiences into spaces of honesty, vulnerability, laughter, reflection, and renewal. Her work bridges the personal and the political, the literary and the embodied, drawing from more than two decades of performances, original productions, one-woman shows, plays, global public speaking, and community collaborations.
Michelle’s artistic work has appeared in theatres, festivals, universities, literary venues, and community spaces throughout the United States and abroad. Her performances and collaborations have included appearances such as opening for Dr. Maya Angelou, Nikki Giovanni, Mos Def, Amiri Baraka, Howard Zinn, and The Dalai Lama. She has also appeared on Good Morning America, covered The White House and Capitol Hill as an on-air TV reporter, performed nationally as a spoken word artist and solo performer, and collaborated with musicians, activists, wellness practitioners, and artists across disciplines.
Recent and ongoing work includes intimate salon-style gatherings inspired by her full-house Kitchen Cabaret performance, Refuge | Refusal | Refueling, produced in collaboration with Story House Ithaca and Kitchen Theatre Company. These gatherings blend theatre, poetry, storytelling, humor, music, and conversation in private homes and community spaces throughout the Finger Lakes and beyond. Hosts interested in bringing an intimate storytelling salon or artistic gathering into their home or community space are invited to connect. SCROLL DOWN TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE EXCITING NEW VENTURE “A STORY AT YOUR HOUSE” LAUNCHING IN 2026!
In addition to her Salon Series, “A Story at Your House,” Michelle’s Current Artistic Offerings Also Include:
Book readings/signings LIVE and on Zoom
Literary and theatrical performances
Spoken word and poetry readings
Healing-centered artistic experiences
Community conversations and facilitated dialogue
Retreat performances and artistic residencies
Workshops exploring storytelling, healing, voice, and creative expression
“Refuge | Refusal | Refueling”
An Intimate Salon Series with Michelle Courtney Berry
Following a full-house Kitchen Cabaret performance produced in collaboration with Story House Ithaca and Kitchen Theatre Company, Michelle Courtney Berry is bringing Refuge | Refusal | Refueling into private homes, gathering spaces, studios, lake houses, retreat settings, and community spaces throughout the Finger Lakes and beyond.
Structured around three movements — Refuge(the space we claim), Refusal(the stand we take), and Refueling(the fire we keep) — each evening draws from Michelle’s original plays, one-woman performances, poetry, essays, and spoken word work developed across more than two decades of artistic practice.
These gatherings are designed to feel personal, alive, emotionally honest, and deeply human — evenings where people gather not simply to be entertained, but to reconnect through story, laughter, vulnerability, music, memory, and conversation. Michelle is also the author of Keeping Calm in Chaos: How to Work Well, Live Well, and Love Abundantly, No Matter What and the creator of several original stage works, including Labor, Mother Land, and The Month of Not Speaking. Her interdisciplinary work increasingly bridges artistic expression with healing-centered leadership, wellness, and trauma-informed storytelling practices.
Born in Manhattan and raised in a handmade log cabin in the Catskill Mountains, Michelle brings both intellectual rigor and deep humanity to her work. She holds graduate degrees in communication and leadership studies and continues to explore how art, language, ritual, and performance can help individuals and communities reconnect to themselves and one another.
Hosting a Salon
Hosts provide:
an intimate gathering space
guest invitations
beverages and simple hospitality
Michelle provides:
a curated live performance experience
artistic facilitation and conversation
signed books and selected works available for purchase
optional light refreshments and salon atmosphere touches
Salon gatherings are ideally suited for:
living rooms
gardens
barns
lake houses
retreat properties
creative studios
community gathering spaces
Suggested salon size is approximately 25 guests minimum to a maximum of 50 guests.
A suggested contribution of $25 and up per guest helps support independent artistic work, future performances, and the continued growth of this community-centered salon series. Additional artist support is always warmly welcomed.
Books, signed editions, and selected works may also be available during gatherings.
A Growing Community Movement
In a time of isolation and exhaustion, these evenings offer something increasingly rare: a safe space full of trusted friends and neighbors gathering together to listen, laugh, reflect, and remember what it means to be fully human.
