On Bodies:  The Sound Circle Stories
The documentary film experience of women, music, and healing

Directed by Becky Coleman, Eva Darrington, and Sharon Hoffman
View the 8-minute film clip (RealPlayer) »

Through singing, storytelling, and performance art, the women of Sound Circle invite us to deepen our own self expression, to discover the wisdom in our own bodies, and to find the life-affirming voice in us all. With a new theme each performance season, Boulder, Colorado-based Sound Circle brought their lived experiences of healing their relationships with their bodies to the stage during 2003-2004. We were there to capture their performances.
 
Recognizing the epidemic of body/self-hatred amongst people in our culture-- women and girls, in particular--On Bodies is the first feature length documentary to provide a powerful point of access to truthful, positive body images, informing and empowering people in their relationships with themselves, with women and men, and with girls and boys.
 
Earlier phases of the project captured Sound Circle behind the scenes and onstage including interviews with Director Sue Coffee and Sound Circle members, backstage material, audience response, and performance footage from the final performances. Currently, we’re in post-production footage review and preparing for editing. The positive energy and community support behind this project have continued to grow since the first inspiration. We offer our heartfelt thanks to all who contributed in any way. On Bodies brings the community alive in an effort to empower people to be in their bodies, learn from their bodies, and accept their bodies. Your financial support will bring the passion of Sound Circle to life on the big-screen as a way to bridge the gap between those who have learned to love themselves and their bodies and those who have not.
 
Please join this grass-roots effort—the bringing together of the producers, performers, community, and you as we learn, grow, empower, and celebrate what it is to be at peace with who we are. Your tax-deductible donation will bring inspiration and healing to millions of women and men, boys and girls.   Donate online (via PayPal), or mail your donation to: On Bodies, c/o Becky Coleman, 1198 Pacific Coast Highway #D271, Seal Beach, CA 90740 (make checks payable to Pan Left Productions and write “On Bodies” in the memo line).

Quotes from the film:
Being of service, making a difference in the world–
that’s what Sound Circle does.
–Lindsey Stillinger

It’s terribly tragic that so early on we get the message that
our bodies can be only one way. This show is a beginning for
getting a healthier message out – especially to young women in our culture.

I would like the audience to go away hopeful that
if they tell the truth and honor their experience it will free them—
that they always have a choice about how they relate to their bodies.
–Peggy Arnold

About the filmmakers
Becky Coleman, PhD, has been researching and teaching on women's processes of healing relationship with body for fifteen years. She is the founder of O c e a n Center for Embodiment Education and Expressive Arts and developer of Taking Your Own Shape™ programs. Becky's teaching is founded on compassion, female empowerment, and authentic self-expression. She teaches in the San Francisco Bay Area, Tucson, and Los Angeles, where she currently lives and is writing a book about her research and experience.
 
Expanding on her commitment to bringing women's voices and lived experiences into the scientific literature on weight, Becky is now realizing her dream of sharing women's embodiment process through film. She may be contacted at becky@o-c-e-a-n.com.

Sound Circle and On Bodies speak to the starving soul of
women, girls, and even men about lost power.
Imagine what kind of power this world would have
at its fingertips if women healed their relationships with their bodies.
I was changed by experiencing On Bodies and am compelled to pass it on.
— Becky

Eva Darrington, MA. Eva’s personal connection with the history and evolution of Sound Circle and her belief in the healing influence of creative media are two cornerstones of this documentary project. She believes it is time for visual media to truthfully and respectfully portray women relating to their bodies, discovering the wisdom of their bodies, and navigating the world in life affirming ways.

Eva is a holistic psychotherapist, specializing in addiction and body-centered therapies. Her own recovery from addiction and her daily practice of conscious relationship with food and body inform her life and her work. Eva has been a music programmer/producer for KXCI Community Radio in Tucson and has performed as a singer, actor, and Afro-Cuban drummer. Eva lives in the Denver area, where she is studying film and television production. She may be reached at emdarrington@msn.com.

These women are literally making peace with their bodies before our very eyes. We feel the stories so personally because it is unmistakable, undeniable, that each woman is living, rather than just performing a healing story. Sound Circle has elevated the concept of healing arts to an entirely new level.
— Eva

Sharon Hoffman, PhD, interweaves psychology, storytelling, and the arts with Living Stories.  Her goal is to answer the cultural call to connect—locally, globally, and spiritually—by sharing peoples’ meaningful stories through film, television, and art. She is committed to expressing stories through these mediums because they are powerful vehicles that reach broad audiences. Just as we co-create destructive forces such as war and separatism, Sharon believes we co-create constructive forces such as personal and cultural transformation.
 
Sharon facilitates storytelling projects and consults to the media industry on how to do good storytelling. Her photography and interactive mixed media have been exhibited throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, including an exhibit revealing the true story of one woman's confrontation with breast cancer. She has been published in A Light in the Mist--a national publication of Healing Environments--and her research on storytelling is featured in the current issue of The Humanistic Psychologist. Sharon lives in San Francisco, CA. She may be reached at sharon@livingstories.com.

When we share our stories authentically, others see themselves in our reflection. That shared reflection is our compassion, our connection ~ and ultimately, what transforms us. The film presents this model to the larger culture through the empowered voice of Sound Circle. —Sharon

On Bodies: The Sound Circle Stories
c/o Becky Coleman
1198 Pacific Coast Highway #D271
Seal Beach, CA 90740
 
(562) 595-2885 or (415) 640-0996