Anima: “the feminine aspect of the soul.”

Anima is a women-centric ritual theater performance collaborative. Our intention is to inspire individual and collective transformation through creative expression, and to amplify the voice of the feminine spirit in all beings.

PLEASE NOTE: This production contains sensitive topics and is intended for mature audiences.

PRE-SHOW

Welcome to the Ritual

by Selena Rockwell

Ensemble: Robyn Rose and Gillian Healed

ACT 1

IYQ

Self-Love Squad: Samantha Bonavia, Lisa Citore, Sarah Hartigan, Gillian Healed, Autumn Kern, Carolyn Little, Jax Nora, Rachel Petkus, and Selena Rockwell

Music: Back in Black by ACDC, Love On Top by Beyonce, Soldier of Love by Donny Osmond, Everybody Supports Women by Sofia Isella, I Want To Be Loved By You by Marilyn Monroe, Love Is A Battlefield by Pat Benatar

by Elaine Gale

Dear Moon, Dear Dad

by Cybil Gilbertson

Music: Honeybee by Olivia Rodrigo, Girls by Beastie Boys, Boys by Lizzo, Midnight Hum by Starling Arrow

Grandmother Orca

Ensemble: Aurora Wesman, Karen Hinds, and Katie Oram

by Justine Sutton

Reclaiming the Dragon

Music: Affinity by Fanar, Beyond Raging Waves by Dj Krush and Shin’ichi Kinoshita, Tabla Breath by Benjy Wertheimer and John de Kadt 

Visuals created in collaboration with Joshua Panczer

by Kerri Krizer

A Day in the Life

Ensemble: Autumn Kern as WOMAN, Gillian Healed as MOTHER, Karen Hinds as TRICKSTER, and Samantha Bonavia, Sarah Hartigan, Katie Oram, Selena Rockwell, Aurora Rose Wesman

Music: I’m Every Woman by Ashford & Simpson, performed by Chaka Khan. Smoke On The Water by Blackmore, Gilan, Glover, Lord & Paice, performed by Deep Purple

Special thanks to Monsieur Cédric Charneau for the beautiful artistry of our props.

by Gillian Healed

10 MINUTE INTERMISSION

ACT 2

LILITH, She Who Came Before Eve

Ensemble:  Aurora Rose Wesman as EVE,  and Jax Nora as the SERPENT

Music: If God is a Woman by Larkin Poe

by Samantha Bonavia

Title

by Aurora Rose Wesman

SPACEHOLDER

Title

by Sarah Hartigan

SPACEHOLDER

Gizelle

Stage Ensemble: Nick Ely, Stephanie Horton

Video Ensemble: Karen “Kiki” Barranco, Jamila Gonzalez, Thea Altman, Katie Oram, Maria Bongiovanni, Halani Cabugos

by Jeanie Stults

Title

by KiaOra Fox

SPACEHOLDER

The Magic of Life

by Lisa Citore

Full Anima Cast

Special thanks

Special thanks to Lamara Heartwell and the Inspiratia sanctuary, Yoga Soup, Elemental Aerial Arts, Santa Barbara Dance Arts, and Aurora Rose Wesman for providing space for the artists to rehearse and create. Thank you to Center Stage for providing this theater for us to share our art. Thank you to Kai Kogo and Sam Dei Rossi for being our tech magicians. Thank you to Jasha Stanberry for the beautiful photos and video. Thank you Teagan Rose for creating our virtual programs. Thank you Meighann Helene for your outreach support. Thank you to this cast for showing up with their whole hearts and souls. Thanks to YOU for being a witness to our stories and for weaving this ritual with us. And thank you to each person, discovery, challenge, and synchronicity that contributed to the inspiration for our creations.

Friends of Anima

Len Van Nostrand, Stan Evanson, Kim Crocker, Joanne Singer, James Walsh, Ariel Spilsbury, Dana Wallock, Daniel Heald, Gillian Healed, Michael Walsh, Jean Stults

Thank you for your support!

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OFFERINGS

Explore the offerings, workshops, and classes by the Anima artists!

LEARN MORE

about the artists

  • Lisa Citore is a women’s transformational guide, a couple’s intimacy coach, a plant medicine facilitator, and author. She is trained through the Center for Conscious Medicine and in somatic psychotherapy through the Hakomi Institute of California. She has studied shamanic energy medicine through the Four Winds Society and has immersed herself in indigenous practices from sweat lodges to vision quest to plant medicine journeys.  She has certifications in Hatha yoga, Tantra yoga, breathwork, Reiki and Lomilomi Hawaiian massage. She has extensive knowledge of women’s rites of passage through the 13 Moon Mystery School. She is the visionary of Anima-Theater of the Feminine Underground, an ongoing women’s ritual theater collective and has worn the hats of writer, director, producer and performer in various productions. Her first book, Dark Night of the Mother, releases October 23, 2026 For more information:  www.LisaCitore.com and www.Darknightofthemother.com

  • Aurora Rose Wesman is an artist, yoga teacher, and writer. Introverted by nature with a deeply feeling nature, in her finest moments she lives in-between worlds and walks a unique and fine line between the expansive essence of the soul and the darkest crevices of shadows and shame. Aurora grew up singing, dancing and performing as a child, and has been a performer in Anima for the last 8 years. She has also stepped into stage management for the past 2 and a half years. She is an active part of the core team working with all the beautiful souls to expand Anima, develop the shows, and grow our reach and meaningful impact as a collective.

  • FOUNDING MEMBER

    Elaine Gale is a sixth-generation Nebraskan, a forever gypsy, an ink pen fanatic, and a border collie enthusiast. She currently does not twerk but is open to it. She loves possibility, protein bars, instant coffee, and matching with Zach Braff on Raya. She has an anxious attachment style and dislikes both sudoku and crossword puzzles. She believes in magic, Dolly Parton, Roth IRA’s, underwire bras, the currency of joy, and the vibration of love. A former religion reporter at the Los Angeles Times, she’s now a Full Professor in Communication Studies at California State University. Her new solo show, TRASH CLUB, debuted last year at Center Stage Theater. Her first solo show, ONE GOOD EGG, had a sold-out run in New York City at the United Solo Theater Festival. She's performed for the Moth, RISK, and in over 100 storytelling shows. Elaine’s published in many literary and mainstream publications, including Entertainment Weekly, Cosmopolitan, and Good Housekeeping, despite the irony. www.onegoodeggshow.com

  • FOUNDING MEMBER

    Cybil Gilbertson is a mother of two amazing humans, an LMFT, a multidisciplinary artist with over three decades onstage, a facilitator of soul-centered somatic practices, and a proud and grateful Founding Member of Anima. She has called Santa Barbara her primary home since 1993, founding and acting as Artistic Director of NECTAR Arts Forum (2009-2024). For her work with NECTAR, a community-centered initiative highlighting relevant social themes through the arts and education, she has received multiple awards and grants. Recently, Cybil launched NECTAR Integrative Therapeutic Arts, an integrative private practice offering licensed psychotherapy services, advanced massage and bodywork, relationship coaching, and soul-centered somatic, movement and meditation classes. www.nectar-therapy.comwww.nectarhealingarts.com

  • Justine Sutton is a priestess, a pagan, a celebrant, a wordsmith. An internship at the SB Independent in 1991 got her started as an arts journalist, and since then she has written countless reviews of dance and theater for local media. After some time in the Bay Area, where she performed belly dance with Troupe Lunatique and burlesque with The Fat Bottom Revue, Justine returned to her adopted hometown by the sea. She has dabbled in voice acting, improv, storytelling, and stand-up comedy, and has had the honor of performing in several NECTAR shows. Justine is currently developing a solo show exploring menopause, grief, joy, and orcas, of which this is an excerpt. Her longtime fascination with these intelligent and thoughtful creatures is opening her heart to ever deeper dives into the mysteries. A proud founding member of the ANIMA collective, Justine is grateful for the opportunity to present alongside these dynamic and soulful artists. Special thanks to Maxine Apke.

  • Kerri Krizer is a mother, dancer, choreographer, and doctor of psychology whose work explores the intersection of movement, mythology, spirituality, and the human psyche. Trained in classical ballet and contemporary dance, she has performed professionally with various dance companies and her choreography has been featured in festivals in the U.S. and abroad. Beyond her artistic pursuits, she holds a doctorate in clinical psychology and serves on the faculty of the Ventura College Dance Department. Drawing upon Jungian psychology, somatic practices, and ritual traditions, her artistic work explores the transformative potential of embodied expression, weaving together movement and personal psychospiritual exploration.

  • Yes, as in healed. I married into five generations of English dairy farmers who went from rags to riches, and I've claimed this beloved, historical surname (and family) as my own. I started out as a busker at 11, performing my own material on the street. I made my own money and fell hard for the autonomy. At 12 I was a professional actor in Hollywood, which, against the odds, was good for me. Around then my Dad took me to hear Othello at the Old Globe, and I fell for the theater instead. BFA, UCSB. MFA, American Conservatory Theater. Initiated priestess in the lineage of RITUAL 13 Moon Mystery School. I believe in emergence—in making plenty of room for what hasn't been imagined yet. I go to the theater to be entertained, and I'd like to weep and get angry, please. This is not a day in the life you remember Paul & John singing about. It’s a day that every woman has had a taste of, and one in which every voter may or may not have their say.  As for Anima’s “A Day in the Life,” I think The Bard says it best… "Yet sit and see, minding true things by what their mockeries be." (Henry V).

  • FOUNDING MEMBER

    Samantha Bonavia is a performer, Vivation coach, and creative explorer celebrating more than five decades in the performing arts. A longtime collaborator with Anima, Theatre of the Feminine Underground, she creates work at the intersection of theater, transformation, breath, and embodied truth. Her artistic process is rooted in deep listening — following the emotional pulse beneath the performance and allowing lived experience to become raw, human art. Through voice, movement, storytelling, and presence, Samantha explores the healing and transformative power of authentic expression. She believes theatre can serve as both sanctuary and catalyst: a communal space where people reconnect with feeling, humanity, and the deeper rhythms beneath modern life. Her work is devoted to creating safe spaces for the mysteries of the inner being to emerge and be witnessed. Samantha is honored to once again be creating in synergy with this extraordinary collective of soulful and visionary women for this offering of Anima.

  • FOUNDING MEMBER

    Jeanie Stultz, PhD is a licensed somatic psychotherapist with over 35 years in mental health services. Her doctoral research explored the wisdom held in mothers' embodied experiences- the nonverbal, felt language of attachment between mother and infant. Her experience in this work with women continues to inform both her clinical practice and her artistic expressions.


    Jeanie is an up-and-coming comedy writer and performer. She co-wrote and performed in Magical Thinking Mark with Jamie Skinner for Anima (2022), and followed it with Gods of Love for Fishbon's Broken Hearts Review (2026). She is currently writing a full-length screenplay for Gizelle, telling the story of how she became the Spirit of Sperm Future. 

    Jeanie is a founding member of Anima and is a board member of Fishbon, an interactive arts collective.

    You can connect with Jeanie at: drjeantherapy.com

  • KiaOra Fox is a Spirit Dancer, a single Mother of 3 dynamic humans and a Specialist in Embodiment Integration with over 22 years of experience in Healing Arts. Rooted in spiritual teachings—including Lakota Sioux ceremonies, Gurdjieff tools, Pagan Rituals, and Egyptian mythology—her work bridges ancient practices with modern embodiment. Certified in 5Rhythms®️movement meditation, Reset Meditation for neural plasticity, and Holistic PT practices, KiaOra uses consciousness and movement as a path to self-discovery, purification and authentic expression. Her greatest teachers continue to be her children, inspiring and catalyzing KiaOra’s personal growth, her alignment to choosing love, curiosity and creativity.

  • Selena Rockwell is an artist, psychotherapist, and trainer whose work explores creativity, embodiment, and human connection. She joined Anima in 2023 and contributes as a creator, ensemble member, stage manager, and core team member.

    Her artistic practice includes personal storytelling, painting, dance, and singing, drawing inspiration from the human experience, the natural world, and community. Selena holds a Master’s degree in Depth Psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute, with a focus on developmental trauma, somatics, and Jungian shadow work.

    Selena provides psychotherapy for individuals, couples, and families in private practice. Across her creative and therapeutic work, she is interested in how emotional experience and embodied expression can foster self-awareness, authentic connection, and meaningful change.

    Learn more at www.selenarockwell.com

ENSEMBLE

  • Jax Nora is a Womb Continuum Practitioner specializing in pelvic health, hands-on womb care, and female body literacy. She helps women develop an intimate relationship with their bodies. 

    In past Anima shows, she created Daughter of Eve and Life Gets Light Again, turning personal experiences of sexuality and grief into acts of storytelling and witnessing.

    Jax is drawn to the raw material of being human, onstage and off. She wears her feelings across her face, makes enough noises to keep everyone informed of her internal weather, and has a special talent for saying the thing that makes a whole room blush. She is the proud dog mom to Mister Cheese, the tiny ridiculously cute grump that follows her everywhere. 

    Whether tending to bodies or performing on stage, Jax is interested in what happens when we let ourselves be seen: messy, tender, ridiculous, and gloriously undemure.

  • Sarah Hartigan is a writer, editor, and performer based in Ojai, California.

  • Autumn Kern is a psychotherapist/ art therapist spreading her wings in the realm of acting and performance to the delight of her inner child.

  • Karen Hinds is a seasoned performer whose initial breakout role as Macavity in the musical Cats left audiences stunned. After a 38 year hiatus, she is thrilled to return to the stage to once again captivate audiences with tricks and smooth moves.

  • Josh is a teacher of teachers, art-maker, and cuddle bug. His preferred pronouns are we/us/our, because—“Honestly, what am I without you?” <3

  • Nurtured by the waters of spirituality and grounded in the wisdom of permaculture, Jordi is devoted to the essence of what makes us human: our feelings, our needs, and our ability to connect with the Divinity within ourselves. -May we keep spiraling in the cycles of life and death.