‘sometimes one meets a woman who is beast turning human…’ — djuna barnes.
Audrey di Mola is a Queens, New York City-born oral tradition storyteller, lifelong writer/artist, creative facilitator, and sacred space-holder; a wing-footed accompanist through the wilds of the deep heart.
She is underworld-grown, grounded in the learnings of her descents and dedicated to carrying the revivifying waters of re-story-ation into our modern society. The sacred ecology of earth, story, faith, and community were what literally saved her life. Through her mythopoetic heart-work (adventurous, care-oriented online/in-person gatherings, 1-on-1 journeys, and unique mythic-inspired support) Audrey offers wondrous embodied experiences with the old stories in the oral tradition as well as journeys into the urban mythic and our own personal legends. They are uniquely enriched by her somatic sensitivity, mental and holistic health advocacy, and inborn capacity for “seeing with the eyes of the heart.”
For 15 years and counting, Audrey has been lovingly gathering souls to safely and artistically explore their inner and outer landscapes. She has hosted and curated many (MANY!) multidisciplinary events, workshops, and performances such as Nature of the Muse, Church of the Sacred Body, How We Create & How We Cope: Intersections of Art & Mental Illness, and countless outdoor happenings for hundreds of thousands at Socrates Sculpture Park, the waterfront art-park and community space where she served as Director of Public Programs from 2016-2021.
Prior to more fully living into the dream of carrying the old stories, Audrey’s performative artistic career has spanned theatre, movement, song, and the spoken and written word. This encompasses four books of original poetry and prose (most recently “WILDLIGHT” and “The Book of Legend”), deep-time in the core ensemble of Gurdjieff-inspired international experimental theatre company, Dzieci (2019-2021), offerings in venues both intimate and massive (from The Cathedral of Saint John The Divine to the School of Myth in Devon UK to the addiction treatment center in her neighborhood), work published in Mad in America and Dark Mountain Project, and large-scale immersive art and poetry graffiti installations including “trusting the inmost angel” and “go slowly, see miracles.”
Audrey holds the mythic “both/and space” of depth and play, warming light and fertile dark. She is assistant to the first Steward of the Mythsinger Legacy Project, gratefully carrying on the work of her late great storytelling teacher Daniel “3D” Deardorff; was the resident storyteller for Dr. Sharon Blackie’s Mythic Imagination Network from 2022-2023 (and continues to be featured on her popular “The Art of Enchantment” Substack!); and has deeply enjoyed immersive courses with Dr. Martin Shaw, Francis Weller, and Perdita Finn, among many others.
Find her in the Turtle Hut. Search your heart, you’ll Know the way.
And yes- Audrey Dimola and Audrey di Mola are the same but different ;) My dad changed the spelling of his surname when he received American citizenship, but I am more recently exploring reclaiming the Italian spelling. <3
EXPERIENCES + TRAININGS:
My primary teachers are the Earth, Story, and Spirit. Please keep in mind that there is much that goes unsaid in ‘lists of formal qualifications.’ We learn so much On The Ground…
Multidisciplinary artist: poetry, singing, dancing, acting, installation & mixed media
Certificate in Ecotherapy – The Earthbody Institute, 2020
Bachelor of Arts in Media Studies (Journalism, Writing/Editing), Minor in English (Cum Laude) – CUNY Hunter College, 2009
15 years of event curation, hosting/emceeing, community organizing (including ‘the Masters degree I never got’ that was running the diverse array of free, large-scale, outdoor cultural events for hundreds of thousands of attendees/participants each year at Socrates Sculpture Park, 2016-2021)
Selected Courses + Retreats:
Holding Our Planet: Wisdom’s Work in Transforming Crisis – a presentation by Cynthia Bourgeault – May 2024
Mothers of Magic & Mystery: Recovering the Love at the Heart of the World – 4 week online course with Perdita Finn – March 2024
Somatic Embodiment & Regulation Strategies with Linda Thai – early 2023
Introduction to Dance Therapy (online) – 92Y Harkness Dance Center, January 2023
Grief Pilgrim – 6-week online grief pilgrimage with ritual, story, movement, poetry, May-June 2022
Monthly Mentorship with Dr. Sharon Blackie, award-winning author, psychologist, and mythologist – 2022-2023
The Sacred Way Mystery School – November 2021 intensive in Colorado
School of Myth (Summer School) with Dr. Martin Shaw in Devon, UK – July 2021
The Alchemy of Initiation: Soul Work and the Art of Ripening with Francis Weller, MFT – Oct 2021
Storyteller course by Dr. Martin Shaw presented by Mystery School, online – completed 2021
Trauma, Growth & Resilience: Redefining Trauma-informed Practice – Institute for the Development of Human Arts, 2020
Dangerous Gifts: Beyond Symptom & Cure Mentality – Institute for the Development of Human Arts, 2020
Our Struggles are Intertwined: Intersections of Mental Health & Oppression – Institute for the Development of Human Arts, 2020
No Goddess Left Behind – Women’s Retreat (yoga, ceremony, dance, sound healing/journeying, primal scream & drumming, sacred singing & story-sharing) at Growing Heart Farm – June 2018
Pizzica Tarantata, Tammurriata, & other Southern Italian healing trance dances & ritual with Alessandra Belloni – March & June 2018
Reclaim the Wild Woman (martial arts, meditation, plant medicine and creative exploration) with Vanessa Chakour/Sacred Warrior – Fall/Winter 2017
More Background:
Assistant for Mythsinger Legacy Project– carrying the fire of mythteller and musician Daniel Deardorff (1952-2019) – Feb 2022 onwards; active member of the international Roundhouse Storytelling School throughout 2022; featured storyteller for Dr. Sharon Blackie’s Mythic Imagination Network – 2022-2023
Company Member in Dzieci, international experimental theatre company, 2019-2021 (including ‘A PASSION’ and ‘Fools Mass’ each year, ensemble for ‘MAKBET’ and street performances in 2019, special residency at Boughton Place in Upstate NY to create ‘A PASSION’ for 2021)
Weekly sharing & storytelling with The Storytelling Circle (online, based in UK) – Dec 2020 to May 2021
Somatic Experiencing work with ThruBody Therapy, weekly – April 2020 to November 2021
The Sacred Body with Maré Hieronimus, Movement Medicine and Yoga & Somatic Alchemy – 2021
Qoya: LORE (A Lifestyle of Reverence Everyday) movement program – 2021
Outdoor educator & guide in training for Discover Outdoors Foundation (youth work), Discover Outdoors (Upstate NY), and Destination Backcountry Adventures (Upstate NY) – Summer and Fall 2015
WWOOFer for Growing Heart Farm (Upstate NY) and Common Ground Farm (PA) – Summer and Fall 2015Aerial training (trapeze, lyra, silks) and natural circus ability! ;)
Yoga practice since 2008/2009; hiking; avid cyclist!
Childcare since 2014 (1 yr old + up); Dog handling & walking since 2012
WHAT THE PEOPLE SAY:
“A masterful facilitator – both solo and in collaboration – and a magnetic storyteller.” -j.roth
“Bewitching, ethereal, badass & real…” -poets settlement
“Soul-stirring, victoriously vulnerable, emotionally charged, fire-breathing…” -b.geraghty
“True artistry in motion with a courage that inspires.” -n.johannes
“A poet with a righteous warrior’s soul.” -j.belitsky
“Proof of the power that story can have in changing the course of our lives.” -b.lucia
“A brave streak of lightning continuing to illuminate the hearts of everyone who knows her […] Thank you for your thunderous existence!” -r.green
“Inspiration incarnate.” -j.horstmeier
“Incredibly moving, validating, healing, cathartic, in your words, alchemical… legend. […] For those of us who cannot find either voice, expression, eloquence, strength, capacity, courage, physicality, or who have not yet come to the place in our journey where we can even begin to articulate our experience… I humbly thank you. Your willingness to be vulnerable, to trust the Universe and the rest of us with your story, your soul, heals not just you, but all of us.” -l.monet bevino
“Queens’ very own supreme creative force…” -s.vazquez
“Relentless in her powerful vulnerability and radical approach to performance…” -s.t.licardi
“A proponent of passion and the positive power of the present moment.” -n.ruhling
“You’re the human form of fire.” -o.koralashvili
“Poetic force of nature…” -m.geffner
“Vulnerable, daring, generous, entertaining…” -m.poels
“One of Queens’ art and literary gems…” – the sisSTAR loop
“Busting down walls with words, flint for heart fire…” -m.pasca
“A wildfire in a world of fluorescent bulbs.” -d.benigno
“An authentic and adventurous gatherer of souls and stories…” -s.toledano
“One of the few original wild spirits…” -s.ahmed
“A walking, talking, fully embodied supernova.” -s.t.licardi
“An absolute force..” – d.gorman
“A delightful storm of light and power!” -e.toney
“The personification of creativity, talent, and light…” -s.hussain
“The quintessential cultural place-setter…” -g.mangusso
“A force of nature, approaching everything with expertise, openness, honesty and joy.” -k.kitchen
“A testament to the human spirit…” -j.anastasio
“Full of joie de vivre and life force!” -t.fink
“After meeting her you get the feeling that at any moment she might sprout wings and fly off into the sunrise…” -t.bell
“The ‘REBEL POET of QUEENS’ who created a Queens literary community with the alchemy of a poetic wild heart!” -j.willette
“YOU ARE CHARISMA. FEARLESS.” -m.pasternack
“Audrey Dimola stands as a beacon for the literary and artistic community in Queens. She’s been hugely successful in uniting the community in her native borough and once you’ve met her, it is easy to see why. Her dynamic energy and passion for life shine through…” -idlewild magazine
“You’re a warrior of light and a beacon of strength for what words can do. Truly you are a force. One candle can fill a dark room. But a star…” -b.perdomo
“You have poetry in you, and it’s BURNING up inside like a VOLCANO! LET IT OUT…!” – one of my heroes, m.disuvero
[More recent testimonials on my Into the wild: journeying together page!]
In wildness is the preservation of the world.
–H.D. Thoreau
If you don’t break your ropes while you’re alive, do you think ghosts will do it after?
–Kabir
But the heart refuses to be imprisoned; in its first and narrowest pulses, it already tends outward with a vast force, and to immense and innumerable expansions.
–R.W. Emerson
Verily the lust for comfort murders the passion of the soul, and then walks grinning in the funeral. But you, children of space, you restless in rest, you shall not be trapped nor tamed.
–Kahlil Gibran
audrey di mola : wilds of the deep heart 