Monday, October 31, 2011

Why Brent Scarpo Switched From Casting to Inspiring

Brent Scarpo was a casting director for The Shawshank Redemption and other Hollywood films, but switched to what he calls 'transformational' engagements on the topic of hate and how to end it.

He's coming to Anchorage Nov. 7-11.  I talked to him via Skype last Monday and video taped our conversation and intend to post excerpts from that conversation this week.  Note: I've never tried to record from Skype before and this time I did it by taping the screen with my camera.  The picture on the screen wasn't that good to start with, so I played with the special effects to make it not as obvious.  A friend who saw this said the original would have been better.  Sorry.  We learn by experimenting and I found out there's software out there to record directly from Skype and that is probably part of my future.

In the meantime, find out why Brent took a year off.  And the chance phone call he got from a college student that changed the direction of his life.  





Monday, Nov. 7, 2011  (You have a week left, put it on your calendar)
East High Auditorium 7pm
Free Public Presentation
I've said in a previous post about Brent that I'm on the Healing Racism in Anchorage Steering Committee, so, yes, this is a blatant plug for people to come when he's here. But I wouldn't post this if I didn't think it was a good thing to do. There's also a smaller workshop on Tuesday night from 5:30 - 9:00 for $50 for people who want more time with him and tips for working with other people on combating hate and racism.

And, as you'll hear in the video, he still has his fingers in a lot of pies.

4 comments:

  1. Something I've come to value here in Britain with Quakers I've become involved with is a little thing I would call pausing for quiet. As a public speaking tactic, as a way to converse, as a means to inviting reply, it's good.

    Can Brent slow down? I only say this as I very much was the same way and learned a more deliberate way to communicate that seems to keep people with me. It's called listening first.

    Must be cultural.

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  2. Smiling here Jay. Brent mentioned the importance of listening several times. I'm assuming that in this situation, where I was asking him questions, he was answering. But it's true, he does talk fast.

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  3. LOL!! I just came across this and YES, I should slow down but my PASSION for the subject sometimes takes over.

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    Replies
    1. Brent, good to hear from you again. I did get Call Recorder right after this and it works well recording Skype calls.
      But my favorite Brent Scarpo post is this one about your trip to the Youth Academy.

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