Christopher Hirsh

Summary

Christopher (he/they) is a multi-disciplinary artist, facilitator, consultant, and coach who brings a wide range of presence-based skills to their facilitation and coaching at Ariel. All of Christopher’s work is rooted in valuing moment-to-moment presence, curiosity, honesty, and play as a pathway to personal meaning and growth. Through studying and teaching meditation and mindfulness, breathwork, yoga, and embodied movement practices, and nervous system regulation techniques, Christopher fosters an intention to resource the human body, mind, and spirit, and deepen our capacity for leadership and skillfulness during moments of individual and social change.

Training Experience

Christopher has been working as a presence and performance coach for over 20 years. For the last 10 years, he has facilitated workshops to nurture complexity, access, and culture development in corporate and non-profit work spaces. This work includes direct coaching and consulting with individual leaders, teams, and organizations, as well as public and private workshops.

Select clients include:

• Providence Health and Services
• Columbia International Forest Products, Inc.
• Living Yoga
• Cambia Health Solutions
• Red Door Project
• Teach for America
• Multnomah County Health Services
• Coffee Creek and Columbia River Correctional Facilities
• Lake Oswego Police Department
• Portland Police Bureau
• Heights Yoga
• Inspiring Educators

Business Experience

Christopher co-founded two theatre companies and produced multiple projects during their tenure as an actor, director, and producer based in NYC before changing careers in 2018. Since then, Christopher has served as a DEI facilitator, consultant, coach, and coordinator for Living Yoga, and the Center for Equity and Inclusion in Portland, Or. He has run his own coaching and consulting business since 2017.

Theater Experience

Christopher has been in and around the theatre for their entire life, having been raised by a stage director and actor, they participated in school and community theatre from a very young age until working professionally as a performer, director, and producer for 20+ years in US-based theatre and film.

Select credits include:

• Co-starring role in God of Love, the Oscar-winning short, in 2011
• Lead roles and movement directing for ASTORIA: Part 1 and 2 at Portland Center Stage (2016/17 and 2017/18 seasons)
• Director of an immersive, location-based production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in a warehouse in Greenpoint, Brooklyn (2015)
• Portraying Officer Medford in Red Door Project’s revolutionary theatre & workshop offering that brings needed conversations to law enforcement industries in the US; The Evolve Experience (2019-ongoing)
• Co-founded MIRROR/FIRE Productions
• Co-founded Masterfool

Education and Credentials

Christopher has been in and around the theatre for their entire life, having been raised by a stage director and actor, they participated in school and community theatre from a very young age until working professionally as a performer, director, and producer for 20+ years in US-based theatre and film. Christopher holds a B of A from the University of Oregon and an MFA from the University of Connecticut.