Safe Place to Play Coaching
For actors, storytellers, and curious humans who are ready to make their bodies a safe and magical place to play again.
One-on-one and small group coaching designed to help you trust yourself enough to relax, experiment, and enjoy the work again.
Ready to get started? Or do you want to learn more and see if this is for you? Start with a free 30-minute discovery call. You and I will talk face-to-face about what’s happening in your life and in your creative work, the story you feel like you’re living right now, and what kind of support you’re hoping for.
What is Safe Place to Play Coaching?
Safe Place to Play Coaching is for people whose creative work has stopped feeling safe or fun, and for those who have never quite felt free to enjoy the pleasure of creating from a place of real self‑trust. It’s a space to practice embodying stories in ways your nervous system can actually tolerate, so your body stops bracing and starts trusting you again.
Sessions can include table work, gentle performance practice, text and story work, and support around nerves, perfectionism, and the pressure to “get it right.” We move at your pace, with your consent, and in conversation with what feels possible in your body on any given day.
You do not have to be a professional actor or storyteller to work this way. You might be returning to acting after burnout, trying on performance for the first time after years of therapy or wellness work, or simply wanting to feel less afraid and more at home in your own skin when you speak, share, or create.
Safe Place to Play is not about perfecting your performance. It’s about something more important and more delightful: developing a relationship with yourself that lets you stay present while you try things, and a body that can play freely because it trusts you to keep it safe through the pitfalls, problem‑solving, and pleasures of your creative journey.
Who this is for
You might be ready for this if:
Your creative work (acting, storytelling, speaking, writing) has stopped feeling safe or fun, and you miss enjoying it.
You feel like your body is bracing, shutting down, or disappearing whenever you perform, share, or take up space.
You’ve been praised for being “polished” or “professional,” but you secretly want to feel more present, alive, and human in your work.
You’re an actor or storyteller who keeps getting in your own way with nerves, perfectionism, or self‑attack, even when you’re prepared.
You’re curious about trying performance or story work as a way to reconnect with yourself after years of therapy or wellness work.
You want to build real trust with your body — enough that you can relax, play, and take creative risks without feeling like you’re betraying yourself.
How we work
We begin with arrival. That means simple check‑ins, a moment to notice how you’re actually doing, and making sure all of you feels welcome in the room — not just the “good” or “professional” parts. We’re aiming for wholeness, not perfection; presence, not performance.
From there, we use breath work and other gentle nervous-system tools to help your body find a baseline of safety. That might look like grounding exercises, simple movement, brief sensory practices, or small rituals that tell your system, “You don’t have to brace for harm here.” We move slowly enough that your body can believe you.
Once the ground feels safer, we start to play with story and performance. If you’re an actor, that might mean table work on a scene, exploring a monologue, running auditions on their feet, or trying out a character in ways that let you stay present instead of sliding into self‑attack. If you’re a storyteller or speaker, we might work with your own stories, talks, or texts, finding ways to tell them that feel honest, alive, and sustainable in your body.
Sometimes we borrow moments from Shakespeare, folk tales, myths, or contemporary stories as mirrors or playgrounds. Sometimes we work with your own words. The goal is not to get it “right,” but to find ways of embodying stories that your nervous system can stay with. Paradoxically, that’s also what casting directors and audiences tend to respond to most: real presence, a willingness to play, and confidence grounded in trust in yourself and your body.
Some days the work stays very small and gentle: noticing what happens in your body when you imagine a line, practicing saying something out loud as yourself, or discovering where your voice feels steadier or more alive. Other days, we might try more visible risks — stepping into a role, playing with text on your feet, or rehearsing something you want to share with others. Either way, we make room for getting it “wrong” on purpose, letting choices fall flat, and allowing yourself to be imperfect, just to find out that you’re still safe.
Underneath all of this is an orientation toward what you actually know in your bones: what feels true, what you want, and what kind of creative life you’re ready to live instead of the old one. The tools follow the person — not the other way around. If you arrive needing more regulation, we stay there longer. If you arrive eager to dive into story, we use story as the route back to safety and trust.
Safe Place to Play Coaching is, at heart, a practice space. A place to rehearse being with yourself differently while you work. A place where your body, your story, and your creative practice get to be in the same room — and where the presence, play, and self‑trust you build will support both your craft and your next role, whether that’s onstage, on camera, or in the story you’re living.
How to get started
Most people begin with a free 30‑minute discovery call. We’ll talk about what’s happening in your body and your creative work, what you’re hoping will feel different, and what kind of container makes sense right now.
From there, we can design a coaching rhythm that fits you — one‑off sessions to work on a specific performance or moment, or ongoing coaching to slowly build safety, presence, and play into your practice over time.
“Janine helped me feel free to explore text and movement, take constructive criticism, and get past my stumbling blocks. With her coaching, I felt more grounded, more human, and more ready to rise to the occasion.”
– Patty C.
About Janine
I’m a storyteller, theatre-maker, and coach who works with actors, storytellers, and curious humans who want their bodies to feel like a safer, more trusting place to create and play.
My approach draws on narrative coaching, theatre practice, and a belief that story and performance can help us reclaim agency, presence, and pleasure.
I’m also co‑founder of Theatre for Hope and Healing, a Chicago‑based theatre company and community wellness initiative. My work lives at the intersection of story, performance, hope, embodiment, and becoming more fully and magically yourself.
Through Safe Place to Play Coaching, I help people notice where their creative work has stopped feeling safe or fun, interrupt the stories that keep their bodies braced, and step into their next chapter with more courage, pleasure, self‑authorship, and magic.