BE PART OF THE SOLUTION.


LAURA GOSHEFF, Founder and Executive Director

LAURA GOSHEFF (Writer/Director)

Ms. Gosheff brings over 30 years of organizational and managerial expertise to Living Lotus Project.  While continuing her career as a Practice Coordinator and Litigation Specialist in a New York City law firm, she embarked on a career in the arts.  Although Ms. Gosheff came to acting somewhat late in life, she credits her many and varied life experiences for her ability to bring an informed and genuine depth to the characters she has created for the stage.   For two years, Laura performed Off-Broadway in FOOLS IN LOVE at Metropolitan Ensemble Theater.  She appeared in TEMPEST, THE MUSICAL at both the Anspacher and Cherry Lane Theaters; 13 CLOCKS (Cherry Lane); also HAMLET II; SAME TIME, NEXT YEAR; SUMMER AND SMOKE; THE SHADOW BOX; and LAUNDRY & BOURBON. She co-produced TEMPEST, THE MUSICAL with Daniel Neiden.  As Writer/Director: ROMEO & JULIET (dir.,Theatre at St. John's); PHOENIX RISING (dir./Reading, Kraine); PRETTY DIRTY WORDS (Katherine/dir.. Players Theater). Over the last fourteen years, she has gained experience in almost every aspect of theater production.  She's been an Authorized Company Rep in the New York Fringe Festival, General Manager and co-producer for a number of NYC plays over the last eight years; and was Managing Director of Republic Theatre Company in 2006, and General Manager (2010-2015) for Elsinore County, a theater collective in New York City .

Ms. Gosheff founded Living Lotus Project to raise awareness and empathy for girls and women suffering the effects of sexual assault and domestic violence; to end victim-blaming and shaming by putting the responsibility for the crime where it belongs -- on the perpetrator; and to engage individuals and communities at large to help end this worldwide epidemic. 


*PHOENIX RISING is based on the original work LET THE PHOENIX RISE! by Laura Gosheff and Sheri Heller.


A Note from the Author:
          Writing this play has changed me.  'I sing my truth.'  'I found my fire.'  'I color my world.'  'I am not alone.'  As a woman who has survived rape and sexual assault, writing PHOENIX RISING has given me an exquisite opportunity to discover and reclaim many pieces of myself that I had rejected as shameful and unworthy.  In the process of integrating and healing these disparate parts, I found my voice.  Over the last eight years of writing this play, I have spoken with hundreds women who have endured emotional, physical, and sexual abuse.  In hopes of circumventing the cultural default of being shamed and blamed for their own assault, they keep their secrets; they maintain their silence.  I wrote PHOENIX RISING to give them voice.​

         As a woman, I can tell the stories of women with an expertise and authenticity that I would not have were I trying to tell the stories of men, but I am keenly aware that women are not the only victims of abuse, trauma, and sexual violence.  A number of men have courageously shared their stories with me; each as heartbreaking and horrific as the stories I've heard from women; each with the common thread of betrayal, shame, and the lasting effects of trauma.  I am also keenly aware that most men are not abusers and rapists.  In fact, I'm counting on it, because this is not an either/or endeavor.  We need to come together as a community, a nation, a world, to eradicate abuse and sexual violence, and the culture that enables and condones it. 
          I have faith that the humor and humanity of PHOENIX RISING will alter the way society sees and treats victims of gender violence; that it will catalyze discussion and motivate people to get involved in creating change through intervention and activism. In this hyper-aware climate, the time for change is now.
​​

Laura Gosheff is an artist and advocate.  As the author of PHOENIX RISING, Ms. Gosheff breaks the culture of silence around the affects of sexual assault, domestic violence, and abuse, in the hopes of raising awareness, and challenging long-standing societal norms around gender violence.
​In September 2008, Ms. Gosheff began co-writing an early version* of what is now the play, PHOENIX RISING: Girls and the Secrets We Keep, giving her a new outlet to further explore her own story of abuse and rape.  That artistic, non-linear exploration and creative writing experience helped her to embrace, and deeply love, the troubled teenager she was, and allowed her to integrate those parts of herself that she necessarily compartmentalized in order to survive.  PHOENIX RISING continues to be an uplifting and rewarding experience for her, and she is profoundly grateful to the women who have generously allowed her to retell their dreams and stories, and also to those who continue to explore their lives, and share their stories with her.