Meet Robin Bousel | Performing Artist, Risk Taker & Post-Traumatic Growth Warrior

We had the good fortune of connecting with Robin Bousel and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Robin, what role has risk played in your life or career?

I am absolutely a risk taker. When I was younger I would take less calculated risks than I do now, but I definitely take them. I think it’s important to take risks and leaps of faith and sometimes even pursue outright crazy ideas. You never know where it could lead. Sometimes it can be terrifying and maybe you don’t have a safety net, but some of the most incredible adventures and discoveries can come from what might feel like a failed jump or a miscalculation. Not everything is meant for everyone and I think the universe has a way of knocking us on and off course as needed to get us to where we need to go next. Without taking risks, we might be missing out on some fantastic pathways forward through life, even the ones that feel the hardest.

I moved to Chicago by myself when I was 25. I had about $1800 and knew one person in the city. Because of that risk, I met amazing people, had incredible experiences, worked on projects that helped shape who I continue to become as a person and an artist, and had adventures I never would have had the chance to take otherwise. It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows – I certainly had my fair share of what felt like terrible mistakes at the time. If you can manage, and this is my personal belief, if you can pull out far enough, you can find a positive outcome or something beneficial out of any situation. I don’t say that dismissively of anyone’s trauma, or my own. Post-traumatic growth is something I have leaned into for a long time now – finding the light that we never would have seen if it weren’t for the darkness consuming us at the time. We learn lessons, shape values, find our best friends or chosen families, often through risks and mistakes and failures. I am actively seeking out ways, through my work, that I can help people explore their own pathways through tragedy to triumph. I feel strongly that it’s one of the reasons I have survived this far.

I developed a Cabaret right before the world shut down. It’s called the FML Cabaret. It brings artists together to share stories of difficult events or challenges they’ve faced, and what they ultimately have learned or gained from those things that have helped or strengthened them. I know what you’re thinking, but it’s actually “FOR my life” because the things that almost destroy us can also lead to the things that truly make us who we are and can move us to where we want to be in the long run. The cabaret had singers, musicians, comedies, story tellers, burlesque dancers – all different types of artists sharing their tales and talents. I long to combine this cabaret with my new energy also for youth mentorship and find a home for it here in Tucson.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

Sure, I’m an open book. It’s an interesting question to answer at this point in my life. I’m actually on disability right now and sort of retired professionally, but not artistically. Back in 2020 when the pandemic hit, everything I had been working on professionally and artistically got shut down. Like so many people I know who went through the same, I lost all of my jobs, gigs were canceled, food and entertainment venues closed, and we had no idea when it was coming back. Some never did.

My early working years I supported my creative interests and activities with gig work and 4 – 5 part time jobs at any given time. I had quite an interesting array of weird jobs and boring jobs. Then I started in the corporate world for better income to support living in a huge city as a performer, and for the better part of a decade I found myself as an educator and ethics warrior in the air purification industry. That sounds odd, but basically I had a chance to work for a manufacturer who was making quality products in a market full of jargon and chaos. I got to be a crusader for the little mom and pop shops around the country and fight against the big box giants. I didn’t really care about air purifiers at the time, per say, but I cared that I had an opportunity to represent a product that actually worked and I got to travel all over and meet people, help them improve their sales, meet their families and customers. It was kind of fun even though it wasn’t a good use of my artistic creative skills. I was still performing a lot of nights and weekends and working on different creative projects aling the way. For a while the office had nice wood floors and high ceilings throughout, which made for great acoustics. I occasionally got applause from the janitorial staff as I practiced songs and worked on my choreography for a show – it still amuses me to think about the people in the neighboring buildings who looked into that Chicago highrise window, wondering why there was a tap dancing nun on the 25th floor and whatever happened to her.

That job let me travel to see family. It gave me money to fund projects I loved and donate to cool projects, and allowed me to perform at night and on weekends when I wasn’t traveling. You could say I had dual careers as both an artist and a sales manager, but aside from keeping a roof over my head, the only way I could support my journey as a performing artist was to have the career in sales, and I think I only succeeded in my sales career because of the skill sets I learned as a performing artist. I treated sales as relationship management and customer service. I would listen to people, I would read their body language and I would try to understand their motivation. I got to know who they were and what their goals were for business and life. I did a lot of mirroring and matching people and I would try to offer them what they actually wanted and needed, instead of being ruled by a sales quota. I worked with so many different types of people in both the arts and in sales and customer service, from all walks of life and a lot of different professions. Talk about an incredible character study opportunity.

In both the arts and in the office, I aspire to be a person of integrity. I am vocal against the status quo, I want equity for everyone to be able to thrive fairly and generously where possible. I’m still learning, constantly. I value resilience, transparency, communication, and kindness. And I do everything with a copious amount of humor, and if I can get a microphone and do some singing, I’m happy. I’m working on finding the right place or places to focus my performance and resilience skills, and my passion for post-traumatic growth to help others find and share their value and voice with the world too. I want to do work that makes people think, that pushes them out of their comfort zones to help them grow and evolve. I want to do work that challenges me and helps me refine and enhance how I use my grief journey and comedy together to create more joy in the world. I feel like I am here to do this work. If you have a stage and a mic, let me know, I’m on route!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

I’m fortunate that one of my best friends does come to visit me fairly often. I think his partner might be a little better at answering this question as they are always going out on adventures together in and around town. I am just coming into an era of new health after a difficult journey of navigating the pandemic while the breast cancer I have battled since 2008 started to spread into my lungs. I spent just about 3 years in quarantine until treatment for the cancer and my newly developed respiratory issues all started to work together to improve my overall health. A little over a year ago I was preparing for the end, getting my affairs in order and talking to my spiritual community about my grief journey and preparing to depart this life. I didn’t see much outside of the mailbox and the hospital or a doctor’s office.

Although I am still dealing with Stage IV cancer, not to sound too corny but it’s like I got a new lease on life, or maybe they just extended my warranty. So, now I am back to going out  a little and seeing shows, participating in the theatre world again, and meeting new people. I’ve seen some great shows this year at Saguaro City, Winding Road, and Scoundrel & Scamp for example – definitely theatre companies to keep your eyes on.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are so many people and communities through out my life that have kept me going, sustained me, motivated and inspired me – my parents, my best friends, my spiritual community, my partner – but I think I’d like to dedicated this shoutout to my brother, Stuart Bousel. We are the last remaining members of our immediate family and we are both people who have had to overcome a lot and learn to rebuild again (and again), often without security or guidance. His ability to learn and grow and build resistance during the last few very difficult years continues to inspire me, as I hope mine has inspire him.

Other: I’m not very active on social media right now – there’s definitely some videos of me out there on youtube from various cabarets and weird shows. No official channels of mine at this time but possibly in the future.

Image Credits
Kathleen Dreier Photography Ronald Leon Hale Cult Camp Productions Tony ‘n Tina’s Wedding