Alumna Lauren Godla (BA, exercise biology major with a minor in theatre and dance, ’12) has been chosen by Redwood Parks Conservancy, California State Parks and the National Park Service as a Redwood National & State Parks Spring 2024 Artist-in-Residence. 

Beginning in April, Godla will spend one month creating artworks surrounded and inspired by the incredible landscapes of Redwood National & State Parks. 

A dance artist, director and educator based out of Gasquet, CA, Godla co-directed and performed for FloorPlay Dance Comedy, choreographed for Theater Bay Area award-winning productions, and toured and performed nationally with BANDALOOP. In 2021 she founded DiRT & Glitter, an environmental art organization that produces site-specific productions in wild places.

She has directed multiple site-specific performances along the Wild and Scenic Smith River, turning canyon walls into stages and audience members into paddlers. Her dance film “Drop” was included in the 2021 San Francisco Exhibition Showcase “Three Turns,” projected onto the historic SFAI tower and inducted into the institution’s 150-year-old archive. The next year her dance film “Two Suns” was selected to be a part of the San Francisco Dance Film Festival at the Brava Theatre in the Mission District. Recently she has been sharing her love for dance and yoga to youth from the Tolowa Dee-ni’ Nation and the Yurok Tribe. This spring she is working on a dance film to celebrate the Klamath River renewal process through funding from the California Creative Corps and looks forward to an upcoming artist residency with Redwood National and State Parks. Her work aims to inspire connections, honor the body as part of our living planet, and explore our inner and outer wilderness. 

Breathing Bridges 2.4 a site-specific production along the free-flowing waters of the Smith River, the last undammed river in the state of California, will take place this coming labor day weekend. Visit laurengodla.com to sign up for her mailing list and be the first to learn when tickets are available for what will surely be a magical experience of art and adventure. You can also follow her on instagram to get updates about her work: @laurengodla and @dirtandglitterco. 

The National Park Service, California State Parks and Redwood Parks Conservancy coordinates and delivers the parks’ Artist-in-Residence program. The program provides an opportunity for eligible artists to spend up to four weeks at Redwood National and State Parks to pursue their art form while surrounded by the inspiring landscape of the parks. The program provides access to work on projects in one of the most inspirational places on Earth.