Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Micah Chrisman. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Micah, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

Storytelling—it’s what got me started on this multimedia creative path. As a kid, I remember sitting by the window in the den at my family’s farmhouse reading the Chronicles of Narnia with the warmth of the fireplace burning nearby. I paused and looked out at the fields and woods just beyond the glass pane and wondered if there was a secret portal to another world hidden somewhere out there. That’s when the power of storytelling struck me. I felt this longing to be seen, heard, and remembered, like Lucy and the other Pevensie kids in Lewis’ beloved books. I wanted to tell stories that transported people to other planes of existence and cause them to look at their own world and wonder, “What if I was in this story?”

Years of rigorous experimentation with writing as a craft proved how difficult it would be to tell genuine stories. I began working on a fantasy series that never really found its arc, and so later I wrote short stories and poems that got me closer to finding my voice. But it wasn’t until I let go of my presuppositions of “original” storytelling that I found my love for digital media production. Since college, I have worked for various nonprofits as a communications professional, uplifting local narratives around racial disparities and economic injustices. Through this work, I gained new skills in video and audio production, paired with written interviews and articles of everyday people who were making a difference. To this day, I utilize my creative skills to transport readers and viewers into other people’s lives to ask the same question, “What if I was in this story?” and spur them toward social action.

This is why I launched the Pray for Micah podcast. As an ex-evangelical Christian, I still have a deep longing for the spiritual and mystical, and so I wanted to interview guests who were on a similar journey to discuss life’s big questions. Since the show’s launch, I have hosted people of various faiths and even atheistic worldviews in order to provide a space for healing and connection. Through each recorded session, my listeners and I gain fresh perspectives of the human experience by hearing other people’s struggles and triumphs and what life lessons they’ve learned along the way. We share some laughs, too, because in the end we can’t take life too seriously, especially when we realize how short our time here really is. I am still working on some other traditional writing projects, but starting this podcast and working with other creatives in new multimedia environments has taught me there are so many other mediums to share our stories, and these limitless possibilities are what excite me.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Since graduating with a master’s in mass communication, I have held communication/marketing roles for nonprofits in Kansas City for the past eight years. From urban farms to the Kansas City, MO Health Department, to my current work with BeGreat Together, my purpose has been deeply connected with racial justice, health equity, livable wages, housing, and other community issues. As a life-long writer and communications/marketing specialist, I believe words are like wizard magic and have the power to shape whole governments, policies, cultures, and communities. Writing and public speaking are my tools to tell stories of what is and what could be. From writing fiction to hosting the “Pray for Micah” podcast, it’s my goal to change the way we see the world and even spur us to take action.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding part of being a creative is the personal fulfillment I get when producing something that reveals an element of truth about the world to me—maybe not a “new” truth per se, but a different vantage point of that truth. I might know an aspect of life innately, but when that knowledge is revealed to me through something I have written or a guest interview on my podcast, the creative processes cements that fresh outlook and wisdom into my psyche.

In your view, what can society to do to best support artists, creatives and a thriving creative ecosystem?

Make space and move out of the way. There are so many creative individuals in the world but purveyors of the arts force creatives to tailor to the largest baseline audience. If you want to support creatives, give them the space to produce imperfect projects that aren’t the most marketable and then watch as they grow from that process.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mjchrisman.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prayformicahpod/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PrayForMicahPod
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/micahchrisman/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/PrayForMicahPod
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@prayformicahpod