On the CreativeGround With...
Visible & Vibrant Challenge Leader
Sarah Moon, Write Your Roots
Posted December 1, 2025
In Summer 2025, CreativeGround launched a Visible & Vibrant Challenge – inviting community leaders to suggest edits to the profiles they care about - helping them look more vibrant and get more visibility. This is the first in our blog series featuring the community leaders who were the most responsive to the challenge and submitted the most suggested edits.
Let’s learn more about the the life of writers in Connecticut from Sarah Moon, playwright and writing professional. Because she (and her creative community) deserves to be seen!
Q: What is a typical day for you?
[SM] Well, I am a writing professor by day and community writing practitioner by night/weekends/summer! So during the semester, I am reading, lesson planning, grading and teaching by day. When I’m devoting my full time to Write Your Roots, a day might look like conferencing with a writer on a draft of their monologue, then emailing about a logistical issue related to the performance space, and sharing promotional material on social media for the upcoming show. Once we’re in rehearsal, I would swap out conferencing with rehearsing – the best part in my book.
Q: For those who may not be familiar with Write Your Roots, what is the one event or offering that should not be missed?
Our work culminates in a two-run performance of 6-8 original monologues. It’s a totally unique event as most of the writers do not have experience writing or performing for the stage. But they always do an incredible job both writing and performing their stories because they’re so invested in them. The first Write Your Roots performed at the Windham Town Hall and CLiCK in Willimantic in 2017, the second was scheduled to perform at Etnias Global Theatre in Pawtucket, RI in 2020 (but had to move to video due to COVID), the third, which took place just last summer, performed at Eastern CT State Fine Arts Complex. I’m not sure yet where our next performance will take place!
Q: Why did you decide to participate in the Visible & Vibrant Challenge?
I really like knowing about what other artists in my area are doing. As someone who is only able to engage in artistic work on a part-time basis, it’s especially exciting for me to see how some people are making it their full-time job. I have so much compassion and respect for those who have worked so hard to do their art for a living. It takes blood, sweat, tears, grit and a lot of faith. But, you know, for those like me who are adding their artist work on to a full-time job (and parenting), that’s commendable too. One could so easily let it go because life is busy. But for us, the deep love for creative work keeps us at it. So, it means something to find community with those who share a commitment to the arts despite all the factors that challenge that commitment.
Q: What community (geographic, by discipline, by activity/service, etc.) did you focus on for this challenge?
I focused on other Connecticut artists. Also, I’m just starting to learn about storytelling as I’m planning a study abroad course in Applied Storytelling in Scotland this summer, so I was excited to find some professional storytellers in the network.
Q: What makes this community special to you / Why should people check out this community?
I think it’s a really earnest community. They’re here for the right reasons. It’s different checking people out on Creative Ground as opposed to social media sites. Social media, mostly, is a for-profit enterprise and there’s a lot of clutter there. And the way people have to “brand” themselves and continuously promote to get views actually takes away from a focus on one’s art and time for one’s art. So I like that Creative Ground is more focused on connecting artists and making it about their work, though I agree with the impetus of the Visible and Vibrant Challenge that having great, full profiles and keeping them updated is beneficial to all.
Q: Who from this community are ones to watch?
When I was working on the challenge, I stumbled on the profile of the New Hampshire based British storyteller Simon Brooks. I was so impressed with his bio and how active he’s been in both live events and publishing. So, I’d recommend checking out his work. I’d also like to give a shout out to Flock Theater, based in New London. They have been going strong since 1989! They do Shakespeare productions in the arboretum at Conn College. I was lucky to catch one of my favorite plays, Rhinoceros by Eugene Ionesco, there this summer and it was wonderful. Go see their plays!
Q: Why should other New England artists, creative businesses, and cultural nonprofits be listed on CreativeGround?
I think it’s a really wonderful resource for finding people and groups that are active in our region and who are most likely interested in connecting and helping support one another. That support, whether material or simply energetic, is essential. As I said above, it is a challenge to stay devoted to one’s art and it really means a lot just to see how many people are out there just like you, meeting that challenge and sharing beautiful, thought-provoking, life-enriching work that our world so badly needs right now.
Thank you so much, Sarah! For participating in the Visible & Vibrant Challenge, and for being a wonderful leader who's helped us learn more about the writers and storytellers in our backyard.
Stay tuned for our next On the CreativeGround With...Q&A with our next Visible & Vibrant community leader.