“I Am: Beyond Identity” is a two-part workshop led by Footsteps member Melissa Weisz. Over two Sunday evening sessions, participants will move from awareness to integration, supporting participants in reconnecting with a steady sense of self. The sessions combine writing, structured partner reflection, and guided exercises, creating an interactive and grounded experience.
In the first session, “I Am”, participants explore the identities they consciously and subconsciously carry. Through guided prompts, we name roles, inherited narratives, internalized messages, and externally imposed labels. Participants reflect on which identities feel grounding or chosen and which feel limiting or outdated. We also begin identifying the values that sit beneath those roles.
The second session, “Beyond Identity”, builds on that reflection by exploring what remains steady when roles shift. Participants consider continuity across life stages and identify qualities and values that have existed beneath changing identities. The goal is to reconnect with a deeper sense of self that persists even as circumstances evolve.
The session will be primarily conducted in English, but participants are encouraged to write and reflect in whatever language best celebrates themselves.
Melissa Weisz is a writer, performer, producer, and teacher. Along with Malky Goldman, she wrote Di Froyen, a play about Hasidic women in Boro Park, which was produced at Theater for the New City. As an actor, she has appeared in numerous films such as Felix and Meira, TV shows like Unorthodox, and numerous theater productions in NYC. She recently sold a show to Netflix and frequently speaks on panels about media representations of Haredi and OTD life.
