Life is a stage, and we are the actors and actresses. We have the opportunity to play one or two roles which take up the majority of our life. For example, we may be a mother, a father, a businessman or a teacher.
Imagine a life where your roles are varied and unrestricted; a life where you can play unlimited characters and allow your true self to shine through in each and every one. You have just imagined the life of Anna M. Pohl, founder and owner of Oh My Gosh Company, located in Madison, Ohio. Oh My Gosh Company is the pure essence of Anna's varied passions. It showcases her many talents in performing arts, teaching and healing, and allows her to help others laugh and enjoy life. One day she may be a clown, the next day she may be a motivational speaker, and the following day, she may be a healer.
Anna's life of theatre, dance, vocal performance and storytelling began at an early age. Independent in her nature as a child, Anna's family members always encouraged her to follow her passion. Her grandmother, a dancer on the ballroom circuit, was her greatest influence. She encouraged Anna to live the life that was true to herself without worrying about what others thought. Anna still lives by her grandmother's quote, “Unhappiness is never acceptable when happiness is waiting to be discovered.”
Anna rediscovers her happiness with the dawning of each morning because each new day presents the opportunity to play a variety of characters. “In my life, it is typical to be non-typical,” says Anna, her eyes sparkling with energy, “and to be on that improvisational energy wave all the time. Every single week is different, but for me that is normal.”
There really is nothing typical about Anna – an extroverted, glowing woman – or her Oh My Gosh Company. Anna formed the company in 1991 when she realized that doing so was the only way to work for a company that could evolve and expand with her. Anna's excitement and passion ring in her voice as she speaks of enriching people's lives through the many services she offers. Along with her daily roles of business woman, teacher, healer, motivator and speaker, Anna brings over thirty different characters to the public through theme parties, storytelling programs, song and dance shows, educational programs, safety and drug prevention shows, weddings, school events and corporate events.
Children particularly adore Anna's character Skipper the Clown. As Skipper, Anna entertains at events, but more importantly, she uses this role as a vehicle for education. Anna explains, “Participation is key to a successful safety program. Plus, the information must be accessible to kids.” For example, when she teams up with a local fire department to visit schools, Skipper acts out poor decisions and is instructed by both the fireman and the children about the dos and don'ts of fire safety. The children are engaged, entertained and educated all at once.
Corporations often hire Anna to help them solve specific company problems. Anna takes time to get to know the company, the problems and the employees before constructing a personalized program. “We tend to devalue what we do daily,” says Anna. “I hold motivational workshops to help employees see the value in what they do.” By enlisting the employees to play different roles, Anna teaches them that they are each necessary in the process of accomplishing any task at hand. The interactive workshops allow the employees to laugh, learn and “break out of their box.”
A corporation may also hire Anna for entertainment purposes. Recently, one of Anna's corporate clients commissioned her to join them on the GoodTime III, a small cruise ship taking short jaunts on Lake Erie. Anna's character role of gypsy fortune-teller provided entertainment services for employees, yet allowed Anna to use real Astro-Numero Translation techniques to give the employees a glance at their past, present and future using their own magnetic energy.
As a teacher, Anna offers workshops, lectures and classes to adults and children in mime, movement, storytelling, performance art, acting, public speaking and energy movement, to name a few. She has also been involved in the Cultural Enrichment outreach programs through the Beck Center and the City of Cleveland.
Her most recent role of healer began five years ago with her Reiki training at the Universal Life Healing Center in Irwin, Pennsylvania. Anna offers individual Reiki sessions in which she becomes a channel for healing energy to flow into the person being healed. She also offers Reiki education classes and lives a life of Reiki practice. According to Anna, “Reiki has improved everything I've done.”
Anna expresses her passion, as well as her joy for living, performing and healing, through her work. She loves her job because of what she puts into it, and even more for what she gets out of it. “The connection with the people is really my favorite thing,” she shares. “The things that I love the best are the things that get me one-on-one with the people, whether it is a Reiki session, the afterglow of a performance or teaching one-on-one. I create the characters I create and do the things that I do to affect people positively.” With these unselfish intentions, Anna Pohl truly enriches lives with laughter and healing.
More information about Anna and Oh My Gosh Company can be found online at www.ohmygoshco.org or by calling (440)428-2540.
