MEET THE ARTBURST WRITERS: REBEKAH LANAE LENGEL

Josie GulliksenPerforming and writing have been part of Rebekah Lanae Lengel’s life since she was just eight years old when she began performing with Voices United, a group whose mission it was to transform communities through the arts, by giving youth a voice and empowering them to create art and performance around social issues.“It hugely influenced my life, forever linking social justice and the arts, and driving both my professional and creative life choices,” says Lengel.She went on to study theater in magnet programs in both middle school at Norland Middle and in high school at Miami Northwestern. In her late teens she transitioned into playwriting and produced a few plays at the Hippodrome State Theater in Gainesville. She studied Music Business and Management at Miami-Dade College before transitioning again into presenting and producing with the Miami Light Project, where she worked for 12 years.She started as an intern at Miami Light in 2002 and later held positions of Programs Manager, Director of Marketing & Communications and finally Managing Producer. During her time at Miami Light she moonlighted as Tour and Company Manager for Teo Castellanos, a volunteer position she held from 2004-2006.As for her writing career, she says, “I feel like I’ve been writing forever; terrible songs and poetry as a kid, but I was first published when I was about 18 or so.”It was the days before the word blog had even been uttered, when she was essentially writing for a music blog called 88hiphop.com which she says was most likely considered a Web magazine. She also wrote for several different, but now defunct, music and lifestyle blogs and authored several plays.Her gig with Artburst began in August 2014. She was familiar with Artburst but from the other side of the desk during her time with Miami Light Project.“After my exit from MLP, I reached out to Artburst Editor Anne Tschida, offering my services, eager to stay engaged with the arts and reconnect with my own creativity,” she says.She loved Artburst as a presenter and loves it now as a writer because “it’s so important to shine a light on the artists and organizations in this community who otherwise would go unseen. South Florida has such a rich and vibrant cultural community, and I’m proud to be able to share some of it. I am excited and honored to have a place at the Artburst table,” she says.