All Zhaleh Almaee wants to see is your truth – even if it ain’t pretty.

“Everyone has a story to tell, and it’s my job to offer attention and my artistry to be in service to that,” she said.

Her most recent project is directing and performing “Courageous Acts: Revealing Solo Works,” which has its Port Townsend debut at 8 p.m. this Friday and Saturday, March 30-31, at the Pope Marine Park Building in Port Townsend. The two-night event is produced by Key City Public Theatre in association with the Mandala Center for Change.

Almaee has a formal theater education from Emerson College in Boston, Mass., and has studied various forms of ritual, healing and performing arts – from laughter yoga to drama therapy.

She is an ambitious artist/organizer, which may sound like an oxymoron. The work of visionary artists has been found to originate in the right brain, while the work of detail-oriented organizers originates in the left.

Almaee is a special breed of artist, endowed with vision and wild expression of self, yet also with the capability and drive to manifest her vision with precise detail.

Balancing acts

As an artist, Almaee is a dreamer with big ideas about what is possible. As an organizer, she is entrenched in detail and often called to action.

“I earn more money as an organizer, but if I just organize, I would wither. I have to honor who I am as a performing ritual artist,” she said

There is one invisible word between artist and organizer, Almaee said, that helps her strike a balance and stay focused with her work: activist.

Her work’s purpose is to support lifestyles of connection and foster a culture of possibility. The activist part of her job description keeps her attention on serving her community and sharing her gifts.

She believes that there are three levels to healing: personal, local and global. Her current work with theater explores personal stories to help individuals be seen and heard. These stories are shared and performed with the community to inspire dialogue and change. And, with any luck, there are universal implications that shed light on global issues.

Port Townsend connection

With its emphasis on local living and small population, Almaee believes that living in Port Townsend keeps her more open and honest with herself and her community.

“It’s a big change for me to live in a small town, where I run into the same people. I don’t have the security of anonymity that a city offers where I can take bigger risks with less at stake. Sometimes I just want to be able to disappear into the fold,” she said.

Before Port Townsend, Almaee lived in Portland, Ore., at the Tryon Life Community Farm, a permaculture education and demonstration center. She said she was inspired to move to the Port Townsend EcoVillage by a deep, mysterious calling and the prospect of lasting love.

The love that brought her here is soon going to be celebrated in a marriage ceremony. Her fiancé, Marc Weinblatt, is a member of the Port Townsend EcoVillage and fellow performance artist/activist. Together, they are codirectors of the Mandala Center for Change and run the Poetic Justice Theatre Ensemble.

In addition to her work at the EcoVillage and as a family woman, Almaee works as a development associate with Key City Public Theatre, and an event planner for Finnriver Farm & Cidery and the Jefferson Land Trust. Her work as an artist/organizer is, perhaps, best modeled by the elaborate events that she plans and executes for these local entities.

Courageous acts

Local performers who have been working with Almaee since November plan to artistically reveal their personal truths for Port Townsend audiences with self-scripted, autobiographical and improvisational solo works during the “Courageous Acts” shows.

Although the solo works are driven by personal stories, the project aims to demonstrate commonalities among all people. With common ground at hand, there’s an opportunity to build stronger community, said organizers.

Almaee invites Port Townsend residents and surrounding neighbors to gather and witness an honoring of personal story and to participate in collective reflection, saying, “Join me in claiming the right to be alive. Be alive with me!”

“Courageous Acts” reveals stories of chaos, beauty and growth, she said, and invites audiences to reflect on a deeper meaning in their own lives. For Almaee, no matter what happens, the intention for the event is clear: may it be true.

For more information about “Courageous Acts” or the Mandala Center for Change, visit mandalaforchange.com.