Let's try to SEND THAT EMAIL
Dear Doctor XXX, I'm writing to you as I have an idea...
I often find myself thinking:
What can I do to actually do what I want?”
To find the job I like, to work with people I admire, to be part of projects that inspire me — or even just to talk to someone whose opinion I value.
And honestly? Sometimes the answer is as simple as this: just send that email.
Or make that call.
Or reach out in any way you can.
Example on how to really send an email
There’s this story about my friend Redi, who is now one of my colleagues at The Giufà Project, our social community theatre initiative that travels around Europe leading artistic workshops and fostering intercultural dialogue. (If you’re curious, you can read more about it here.)
Years ago, Redi saw one of our shows about Giufà — a character from Mediterranean folk tales — and thought: “Wait, these are the same stories I heard as a kid in Albania! I’d love to bring this play to my town.”
During COVID, when we all had a bit more time to think, he decided to reach out.
He wrote to my colleague Laura, the author of the play, asking if he could translate it into Albanian and propose it to the theatre in Korçë.
The thing is… Laura hadn’t updated her website in years.
So his message went to an old, inactive email address.
*LOL… this is a reminder to keep your stuff updated eheheh.
Redi could’ve easily thought, “Typical… Italian artists too busy to even reply.”
But instead, he thought, “Alright, I’ll find another way.”
He contacted some friends in Tuscany, managed to find another email address
and guess what?
Laura replied right away, full of enthusiasm.
Four years later,
we’ve travelled together through at least eight countries, creating projects and workshops. Redi even developed his own module on linguistics and untranslatable words within our framework. Today, he’s part of the core team.
*Also… make that phone call
*Small note — when we first brought the show to Albania, we still needed funding.
The local theatre in Korçë covered part of the costs, but not everything.
So I started writing emails — to the Italian Embassy, to the Italian Cultural Institute… no response.
Then I decided to literally call the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Rome… yup, directly, asking to be redirected to the Cultural Institute’s director.
And guess what?
It worked.
They listened — and helped make the project happen.
So, I guess what I’m trying to say is:
💌 Try to send that email.
Try, even if it feels silly or too ambitious.
You never know what’s waiting on the other side of send.
