Rising Stars: Meet Ann Wellman of Long Beach

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ann Wellman.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I moved to LA 30 years ago with around $200 in my pocket, nowhere to live, no job, no friends, and no idea what the future held – and I made it!

Growing up in the National Park Service was gorgeous, but for an extrovert like me, it was unbelievably isolated. After moving around and attending seven different schools in twelve years, I couldn’t wait to graduate from college and dive headfirst into the City of Angels – a place bursting with nearly 4 million people and endless energy.

I didn’t necessarily plan on staying in Southern California forever when I first arrived, but in the sweet energy of this city, I found a soft place to land. Finding a permanent place to call home grounded me in a way I never saw coming. Thirty years, three kids, a house full of pets, and twenty-six years in a relationship later… this is home.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
The beginning alone found me on my knees many nights, praying to find my way. I had no friends, no job, and no home. I spent countless hours at the $2 movie theater around the corner from my temporary apartment, and walking the streets of LA looking for work. It was a strange kind of solitude, feeling so alone in a city bursting with people.

Over the years, the rise and fall of life brought every kind of ebb and flow: loss, changing careers, struggling, failing, succeeding, finding love, becoming a mother to three amazing kids, and weathering a worldwide quarantine and pandemic. Through all the highs and lows, it was the people—and finding my own grounding through deep spiritual practices, prayer, meditation, the Enneagram, and community—that buoyed me.

One of the deepest challenges of loving people deeply is surviving loss. I had one summer where seven people I loved passed away in the span of a few months. I actually had to make a written list just to keep straight all the people I was grieving at once. I still have that list. When I read those names, there’s still that familiar weight in the chest, the sadness, but also the deep appreciation for having loved them.

A year later, I co-created a grief workshop with a therapist friend called WEEP: A Creative Grief Group for the Broken Hearted. When I first offered it, I’d laugh nervously at the title and ask, “Who would sign up for a class called WEEP?” Only to be met with total silence and the same quiet answer again and again: “Me.” So we opened the door, and it was extraordinary.

I’ve been knocked down time and time again, and life will surely test me again. But today, I carry a deep well of tools combining psychology, spirituality, Enneagram wisdom, and expressive creativity that help me pick myself back up. More than anything, those challenges gave me the capacity to walk alongside others as they find their way back to themselves, too.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
The common thread through all my work—having spent thirty-five years directing theater and nine years teaching high school drama and dance in Inglewood—has always been human connection, storytelling, and self-expression.

Today, my work includes my three main passions: transformational coaching, spirituality, and community theater.

As a Certified Enneagram Teacher (certified through Russ Hudson) and Life Coach, I help individuals and groups navigate life transitions, deepen self-awareness, and reclaim their creative voice. My signature approach combines conversational coaching with somatic reflection and expressive tools like mask-making, journaling, storytelling, meditation, and movement. I don’t use the Enneagram as a rigid box or label, but as a gentle doorway for coming back home to yourself.

On the artistic side, I am the Artistic Director of the Long Beach Community Theater, now in our 13th season! We started in my backyard and hosted our first show in a local bar (DiPiazza’s)—the same spot where we still host our monthly live storytelling series, Speak. Easy. We don’t have a permanent building, so we’ve performed in bars, churches, art galleries, homeless shelters, on the street, and at the Long Beach Playhouse. No single place to call home—but plenty of places to come alive!

We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
While most people associate me with public stages, vibrant group facilitation, and community gatherings, I am deeply rooted in writing and quiet reflection behind the scenes. I spend much of my private time nerding out over books, taking different classes, learning new recipes, or writing. I also watch some bad reality TV… I have to keep it real here! I mean, have you seen the Real Housewives of Salt Lake City? Talk about DRAMA! I also love me some Survivor. That’s a wonderful study of human behavior right there, and I am all about it! Theater, coaching, writing, Enneagram work, and my life aren’t separate boxes for me. They are all different expressions of the exact same heart.

Pricing:

• Individual Coaching & Enneagram Sessions: Book a complimentary 30-minute discovery call! Customized packages are available for short-term deep dives or ongoing mentorship. I do not do a sales pitch. (I don’t even know how!) We talk, see if we’re a good fit, I tell you my price, you decide yes or no, and either way – we’re good to go!
• Group Cohorts & Experiential Workshops: Pricing varies by group size and program duration (including 8-week Enneagram courses, creative support groups, writing, and creative classes). Available for individuals, private groups, churches, and organizations.
• Long Beach Community Theater: Join us for our next monthly Speak. Easy. storytelling night at DiPiazza’s in Long Beach or catch our upcoming productions! We are there the 3rd Thursday of the month (minus December, July, and August).

Contact Info:

• Website: annwellman.com, longbeachcommunitytheater.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/longbeachcommunitytheater/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/annwellman
• Youtube: @longbeachcommunitytheater4868