Theater: Black Stories Matter The TMI Project
By Jacquie Wolf
arttimesjournal February 25, 2020
MY 2 CENTS, MUSICALS FOR A PENNY
I begin my critical journey with the whole 2 cents, but you should be made aware that Musical Theater must achieve fantastical heights to get more than a penny from me!
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The TMI Project has been developing and recognizing the voices and stories we all have since 2010. They “focus on the too much information parts of the story, the parts typically left out because of shame or stigma.” Black Stories Matter is TMI’s way to bring forward the stories of “hate, bigotry and racial injustice in our local community” to be heard, shared and felt.
The performance was February 15th at the Clinton Ave. Methodist Church in Kingston NY. The church pew seating was augmented by cushions and in the 45 minutes between our arrival and the start of the show there was a pretty full house.
8 members of the community stood before us with giant pink notecards from which they read or referred to in order to tell their TMI story. Stories of childhoods and neighborhoods that went from worse to bad to the other side. One woman told the story of losing her child to cancer and questioning her fitness as a mother. One man was raised by a physically and verbally abusive father and managed to use that upbringing as a guide for how not to be. They were tragic stories and stories of daily hurdles of living with racism, all life changing. Every person on that stage had a story that was personal, painful, perhaps shocking but the endings were wonderfully uniform. These storytellers faced their challenges, triumphed over their adversities and were now proudly, positively shaping the worlds of their families and communities.
The moderators, Micah and Dara introduced the storytellers as a group, but they each introduced themselves: Kwame Holmes, Shaniqua Bowden, Martin Dunkley, Tamika Dunkley, Tyrone Wilson, Alex Julson, Rita Worthington and Troy Ellen Dixon stood before us with bared feelings and shared their “too much information” story. Unlike the usual response to TMI, the audience was rapt with attention and love for their bravery and perseverance.
The close of the performance was an invitation to the audience to ask the storytellers questions. Micah kindly suggested to us that as stirred as we may be by the truth-telling stories we’ve just heard to please refrain from telling our stories in the Q&A period. Most of us managed.
The performance was taped and the TMI Project offers the opportunity to bring a “viewing party” to your community or home. Visit the tmiproject.org/host-a-viewing-party to learn more.
For my 2 cents it is always a pleasure to see people stand up and speak their truth and these storytellers did so with passion and compassion. I understand you can also find past performances on YouTube but I like it live!
