When Oprah Winfrey was asked what she has learned about people in her years of successful television, she said, “Everybody just wants to be heard.” This idea was the force behind Project PLASE’s first ever Night of Monologues: A PLASE to be Heard. Eleven brave PLASE clients came together one Saturday evening in May to share their stories of homelessness at the Strand Theater in Baltimore.
Each client had a unique way of preparing for and delivering their monologue. Some preferred to rehearse which part of their experiences they would share while others decided they wanted to use the energy of the crowd to speak in the moment. Regardless of style, each and every client spoke from the heart and shared their personal story with honesty and courage. “Being confronted with the genuine stories and display of raw emotion, I was completely overwhelmed” stated audience member Linda Kokenge.
Audience members came to the Night of Monologues expecting to hear stories of homelessness, drug addiction, childhood abuse, mental illness, and other challenges encountered by the population served at Project PLASE. While the speakers definitely brought stories of despair into their monologue, the overall tone of the evening was overcoming adversity. Audience member Harriet Cooper noted “For me the Night of Monologues represented: bravery, honesty and most of all integrity….gifts from the soul.”
An engaging dialogue followed the monologues, which included topics such as the stigma of our homeless neighbors, how religion impacted the lives of the speakers, and how our community can grow from stories like these.
Here are the videos on youtube!
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