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Did you attend or <br />watch the Artist <br />Project Grant <br />Training Session? <br />Yes <br />PROJECT/PROGRAM <br />INFORMATION <br />Tell us about your project or program <br />Grant Amount <br />Requested <br />$3,000 <br />Project Start Date <br />(no earlier than July <br />1, 2024) <br />August 25, 2024 <br />Project End Date (no <br />later than June 30, <br />2025) <br />October 11, 2024 <br />Project/Program <br />Summary <br />As Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley says, “Voting is an act of self-care.” <br />W hatever the outcome of the next election, we need to take care of <br />ourselves and others, repairing the tattered fabric of American civility and <br />community. Performance can help do that. W hen we hear a story about <br />someone whose lived experience is different from our own, we are changed <br />by our new knowledge. To that end, my show "Myth America," is an <br />exploration of voices rarely heard center stage, sparking conversation and <br />sharing among listeners. <br />This 65-minute, retrospective performance features three original character <br />monologues written across forty years -- interwoven with family history tales <br />and personal stories. I describe its contents this way: “W hat do an Irish <br />immigrant, an unhoused person, an essential worker, and a child sharing her <br />unstudied wisdom have in common? Their humanity calls to our own.” <br />At the 2023 National Storytelling Festival, this show received a standing <br />ovation from 1000 people. Since then, I have presented it in much more <br />intimate settings across the country. Listeners' responses to the show <br />include: “Seriously brilliant.” “Brought humanity to a person who is often <br />demonized.” “Timely and needed by our world.” <br />As my Artist Project, I propose giving 4-6 free performances of "Myth <br />America" as a tool of civic engagement. W orking with community partners, I <br />will mount the show in various Orange County neighborhoods. Performances <br />will be followed by post-show conversations with audiences, linking the <br />issues onstage with concerns in our communities. On the day of the <br />performances and audience chats, the neighborhood venues will also host <br />nonpartisan voter registration drives. These events will take place between <br />late summer and early fall 2024 before the final deadline for registering to <br />vote. <br />Rev. Marcus McFaul at Binkley Baptist Church has agreed to host an event <br />on the afternoon of August 25, 2024. Censored AP English teacher/public <br />speaker Mary W ood, featured in the W ashington Post, will join us. A grant <br />from NC Storytelling Guild will pay her fee/travel expenses. <br />Docusign Envelope ID: 4F5C001D-1290-48A7-83E3-BEF874E0C5BE