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UID:20130521T181346CEST-2821vjMGUX@arttixri.com
DTSTAMP:20130521T161346Z
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CLASS:EVENT
DESCRIPTION:Event Name: The Journey Out – written and directed by Frank V
 . Toti Jr.\nEvent Url: http://arttixri.com/event/detail/441182892/The_Jour
 ney_Out_written_and_directed_by_Frank_V_Toti_Jr\nEvent Date Begin: 2011-04
 -09\nEvent Date End: 2011-04-09\n\nWhat if you had to hide who you were fo
 r fear of rejection or harm? What if you felt growing up that you were som
 ehow different and different was not a good thing to be? What if you had n
 o one to talk to or look up to who could help you shape and mold your life
 ?\nThe Journey Out is a play\, taken from the words and stories of older m
 embers of the LGBTQ community here in Rhode Island\, as captured in a seri
 es of oral history interviews this past year. The play &ndash\; set in a d
 isco\, a church and an AIDS support group &ndash\; is a celebration of lov
 e\, of faith\, of courage &ndash\; of women and men who fought and struggl
 ed for their right to live openly\, to live without shame\, to live authen
 tically.\nThe production\, which premiered in October at the URI/Feinstein
  Providence campus was a tremendous success. Calls came immediately from t
 he community to tour the show so that those who are bullied and struggling
  with their sexual/gender identity can realize that they are not alone and
  that they can thrive. That those relatives and friends and neighbors who 
 are supportive can gain a deeper understanding of what it means to be gay 
 in today's world.\nThere is much humor\, great joy and moments of loss in 
 the gathered stories of the fifteen people whose lives are told on stage. 
 An older woman coming out to her mother on Rhode Island Independence Day w
 ho receives her own surprise in return. A young Italian man whose mother w
 ants to take him to see a priest after she finds out. A young girl who see
 s her future in the flying joy of Mary Martin as Peter Pan. Some of the pe
 ople were embraced on their journey to liberation while other lost friends
  and families and their faith. But for each person\, the telling of their 
 story is an inspiration and celebration of the human spirit\, a way to hel
 p other members of the tribe on their journey out. The cast includes Cynth
 ia Glinick\, Chuck LaFond\, Sandra Slonim\, Frank Toti\, Clare Vadeboncoeu
 r and pianist Gary Harris.\nThe Journey Out was written and directed by Fr
 ank V. Toti Jr. from months of interviews conducted by seven Rhode Island 
 residents as part of a project conceived and supervised by Steven Pennell 
 of the Urban Arts and Culture Program at URI/Feinstein CCE. With the assis
 tance of grants and funding from the Rhode Island Council for the Humaniti
 es\, Rhode Island Foundation's Equity Action\, URI Providence Student Gove
 rnment Board\, The URI Providence Arts and Culture Program and the URI Mul
 ticultural Center\, the project began in January 2010 and included intervi
 ews of 50 local LGBTQ community members. In addition to the oral history g
 athering and the creation of the play\, the digital files\, transcribed in
 terviews and trove of memorabilia will become the Rhode Island LGBTQ Colle
 ction to be housed in the URI Library Archive for future study and researc
 h. The process of interviewing will continue for those interested in shari
 ng their stories\, photographs\, clippings and artifacts from their journe
 y out.\nPennell and Toti\, two Cranston Residents\, along with a small gro
 up of five Rhode Island residents\, undertook this journey to locate and i
 nterview more than 50 older lesbian\, gay\, bisexual\, transgendered and '
 queer' Rhode Islanders\, to gather and transcribe their stories for presen
 t and future generations as an archive of information and to transform the
 se inspiring stories into a public performance for the stage so others wou
 ld know the stories.\nThe project came into being 6 years after Pennell an
 d Toti attended a PRIDE Parade in New York City and saw an inspiring troll
 ey full of older Gay\, Lesbian\, Bisexual and Transgendered people who had
  been at the Stonewall Riots in June 1969\, an event which sparked the Gay
  Liberation Movement. Once funding had been Pennell connected with Peter H
 ocking from the RISD Office of Public Engagement\, who had begun an oral h
 istory project of this nature in 2004\, Hocking\, Pennell and Toti gathere
 d and trained the additional 5 interviewers. Pennell began contacting indi
 viduals from the LGBTQ community who might be willing to share their stori
 es and those who might have additional contacts willing to be interviewed.
 \nFor some it was too threatening to be public\, for some it was a painful
  journey into the past and for others it was a celebratory dance of libera
 tion and joy. Among the narrators\, were some who lost friends\, families\
 , jobs\, social circles and faith communities. Others were embraced and ai
 ded on the journey to become inspiring community leaders know for their ta
 lents and gifts not merely their sexual and gender identities. There is mu
 ch humor and great joy in the gathered stories as there is for Pennell and
  Toti\, who grew up just streets apart in Cranston\, left the area for wor
 k but also to find and accept themselves as gay men. Then twenty years lat
 er both men returned to Cranston\, they met and fell in love\, and begin a
  life together in their forties with the love and support of their familie
 s and friends. As with the gathered stories\, there were many potholes and
  pitfalls in Pennell and Toti's their own journeys\, but there have been a
 nd continue to be glorious sunrises and sunsets to mark the days ahead.\nA
 long with the tour of the play which premiered in October 2010\, the story
  gathering is continuing. There are many individuals who saw the play or h
 eard about the project and expressed interest in participating. Ultimately
 \, the digital files\, transcribed interviews and an amazing trove of memo
 rabilia (clippings\, photographs\, and artifacts) will become the Rhode Is
 land LGBTQ Collection housed in the URI Library Archive to be available fo
 r further study and research.\n \n\nStart time: 7pm\n7pm\nThe play will be
  touring to various communities around the state April 6-9 @ 7pm.\nApril 6
  @ 7pm &ndash\; Mt. Hope High School\, 199 Chestnut Street\, Bristol RI\nA
 pril 7 @ 7pm &ndash\; URI Kingston Campus\, J Studio Theatre in the Fine A
 rts Building\, 105 Upper College Road as part of the URI GLBTIQQ Symposium
 \nApril 8 @ 7pm &ndash\; Beacon Charter School\, 320 Main Street\, Woonsoc
 ket RI\nApril 9 @ 7pm &ndash\; Pilgrim High School\, 111 Pilgrim Way\, War
 wick RI.
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SUMMARY:The Journey Out – written and directed by Frank V. Toti Jr.
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