As many of you know, one of the places I'm working with this summer is Notch Theatre Company, a social justice-driven, community-responsive theatre based out of New York and operating in over 15 different states and internationally. They're a remarkable company, doing incredible work. Largely, they do documentary theatre, newly-devised adaptations, theatre based on little known historical occurrences, and the championing of voices not often heard in the theatre. It's not just your white, liberal base here; they want to tell everyone's story.
One of the pieces I'm working on with them is Voices from a Pandemic, a piece of theatre weaving together the experiences of people during COVID-19, whatever that may entail. Currently, I'm helping transcribe others' interviews and conducting my own.
There is one huge similarity I've noticed between the people we're hearing: the majority don't think their voice matters. I've continuously heard things like:
"Oh, come on, you don't want my voice."
"I'm not sure what I have to say has any value, but sure."
"Only if you need people. Other people are more important."
"I love the project! But why do you want to talk to me?"
These are people from an array of backgrounds. They're from different locations. They're in different vocations. They have a variety of political viewpoints. They love and hate vastly different things. Yet their idea of what's valuable, what's of importance, and what we would want to hear all sway towards devaluing themselves, their experiences, and their stories. It's a phenomenon that I didn't necessarily expect when jumping into this.
So right here, right now, I want you to get something straight: your voice matters.
Yes, hi. You. Your. Voice. Matters.
Your experiences are of incredible value. No one sees life exactly the way you do, and that, inherently, gives your words import. In order for any of us to understand any aspect of life, we need to hear all of your stories. We need to hear conservatives and liberals. We need to hear Catholics and atheists. We need to hear parents and children. We need to hear white collar and blue collar. We need to hear people from everywhere on the spectrum of race and gender. How on earth could any of us decipher the greyscale of humanity without hearing a rainbow of voices? How could we decide what we believe in? How could we decipher fact from fiction if we didn't have every side? How could we be good people if we didn't listen to the stories?
Your story matters. It matters very much. Without your story, a thread in this blanket we call humankind would be unraveled, and, from there, the whole blanket would fall to pieces. Without your story, we're missing a vital piece of what it's like to be human, in all its facets.
One voice can change a person, a view, an ideal. A whole spectrum of voices can change the world. Just look at what's happening now, with Black Lives Matter. Look at what's happened in the past, with suffrage and civil rights, independence and emancipation. All of those voices, those experiences, those stories interlock to create power. It's only with every one of those stories that we truly learn and move forward.
And yes, sometimes one voice needs to be raised above the others. Sometimes, one voice needs to be amplified, because it's been drowned out by the others.
That doesn't make your voice any less valuable.
Your voice matters.
We want to hear it.
I want to hear it.
For the love of whatever god/deity/force you believe in, make yourself believe that.
~Rhiannon~
If impassioned, short speeches are not your thing, worry not. I'm working on getting up reading updates, a new badass woman post about phenomenal black women of history, a piece on Celtic paganism and witchcraft, and have some fictional writing I may or may not publish. We'll see. ;)
Also, if you're looking for art (books, films, TV, fashion, influencers, etc.) created by BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) artists, hit me up. I've been concocting lists that I want to work through myself, and I'd love to share them with you.
Cover photo courtesy of Jerry Jenkins.