01/20/2021
A few thoughts... (This is long, but I'm putting this out there publicly to hold myself accountable and to continue to make manifest this dream of mine).
Today's inauguration invigorated me. The passing of Joseph C. Paparone has me thinking a lot about my roots in theatre. When I first thought of bringing Shake It Out to SUNY New Paltz back in 2013 I brought the idea to Joe. I sat in his office on his couch with a few of my other former professors and told them all about my idea. They were encouraging, and though there was nothing they could do at the time to help grow the program at the college, I felt happy that I knew I could go to them. Thank you, Joe for just being a person who would take time out of their day to listen. As some of you know, we got there eventually in 2018 with the help of Ken Goldstein and many others. Thank you to everyone else who has supported this part of my professional journey. You know who you are.
Last night (after a long while) I took a peak at Shake It Out, Inc's website. In all honesty, I thought I was going to be filled with shame and frustration because I had not worked on the website or this program for quite some time. But, I held my own hand, opened it up and was quite pleased at what I saw. I DID THIS, I thought. These pictures, these accounts of young women coming together to make art and loving on each other. I did this. And, I can and will do it again. I guess sometimes you have to step away for a while and come back when you know you are ready.
I know one thing. I still deeply believe in Shake It Out's mission, which is "to empower female identifying young women from NYC based neighborhoods regardless of geographic location, socio-economic status, sexual identity, nationality and/or ethnic origin and to explore storytelling through theater in a peaceful, supportive, fun and educational setting."
In the coming year, I look forward to doing TWO things:
1. Expanding our board to be more diverse and representative of this city that I love so much.
2. Revising summer program offerings to focus on this part of our mission: "regardless of geographic location, socio-economic status, sexual identity, nationality and/or ethnic origin."
I'm going to keep it at that for today, but look forward to sharing more ideas publicly as they come to fruition.
As I've said this before, we must all do our part to create a more anti-racist, anti-homophobic, anti-capitalist, female empowered society. Ask yourself today - What are the things I can and have the courage to try to change? Am I willing to put myself out there? How? We are never done learning. I of all people, have really needed to learn that.
If you made it this far, thank you for reading.
Onward.
With lots of love,
Noreen
www.shakeitout.org
A Tuition-Free Summer Theater Program for Teen Girls 501(c)(3)
