Tag: Crossing The Threshold

Slamming Across The Threshold

As part of every Drunken Telegraph show, after the featured storytellers, audience members are invited to take the stage and share their own five-minute story on the theme. Five minutes isn’t a long time, and sometimes people go a wee bit over. (If Megan Sukys, the timekeeper, is caught up in the story, she might forget the clock.)
 
Following our Crossing The Threshold show, we heard six totally different reactions to the six mainstage storytellers. Remember, most people are telling a story straight from their heart, with no practice or prep time.

 

Brook West ASL Interpreter Jane Brazell

Brook West &
ASL Interpreter Jane Brazell

Brook West, Working Title

With a little help from paper plate notes, Brook West shared a beautifully crafted story about her path her from secret doodles of Special Agent Dana Scully to a public declaration of love to her partner.

 

Michael Smith

Michael Smith

 Michael Smith, Mormon Mission

The Mt. Rainier backdrop reminded Michael Smith of a similar mountain in South America, a place where he came to grips with what he could change about his life – and what he couldn’t.

 

Pat "A" + B. Gallagher

Pat “A” + B. Gallagher

Pat “A” + B. Gallagher, Embracing the Second Rainbow

Our Mt. Rainier set also brought back memories for Pat, who started off by leading the crowd in an old Rainier Beer tag line. Then, Pat shared insight from living in-between the extremes of pink and blue, and thriving in the vast middle ground of purple.

 

Jarette Bowen

Jarrette Bowen

Jarrette Bowen, How Many Times Does It Take To Come Out?

Jarrette’s story echoed a recurring theme from Crossing The Threshold, trying to reconcile his identity with his family’s religious beliefs.

 

Sandy King

Sandy King

Sandy King, Ask The Questions

A big rule for Drunken Telegraph is “No Notes”, but the audience response/story slam is a “No Rules” kind of time. Sandy King prepared a provocative, fast-paced account of coming to understand and empathize with a new transgender neighbor.

 

Sega Kaposi ASL Interpreter Lori Moriarity

Sega Kaposi &
ASL Interpreter Lori Moriarity

Sega Kaposi, The Incredible Life

Our youngest storyteller, Sega was moved to share how she came to understand her younger brother, who is transgender and currently transitioning to become Sega’s younger sister. It’s hard to translate intense emotion to words, and Sega showed bravery to publicly open up about her struggle and love.

PHOTOS: Scott Haydon

H M Z, Migration Is The Essence Of Islam

 

After arriving from Pakistan in December 2000, H.M. learned he had many, many Threshold to Cross in America

After arriving from Pakistan in December 2000, H.M. learned he had many, many Thresholds to Cross in America

PHOTO: Scott Haydon

H.M. Z.’s grandfather told him that migration is the essence of Islam. That advice was comfort as H.M. Crossed the Threshold, leaving his home country for the United States. But, fourteen years after arriving, H.M. now knows migration requires transformation, everything from rainbow bracelets and hard ‘r’s to skinny jeans and road rage.

 

 ART: Britton Sukys

Dana Coggon, Love Is My Religion

 

Dana Crossed the Threshold on a mountaintop and found God in the back of a pickup

Dana Crossed the Threshold on a mountaintop and found God in the back of a pickup

PHOTO: Scott Haydon

Dana is the daughter of a minister and a wife-of-a-minister (which Dana says is an even stricter position). It wasn’t until college that she was finally able to Cross the Threshold and find a relationship with the Divine where she could be true to herself.

 

ART: Britton Sukys

Jane Brazell, Wonderfully and Fearfully Made

05-26-14-Cross-Threshold-GraphicWEB

For the next Drunken Telegraph we’re partnering with Tacoma Pride Festival, Immanuel Presbyterian Church and the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts to present an evening of stories from the LGBTQA community about the intersection of identity and spirituality called “Crossing the Threshold”.

A diverse group of storytellers will recount experiences of the spirit that transformed the way they saw themselves, from finding new faith to leaving organized faith to questioning the very nature of faith.

We still have room for a couple more storytellers and welcome pitches. Send your story to stories@drunkentelegraph.com

We called the show “Crossing the Threshold” because that is the classic moment in a hero’s journey when a person leaves behind the familiar, old world, to move into unknown territory on a quest for something more. It’s a frightening step because there is no way to know what is on the other side – or if there is anything at all. Whether we journey to connect with a higher power or to understand the existential mysteries or to find our own place in the world, it’s a transition that requires faith that it’s worth it to keep going.

Jane Brazell, a two-time Drunken Telegraph teller, instigated the partnership after seeing the impact that an evening of listening to real-life stories had on a friend. We (Megan Sukys and Tad Monroe) saw this show as a chance to present and hear stories that are rarely shared in public, powerful stories that offer universal wisdom about finding meaning in life. Our belief is that personal storytelling about the events that shaped us is the fastest way to build compassion, understanding and community. Also, it’s fun.

As we prepare the show, Jane was kind enough to share her own story about “Crossing the Threshold”.

Jane took a ten year trip through ex-gay reparative therapy.

Jane Brazell took a ten year trip through ex-gay reparative therapy.

 

Jane Brazell is “hardwired for God”, but as a teenager her sexuality made her feel separate from her church community. At the age of twenty, a friend invited her to a congregation that offered her healing, but it wasn’t until a cloudy day in a shopping center parking lot a decade later that she discovered what she really needed.

CLICK ON THE TRIANGLE BELOW TO HEAR HER STORY (9:02)