Directed by John Vreeke

The Play and Workshop:
The Gender Agenda: Can’t We Just be Different has been created from the words of twelve individuals from corporate, military and educational settings. The Gender Agenda exposes the current and sometimes subtle forms of bias that affect the productivity and culture of the workplace. The goal of the play is to create a dialogue that will challenge and expand perceptions of leadership and management qualities, and address the subtle forms of sexual harassment and micro-inequities people of both genders experience. The audience will be invited to actively empathize with the men and women in the play in order to create a more humanistic and productive culture at work and in the community.

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The Objectives:

• Expand the concept of leadership
• To distinguish between the negative impact of stereotyping and the acceptance of differences in a way that expands rather than limits productivity
• To assist employers in changing attitudes and behaviors that  lead to sexual harassment
• To perceive gender differences as assets rather than liabilities

The following people were interviewed for the play:

* connotes people who were not comfortable disclosing their real names

Written and performed by
Anthony Curry and Carrie Gibson

Directed by John Vreeke

Because You Know Me has been created from the words of twenty-two people who address gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual inclusion from a variety of perspectives. Because You Know Me puts a human face on the issues that affect the LGBT community. The actors will portray people who tell stories about life, work, military service, community and parenting, and how those areas can be affected by misunderstanding and bias. The play addresses both the subtle and more overt forms of exclusion experienced by people who identify as LGBT. There are also stories from family members and people who are not LGBT who have had enlightening experiences as they confronted their own biases. Humor, derived from historical transcripts, is used to both entertain and illustrate the distance we have traveled and have yet to travel to become a truly inclusive nation. The play speaks to a reality that can be applied to anyone who has had to face the question of whether to share a relevant aspect of themselves in a workplace setting. As long as people have to hide part of who they are, their ability to bring their authentic self to work and be fully engaged is compromised. The stories and experiences shared in this play allow audience members to find both commonalities with each individual as well as appreciate and value different perspectives.

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The Objectives:

• To gain an understanding of the challenges that face LGBT people in the workplace and the community
• To inspire active empathy toward people who do not feel safe disclosing relevant aspects of their identity
• To create a truly productive and inclusive workplace and community
• To allow the participants to relate to people who have different perspectives and experiences

The following people were interviewed for the play:

Written and performed by
Anthony Curry and Carrie Gibson

Directed by John Vreeke

Not Until You Know My Story is a play that includes the stories of fifteen characters based on interviews. The differences that are addressed include: race, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender, size, transgender and privilege. The play begins with scenes and stories from Ms. Gibson’s childhood where the issues of privilege and race are addressed as a launching pad for the actors to bring to life the true stories of the people interviewed. The final character seen is James W. Washington Jr., an 80 year old African American sculptor and painter who describes how he, as a 12 year old boy, challenged kids to make a mark on the street and he would use a crayon to convert that mark into a human being “using what they had made as part of the picture.”  Each character in the play becomes a part of the whole picture of growing up, working and living in this country with their differences.

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The Workshop:

Following the play Ms. Gibson and Mr. Curry will facilitate a discussion using the thoughts and feelings of the participants that were evoked by the play. The facilitators believe that healing and progress will occur when a person can imagine what it is like to be another person and they will use this belief to guide people’s responses to each other. The participants will be invited to share their own stories and experiences as they relate to their work environment as a way to address current obstacles to inclusion in the workplace.

The Objectives:

• To create a climate of inclusion in the work environment and community
• To identify and explore denial, guilt and defensiveness evoked by discussions of discrimination
• To help participants fully listen to each other’s experiences related to individual and institutional oppression in order to facilitate healing and problem solving in the workplace

The following people were interviewed for the play:

Dena Bunton, a Lummi Indian female School Administrator

Emily Davis, a White female, student with cerebral palsy

Dr. Joseph Drake, an African American male, Principal

Pat Gibson, a White female, Actress, Carrie’s mother

Edmonia Jarrett, an African American female, Jazz and Blues singer

Elida Florina, a Guatemalan female, Teacher

Roy S Harrell, Pastor of Ojai Valley Baptist Church

Dan Ma, a Chinese American male, Government Employee

Richard Marshall, a Native American male, Violinist

Patti Michele Schaeffer, Transgender Male to Female, Scientist

Lew Scheinart, a Gay Jewish male, Human Rights Activist

Norm Stamper, a White male, Seattle Police Chief

Nel Stephens, a White female, Product Manager at a software company

Cindy Sexton, a Woman of Size, Office Assistant in Charities Division for WA State Govt.

Nadine Wahab, an Arab American Woman, Public Affairs Manager at Arab American Institute

James W. Washington, Jr., an African American male, Sculptor and Painter

And a special thanks to Professor Julius Lester who started Carrie on this journey.

Written and performed by
Anthony Curry and Carrie Gibson
Directed by Kathleen Edwards

Not Just Ramps is a theatrical documentary about physical, emotional and societal access issues for a diverse group of people with disabilities. The actor/playwrights portray people as they tell vivid stories about themselves and their experiences in the workplace and their communities. The stories have been interspersed with comic scenarios on how to deal with people who are “abled.”  These humorous reversals allow us to laugh at some of our fears and the stereotyping that has long been associated with people who are different.  The audience will meet people throughout the play who elicit a wide variety of emotional responses and thoughts designed to create awareness, empathy, and new ways to respond to people who are different from them. The disabilities of those interviewed include blindness, spinal cord injury, deafness and hearing loss, A.L.S. (Lou Gerhig’s Disease), cerebral palsy, breathing and vocal impairment, dyslexia, mental illness, and developmental disabilities. Seeing “Not Just Ramps” and participating in the workshop can be the most effective way for all of us to explore inclusion, and fight bias and bigotry in the workplace and in our lives.

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The Workshop:

Following the play, Ms. Gibson and Mr. Curry will facilitate an interactive discussion with the participants using their emotional reactions to the play as a springboard to explore issues of access in the workplace and community. The participants will also be encouraged to connect their reactions and questions related to disabilities to the many other dimensions of diversity.

The Objectives:

• To explore access on a multitude of levels
• To understand the fear of disabilities and those disabled as a metaphor for all bigotry
• To challenge the objectification of people with disabilities
• To eliminate the barriers in the workplace and the community that permit exclusion
• To demystify the labels applied to people with disabilities
• To examine personal fears of “becoming” disabled
• To explore and affirm the concept of human dignity

The following people were interviewed for the play:

Marlaina Lieberg, blindness

Gary Lieberg, spinal cord injury

Jane and Larry Kimble, parents of two children with disabilities

Ryan Kimble, Down’s syndrome

Shirley Vick, cancer survivor with a trach

Carl Moore, A.L.S. (Lou Gehrig’s disease)

Emily Davis, cerebral palsy

William (Anonymous), dyslexia

Juan Fernandez, hearing loss

Tom (Anonymous), mental illness

Paul Hoffman, deafness and Kim Waldrop, Paul’s co-worker

Written and performed by
Anthony Curry and Carrie Gibson

Directed by John Vreeke

Into the Fire is an exploration of our returning vets with disabilities and combat related trauma and their stories as they integrate into their families, communities, educational institutions and the workforce. Many employers and educators are anticipating the opportunities as well as the challenges that may occur when including our returning veterans. The actor/playwrights will recreate the stories of both male and female Veterans who have returned from Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam. There will also be an exploration of the generational effects of the war experience on the children and families of our veterans. Specific disabilities include: post traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, hearing loss, loss of limbs, chronic pain, and mobility challenges. Humor and music will be interspersed throughout the play allowing the participants to digest and process these powerful stories. The audience will meet people who will elicit a wide variety of emotional responses and thoughts designed to create awareness, empathy, and new ways to respond to veterans as they rejoin our workforce and communities.

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Following the play the actor/playwrights will facilitate an interactive discussion with the participants using their emotional reactions to the play as a springboard to examine the effects of war on their communities and ways to create meaningful opportunities for our returning veterans.

The Objectives:

• To gain an understanding of the challenges that face our veterans with disabilities
• To eliminate the barriers in the workplace and the community that permit exclusion
• To explore issues of access and inclusion
• To encourage the participants to take an active role in the reintegration of our veterans with disabilities
• To explore and affirm the concept of human dignity

The following people were interviewed for the play:

Chili Hicks

Dr. Mike Colson

Kelly Lanctot

Mandy Martin and Mike Friend

Michael Braden

Richard Rolls

Robynn Murray

Ryan Herring*

Steve and Lisa Tice

National Internet Resources for Veterans

The National Resource Directory:
An Online Partnership for Wounded, Ill and Injured Service Members, Veterans, Their Families and Those Who Support Them. http://www.nationalresourcedirectory.org

TheFrontlines.com
A comprehensive website for veterans that includes resources and forums for veterans for veterans to share their stories.

Veterans Village San Diego
VVSD is the only program of its kind and is nationally recognized as the leader in serving homeless military veterans. Comprehensive long term treatment for addiction and co-occurring disorders.

http://www.vvsd.net

Battlemind Training:
This is an excellent website that assists our transitioning warriors as well as provides a framework for understanding behaviors that may appear in our classrooms and on our college campuses.
https://www.battlemind.army.mil/

Wounded Warrior Programs:
Wounded Warrior resources for Air Force, Army, Marine Corps, Navy and more.
http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/combat2college/WoundedWarriorResources.html

Transition Assistance Program:
You will find many handbooks and resources to include the newly DOD/VA released, compensation and benefits handbook. www.transitionassistanceprogram.com/register.tpp

US Dept of Veterans Affairs
Washington, DC, VA Medical Center:
www.washingtondc.va.gov

The National Child Traumatic Stress Network and the Uniformed Services University Health Sciences, Center for Traumatic Stress Studies, have teamed up to develop a website to provide important resources and materials to assist active duty and veterans and their families make successful transitions throughout deployment and returning home. http://www.nctsnet.org/nccts/nav.do?pid=ctr_top_military

Military OneSource link
http://www.militaryonesource.com/skins/MOS/home.aspx

US Department of Veterans Affairs
National Center for PTSD Transitional Page
http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/ncmain/index.jsp
http://www.ncptsd.va.gov/ncmain/ncdocs/videos/emv_newwarr_vets.html
See the streaming video narrated by Jane Pauley

Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center
http://www.dvbic.org/
http://www.dvbic.org/cms.php?p=Education

Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF)
http://www.oefoif.va.gov/

Brain Injury Association of America
“TBI – The Invisible Injury”
http://www.biausa.org/elements/pdfs/invisible_dod_qxp.pdf
http://www.biausa.org/media.htm#position

The Soldiers Project
Free, confidential psychological counseling for soldiers and their families
http://www.thesoldiersproject.org/

Treating the Invisible Wounds of War- an online course
www.aheconnect.com/citizensoldier/ code: AOSNCA25