Theater matters because it allows our group of Miriam’s Kitchen guests to be theatergoers, not just people who are experiencing homelessness. We have season tickets to Theater J, whose staff fully understands that we are art appreciators in our own right. Our group leaves bags in a locked storage room before each performance, and Grace [Overbeke, Director of Marketing and Communications at Theater J] comes down to the library of Theater J to enjoy sandwiches and pre-theater talk with us.  She tells us about the playwright and what was going on in the world at the time the play was happening. At the beginning of the play, Ari [Roth, Artistic Director at Theater J], welcomes all of us from Miriam’s Kitchen, and though we LOVE this, we don’t clap because we don’t want to be “outed” as people who are experiencing homelessness. 

Theater matters because it gives us insight into other people’s minds and issues, and takes us out of our own worlds.  Brandon likes going to Theater J because he studied acting in college and dreams of being on the stage one day. Rocky loved The Whipping Man because he was able to focus on it, since he had a sandwich in his belly and his things were locked up for a few hours. Raymond hadn’t seen a play since 5^th grade, and he is 38 now; After the Fall was his re-introduction, and he hasn’t missed a performance since. For Cynthia, theater is a way to get out of the cold.

Theater matters because we have a lot to say and the Theater J actors want to hear from us. “How did it feel to play someone who became despised? Did you feel guilty for your actions?” We asked Rick [Foucheux about his role in Imagining Madoff], when he visited us at Miriam’s Kitchen. “You are even more beautiful in person. How can that be?” we told Gabriella [Fernandez-Coffey, from the cast of After the Fall] when she came to see us. “Did you prefer playing Madoff’s secretary or Victoria in Apples from the Desert ?” we asked Jennifer [Mendenhall]  in the lobby of Theater J. “Was it awkward to write those sex scenes?” we e-mailed to Renee [Calarco, playwright of The Religion Thing] “because some of us felt very, very awkward.” We are excited that Helen [Russell from Woody Sez] is up for a Helen Hayes award. She visited us at Miriam’s Kitchen and stayed for one of our group discussions. (“Helen, what were your feelings on the way Woody treated his kids in the play?”) Mark [Krawczyk] and Sasha [Olinick, both from the cast of Our Class] came to see us, and we asked them about being a part of on-stage trauma night after night; we appreciated their honesty. Theater matters because we matter, and the artists involved in the performances want to know what we think, and in some cases, if they are doing a good job.

Theater matters because we are able to inspire a new generation of playwrights through YPT (Young Playwrights’ Theater) performances. At the end of YPT performances, we get to ask questions of the playwrights, and we have the chance to offer insights as well. “What was it like to write about a homeless veteran? Because based on my experience, you had it just right.”

We are theatergoers.  We are part of the dialogue.  Theater matters to us.

The names of Miriam’s Kitchen guests in the preceding paragraphs have been changed.

Special thanks to Theater J for inviting us to each performance that you produce. Thanks also to the Young Playwrights’ Theater for welcoming us to each of your performances.

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