Target Margin Theater Announces HERE AND NOW, A Free Storytelling Project

Target Margin Theater, in partnership with the Academy of Medical & Public Health Services, is launching HERE AND NOW, a free storytelling project for members of the Sunset Park community that explores participants' personal history in this Brooklyn neighborhood. HERE AND NOW uses the tools of collective storytelling and artistic expression to foster community healing, build cross-cultural solidarity, provide a forum for personal experiences to be heard, and engage community members in the creative process.

HERE AND NOW was created in response to the extraordinary stresses of the pandemic period. The project welcomes local adult community members in Sunset Park to come together in small groups to share stories about their lives and experiences, These free sessions began in June and continue through July. Individuals come together for sessions led by an Artist Facilitator from Target Margin Theater along with a team member from the Academy of Medical & Public Health Services. Sessions are offered in English, Mandarin, Spanish, or Arabic. Light snacks and refreshments are provided at each session.

For some participants, attending and sharing their stories with the small group may be the full extent of their participation. Those who wish to share their stories with a broader audience are invited to develop them with the Artist Facilitator and create an audio recording as a part of our HERE AND NOW Anthology: Stories of Sunset Park. Participants who create and share an audio recording will each receive a $75 stipend. The program will culminate with a public celebration of the participants' stories in September.

David Herskovits, Founding Artistic Director of Target Margin Theater, remarked, "When you tell a story you tell it to save your life - at Target Margin this has been our inspiration all year. Now after the terrors of recent months, we feel more urgently than ever the imperative to share stories with our neighbors. We believe this vital work can open up a space for those nearest to us to heal and grow stronger together."

Mon Yuck Yu, Executive Vice President & Chief of Staff of the Academy of Medical & Public Health Services, commented, "Stories move us; stories unite us. By actively listening to one another, we can begin to celebrate our diversity while thriving in shared experiences. Despite recent hate crimes and shootings, our community is hurt but not broken. Through our collective storytelling, we are building cross-cultural solidarity to help us heal together, and creating a strong and beautiful mosaic that represents Sunset Park's diversity and resilience."

"We are pleased to support the important work of Target Margin Theater as part of our Arts in Mental Health Initiative," said Rick Luftglass, Executive Director of the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund. "Our funding was directed in particular to support communities disproportionately affected by the global pandemic and the mental health challenges in its wake. Vulnerable communities need and welcome the opportunity to come together in collective activities for healing, including sharing their own stories."

HERE AND NOW continues Target Margin's exploration of oral storytelling, and immediately follows TMT's Spring show, One Night, a nine-hour durational play that was the culmination of a five-year exploration of oral storytelling traditions and the history, transmission, and evolution of The One Thousand and One Nights, a collection of classic Silk Road stories.

HERE AND NOW is made possible by a grant from the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund's Arts & Mental Health program.

Please visit www.targetmargin.org/hereandnow/ for more information.

Target Margin Theater is a multi-Obie Award-winning theater based in Sunset Park, Brooklyn, founded on the principle that works of art return us to real truths most powerfully by their divergence from a strict illustration of reality. For 30 years, Target Margin has been praised for their innovative, experimental interpretations of classic texts, opera, literature and historical sources. They exist to build a world where all people embrace the original, the challenging, and the different. They energize audiences with plays that expand the possibilities of live performance and engage their community at all levels through partnerships and programs. The company has served over 1,000 artists (emerging and established) through its extensive programming and is committed to nurturing the creative aspirations of the next generation of theater makers. In 2019, Target Margin was recognized for their impact on the field with the Obie Award for Sustained Artistic Excellence. www.targetmargin.org

Academy of Medical & Public Health Services (AMPHS) is a not-for-profit health service organization with a triple aim to identify barriers to health and wellness in underserved immigrant communities; coordinate truly needed primary care with social assistance; and deliver care with dignity and empathy to marginalized New Yorkers. Through its community public health interventions, AMPHS lends to the empowerment of individuals and communities to create their own local and culturally-sensitive health and wellness paradigms. We believe that through the holistic intersection of health of social service, healthcare, and education, we can bridge the gap in health inequities and ensure that healthcare is no longer a privilege but a basic human right. www.amphsonline.org

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