The Platform Group Brings Together Theatre and the Homeless in 'ROUGHLY SPEAKING'

Volunteering at a New York soup kitchen kindled a desire in Shara Ashley Zeiger to do more than fill salad bowls or greet guests for a few hours each Sunday.

Zeiger, who founded the theater company The Platform Group, recruited four other playwrights to volunteer with her at the Xavier Mission, a New York City soup kitchen that gives a free meal every Sunday to about 1,500 guests.

From that experimental approach, the group developed a play they call "Roughly Speaking: Voices From the Soup Kitchen." It tells the loosely biographic stories of some of the homeless guests that Zeiger and her fellow playwrights met.

"These stories are touching, powerful and sometimes even very funny. This is a new approach for us, and we are excited to share it," said Zeiger.

Writer Melissa Tien interviewed a woman in her 50s who lost her home after her husband died, and plummeted from a middle class life. "She traveled every year, she had a house... now she gets up at 4 a.m. in Grand Central Station because a cop is rolling her."

Other people represented include a college student who sleeps on the subway, a paraplegic rapper who stays in the shelters because they are handicapped accessible, and a jazz musician who once played with the greats.

In addition to Zeiger the creative team includes Melisa Tien (Women's Project, EST), Jonathan Libman (IRT, The Actors Studio), Joe Norton (Broadway Cares, NY Fringe), and Erin Moughon-Smith (Old Vic New Voices). The Platform Group was founded in 2010 to create exciting, inspiring work that provides a place to stand on. The team is funding the project through a Kickstarter campaign, which launched on May 11 at 2pm EST.

Their goal is to raise a minimum of $21,000, which would fund 16 Equity Showcase performances Off-Off Broadway, with an additional $29,000 to finance an extended Off Broadway run. The Platform Group plans on hosting post performance talkbacks on homelessness as well as a special performance for the guests of Xavier Mission.

Among the items they're offering backers are an executive producer credit and tickets to the show's opening night and cast party in late 2015. Visit www.KickStartPlatform.com #KickstartPlatform.

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