#blackstoriesmatter is TMI Project’s way of making an impact in addressing incidents of hate, bigotry and racial injustice in our local community while also participating as an organization in the national outcry of injustice. In alignment with TMI Project’s mission to empower people and bring about change through true storytelling, #blackstoriesmatter seeks to raise awareness around issues of inequality and injustice through true storytelling and inspire people to take action while also using our digital platform to expose inequality and injustice rapidly and frequently and amplify the voices of those who have inspiring stories to share, about black people surviving–and thriving–in the Hudson Valley and throughout the United States.

We aim to provide audiences the opportunity to listen, expand their awareness, possibly identify internalized racism or uncover unintentionally racists points of view. This heightened awareness will enable audience members to replace biased belief systems with informed knowledge, deepened compassion and an active commitment to work for justice for all.

The live stream of our inaugural #blackstoriesmatter performance debuted on March 25, 2017 at the Pointe of Praise Church in Kingston, NY.

This performance is part of TMI Project’s race initiative.

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This performance is part of TMI Project’s mental health initiative.

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This performance is part of TMI Project’s gender initiative.

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This performance is a part of TMI Project’s LGBTQ initiative.

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This performance is a part of TMI Project’s race initiative.

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In our workshops, stories kept coming up about unexpected pregnancies, and what people did about them, revealing secrets they’ve never told before. There was such a great range of stories, that we thought it was important to collect them all together, and share them with the world in 2013, the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.

Inspired by “The Vagina Monologues,” What To Expect When You’re NOT Expecting incorporates as source material the voices of many women and men, a number of whom have participated in TMI Project writing workshops. Their experiences with unplanned pregnancies are varied, and run the gamut from the choice to keep a baby, put one up for adoption or terminate. Adoptees are also heard from about their experiences. There’s even a transgendered prospective sperm donor in the mix, who is left to decide if he should transition to womanhood or hold-out to donate; a dilemma he certainly wasn’t planning on.

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TMI Project kicked off our annual appeal with The Gift of a Story, an intimate evening of true storytelling and conversation, presented in person and via live stream. The storytelling salon, featuring a selection of true stories from TMI Project’s workshop leaders, was live streamed on Facebook Live, allowing a global audience to connect with and participate in the stories and conversation.

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The quote “tragedy + time = comedy” rings true for these storytellers. Join TMI Project in laughing and crying with these storytellers as they share great stories of love, loss, and growth.

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On September 17th, 2016, TMI Project honored honor “The Vagina Monologues” playwright and founder of V-Day and One Billion Rising, Eve Ensler, at Voices in Action: Community Outreach Showcase of 2016, a fundraiser featuring performances by participants in workshops offered through TMI Project’s Community Outreach Initiative.

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TMI Project celebrated 5 years of over-sharing in the name of health, happiness and freedom! The evening marked the first time storytellers in a TMI Project production were be off-cards.

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A collection of performances from TMI Project.

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Vicarious Resilience seeks to raise awareness and amplify the voices of those who have inspiring stories to share about living with mental illness in the Hudson Valley and throughout the United States. We aim to provide audiences the opportunity to listen, expand their awareness, and eradicate stigma around mental illness so all those who are living with mental illness are free to share their truth. Our hope is the film will inspire mental health professionals to incorporate our true storytelling methodology into their group work and private practice.

The documentary follows three Hudson Valley residents over the course of a 10-week TMI Project storytelling workshop presented at The Mental Health Association in Ulster County (MHA). Along the way, the participants experience the transformative power of true storytelling; they face mental illness, childhood neglect and addiction head-on; and, ultimately, share deeply personal stories about love, loss and triumph.

Since 2012, twice a year, TMI Project has offered 10-week memoir writing and true storytelling workshops specially tailored to meet the needs of MHA’s population of adults with mental illness. Our partnership with this peer-based organization–where a portion of the staff are people who have recovered from mental illness–is designed to help destigmatize mental illness, while also empowering participants to imagine and work toward the possibility of their own recovery.

The documentary was shot by North Guild Films and premiered locally at The Rosendale Theater on May 29th, 2018.

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In partnership with TMI Project, RUPCO invited residents of the Lace Mill (a residence for artists in Kingston, NY) to participate in a 10-week TMI Project workshop series, during which participants took time to find the story they most needed to tell in order to release shame and stigma, clear space for new perspectives, and fully embrace their power.

Select participants performed their true stories for the general public on Thursday, November 9, 2017 at The Lace Mill in Kingston, NY.

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On September 29th, 2018, TMI Project honored James Lecesne, Academy Award-winner and co-founder of The Trevor Project, a national LGBTQ suicide lifeline, with the 2018 Voices in Action Award for his vital work and dedication to end suicide among gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning young people. TMI Project also recognized three Hudson Valley leaders as TMI Project Agents of Change: Amy Kapes, Kingston High School social worker; Kale Kaposhilin, co-founder of Moonfarmer and Evolving Media Network; and Odell Winfield, director of The Library at the A.J. Williams-Myers African Roots Center.

This performance was presented at BSP Kingston on September 29th, 2018.

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In partnership with The Slave Dwelling Project and Historic Huguenot Street, TMI Project presented “Reclaiming Our Time,” stories and monologues by writers responding to personal encounters with the history of slavery in New Paltz. In June 2017, six writers participated in TMI Project’s immersive program of workshops, beginning with an overnight stay in slaves’ quarters in a cellar kitchen on Huguenot Street with Terry James, living historian and board member of The Slave Dwelling Project.

Reclaiming Our Time took place Reformed Church of New Paltz on Saturday, Sept. 16, 2017.

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OUR MISSION
Through our time-tested storytelling methodology, transformational workshops and stellar performances, TMI Project is changing the world, one story at a time.

Regardless of background or experience, TMI Project storytellers become agents of change for social justice movement building by bravely and candidly sharing the “too much information” parts of their stories, the parts they usually leave out because they’re too ashamed or embarrassed.

OUR VISION
TMI Project envisions a world where true storytelling is an agent of change; where, through the sharing of radically candid, true, personal narratives, everyone—storytellers and listeners alike—can become empowered, release shame and stigma, and replace old understandings with new ones. We aspire to engender compassion, understanding and public awareness. We aim to incite social, legal, and political change by providing participants the skills needed to be captivating storytellers, and by amplifying the voices of populations whose stories often go unheard.

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In honor of The Trevor Project’s 20th anniversary, a cast of 11 LGBTQ storytellers from around the country, selected from a nationwide call for stories, will take part in a TMI Project true storytelling workshop led by Academy Award-winner James Lecesne alongside TMI Project Co-founders Eva Tenuto and Julie Novak. Life Lines: Queer Stories of Survival is the culmination of that work.

The production will feature inspiring true personal stories of triumph in the face of suicidal attempts or ideations with a goal of raising awareness about the importance of The Trevor Project Lifeline and similar suicide prevention services. Life Lines: Queer Stories of Survival will take place on November 5, 2018, on the Irene Diamond Stage at the Pershing Square Signature Center in NYC.

Plus, a special performance from the gospel choir Exousia of the Rivers of Living Water UCC!

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“13 Reasons Why NOT” is the work of teens affiliated with The Maya Gold Foundation. This group of youth felt a need to respond to the Netflix series, “13 Reasons Why”. The live performance gave teens the opportunity to share personal narratives about their commitment to life, while acknowledging their struggles and highlighting the reasons they are committed to living through them. In April 2018, ten teens crafted the performance under the guidance of TMI Project mentors and shared their work with the public at a free public performance on May 5th, 2018 at the Reformed Church of New Paltz.

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The forthcoming documentary film Locker Room Talk produced in partnership with TMI Project by Hudson Valley’s own Stockade Works, chronicles a group of Kingston High School football players as they participate in a TMI Project memoir writing and storytelling workshop designed to confront a hyper-masculine culture, and redefine what it means to be men.

TMI Project’s goal for Locker Room Talk and our ongoing collaboration with the nationally-acclaimed violence prevention organization A Call To Men is to inspire more men and boys to access their authentic selves and speak up in the face of violence against women. The #MeToo movement has empowered women to unearth their stories. Both organizations firmly believe that if boys and men also had a space to share, it would allow for a foundational shift in the way they relate to each other and to women.

A cast of storytellers shared their true, personal perspectives uncovered through a TMI Project 10-week storytelling workshop presented in partnership with The Mental Health Association in Ulster County (MHA). Readers shared their recent writing based on epiphanies and personal revelations–stories that will inspire, sadden, madden, and enlighten you.

This performance is part of TMI Project’s mental health initiative.

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The prevailing stories about housing insecurity and homelessness are rooted in misconceptions and stereotypes and often present those in poverty or in a housing crisis as “other.”

Join TMI Project for The Housing Stories, a true storytelling performance featuring personal narratives from local community members who have experienced housing insecurity and homelessness that is designed to elicit compassion, human connection, and to spur audiences to take action for positive social change.

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