Call for Submissions: Stories for Freedom Program

Stories for Freedom will invite ten storytellers, who have been cultivating practices of liberation within their work and lives, to join a TMI Project True Storytelling workshop where they will create and perform true, well-crafted stories of love, resistance and growth in their lives; stories that can be used to further their work and serve as an oral history and exist as a  blueprint for progress for generations to come.

By crafting radically true stories, Stories for Freedom will amplify the voices of artists, activists, and artivists, to inspire identification and belonging in audience members, and challenge all of them to take bold action in the disruption of systemic oppression.

They will select 10 storytellers to join the program and will partner with organizations and individuals alike to further amplify and support the work of reclaiming and healing our lineages, one story at a time.

The cohort will include people of all backgrounds while also paying specific homage to the practices of liberation that have emerged from Black and Indigenous communities. For centuries, the Black and Indigenous communities have created templates for other marginalized groups to take action in and around their own places of oppression – and this program will aim to acknowledge and celebrate these roots.

Once all storytellers are confirmed, TMI Project will begin the multi-session, online storytelling workshop in early 2024 which will culminate in a live performance in the Hudson Valley region of New York in the last week of June (exact date/location TBD).

What they offer?

• An opportunity to learn from TMI Project’s developed and time-tested true storytelling methodology
• Working with trained facilitators through guided free-writing exercises and other methods for story development
• Collaborative editing services to transform your personal narrative into a TMI Project-style monologue for the stage
• Deep connection with others working toward liberation
• A video of your story to further your work in the world
• An oral history of your legacy
• $500 stipend

Program Requirements

• All stories are first-person stories. You, the writer, are the main character.
• You’re willing to be vulnerable and expose your humanity by including the “TMI” parts of your story — the parts they usually leave out because of shame, embarrassment, stigma, or cultural expectations.
• Your story will capture an experience of personal transformation, from its beginning through its resolution. With the support of the TMI Project workshop leaders, you will shape a story that conveys the emotional complexity of your lived experiences, a story that will compel the listeners attention and keep them fully engaged. You commit to work collaboratively with TMI Project workshop leaders who will edit your writing into a TMI-style monologue.
• You commit to attending scheduled workshops and being in communication with your workshop leaders if you need to miss a session. (Missing more than two sessions will make it challenging to complete the workshop.)
• For the emotional safety of everyone participating, you commit to attending all workshop sessions sober.
• You commit to perform and have your performance recorded. The hope is the finished product will help fuel your work in a meaningful way.
• You will have rights to your story and also commit to sign a release to give TMI Project permission to share your story across the platforms.

For more information, visit TMI Project.