One Last Love Letter

by Shoshana on May 20, 2013

 

 

Earlier this year in a moment of crisis and panic, I reached out to my dear friend, Milwaukee LTYM director Alexadra Rosas. In her typical mother-goddess grace, she comforted me and said, “Unlike most people, you fall in love completely. You jump into love without fear or question. This ability to not fear love is rare.”

The truth of her words resonated with me,  comforted me, made me feel stronger.

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The beauty of LTYM wasn’t just my own ability to jump into love fully and completely without question or fear:

It was that with this love—I could take people with me.

 

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This love connected seventeen women who didn’t even know they needed each other.

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Seventeen women who had been strangers.

 

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Seventeen women who stood on a stage and revealed themselves.

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Seventeen women who will never have to be alone.

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And this love called out to an audience who were compelled to show up.

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Who took and abstract idea of women reading on stage and watched it become reality.

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An audience who saw glimpses of the mirror into their own lives

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An audience who now have their own tale to tell.

 

And yes we were sold out.

 

And yes, the Second Lady was in our audience.

 

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But, between you and me, the fact that she is the second lady isn’t the big deal. Because before she moved to Washington, we taught in the same English department.  We shared lunches and books. My students filled out surveys for her Ed. D. She reached out with support when I tried to advance my career. Our cast members Kris and Cat also work in that same English department.  And our boss brought her because they are dear friends and friends go out to support each other.

Because, in the end, your status, your lot in life, isn’t what’s important– it’s the stories you have to tell and the bravery it takes to tell them.

 

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So, thank you Ann Imig for creating this movement

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Thank you for LTYM: Philly for letting me stand on stage, tell my story and get my first taste of this love.

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Thank you to my team Jessica and Jennifer who gave their own hearts and their own time to make this a reality.

 

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Thank you to every woman who auditioned- each of your stories mean something.

 

Thank you to my cast who not only opened up, but who lent me their words and their stories and helped me pull out the best of themselves.

 

Thank you to the directors and producers of the 23 other cities who held each other up—who ever says women don’t support each other has never met THESE women.

 

Thank you to our national sponsors BlogHer and One2One who give women a voice across the country.

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And of course, thank you to our local sponsors, who gave of themselves, so that we could we could give Wilmington LTYM

Our AMAZING cameraman, Charlie Bailey from Broad Reach Communications.

Our printer Mercantile Press,

Our local media sponsors: Out and About Magazine, 93.7 WSTW, The Jewish Federation of Delaware

Our audition and rehearsal space sponsors:  Film Brothers Productions, Siegel JCC 

and  Fresh Thymes Cafe, Barbara Goldberg and Associates, Fairfax Discount Liquors, and First State Pharmacy

 

Thank you to our talented photographer Donna Harlev who captured our show with such beauty and thought.

 

And, thank you for buying tickets and donating a little extra money for our charity Family Promise, now you are a part of their story.

 

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Until next year, find your passion, tell your story, and jump head first into love.

 

 

Photos by Donna Harlev (self-portraits by me)

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And now a word from our local media sponsors

May 10, 2013

    The word has been splashed all over Facebook and Twitter, Chester County Moms, InWilmington, Town Square Delaware, the Jewish VOICE… Today you will hear us on WHYY’s Newsworks and read about us in the News Journal.  And for extra LTYM awesomeness, you can  watch about the national movement on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams TONIGHT! We have also been lucky enough for local media sponsors to help us spread the word. Ask anyone is Delaware, and they’ll tell you that living in such a small state is like living in a small town. Everyone knows everyone. Where else does Six Degrees of Separation to the Vice President end for most people at two degrees? Everyone is connected to everyone else and 93.7 WSTW and Out and About are a part of those connections. Out and About Magazine  and 93.7 WSTW have been kind enough to give us another platform to get the word [...]

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The last 13 Questions: Anne Saks and Sandy Leonard

May 6, 2013

The show is less than a week away. We’ve had our read-through and rehearsal. We’ve laughed over lunch and open our hearts with margaritas in our hands. We’ve printed posters and alerted the media.  And now, it’s up to you to buy your tickets and stuff your bags with tissue.  And as we come to the big day, we have two more cast members to share with you. Two more warrior women who brave this world with heart. Two women, Sandy Leonard and Anne Saks, whose connections will only truly be revealed when you sit in your seats at the Queen this Sunday, May 12th Sandy Leonard moved to Glen Mills, PA almost five years ago with her husband, twin sons and two Labrador retrievers.  As if two teenagers and two dogs weren’t enough, she also manages a strategic research alliance for AstraZeneca in Wilmington, practices yoga and regularly hunts out tasty local fare on the [...]

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Donna Schwartz and Shari Short’s 13 Answers

April 29, 2013

This past weekend, Shosh and I took the train to Washington, DC to see and support Listen to Your Mother: DC. It was a great trip and we got to meet awesome new people and spend time with people we already knew.  That’s the way we feel about Shari Short and Donna Schwartz. We were already acquainted with Donna from the community and LTYM has given us the opportunity to get to know her better. We knew Shari Short was a funny lady but we didn’t actually “know’ her until she auditioned for the show. LTYM, both locally and nationally, has given the team the chance to make new friends and meet awesome people and we are loving every minute of it! Even though Donna Schwartz came to Delaware for a job, she found love and in many ways herself after moving from Boca Raton, FL. Donna married her partner and soul mate [...]

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