Help Playful Substance Develop New Stories
Playful Substance gave me my voice.
I was all but nonverbal when I started participating in their weekly writers groups.
Since coming out as trans, I’d experienced physical and emotional trauma.
Too much.
I was broken.
A shadow of my former self.
Afraid to talk.
Afraid to leave the home.
Unable to communicate like I once could.
I’d tell folks, “I broke my brain.”
Thanks to the insightful feedback of other group participants, I constructed a play.
Slowly.
Week by week.
Ten pages at a time.
I was able to practice communicating both verbally and on the page.
I was able to practice listening to the other scripts in progress.
I learned how to give others my own thoughts and feedback.
They helped me find my voice.
SImple.
Minimal.
Grateful.
I loathe to think of who I would be today were it not for Playful Substance.
Tori Barron
Playwright