From a teacher at Codman Academy School:

My students came to life! They had been not really participating in the theater aspect of the oral history class until True Story Theater came in and showed them what you can do with stories when told within a container of saftey. These kids’ lives are full of violence, at home and on the street, and those were the stories they told. I was amazed that they shared such intense things from their lives--it was like a flood once they started. It was very healing, and it helped me get to a deeper level with them in my teaching. At the end of the classes, in their evaluations, they listed the work with you among their favorite things of the year.

From Carol E. Bonner, Associate Dean, Simmons School of Social Work:

"True Story Theater helped our faculty to resolve conflicts related to leadership transition and tensions of our multicultural organization. In three sessions we were able to move into more constructive dialogue and new alliances. The result is the work of our School is now more productive, effective, and fun."

From audience members of a public event:

"Your performance was an incredible experience for me. I was particularly impressed with the instant community created in the theatre space. I’ve never felt so comfortable to talk to those around me. I’m not quite sure how you created such an atmosphere, but I cherish having been a part of it. Your troupe gave the audience such permission to be real, honest and present. Often audiences are asked to be the opposite. This theatre that you created worked magic in that room!"
-Aliza Yarrow, Community Theatre Artist

"The world can be a place of disconnection. Your performance reminds us of our connections to each other, instead of the fear, hatred, and disconnection that we experience and hear about."
-Marjorie Attignol Salvodon

 

From the coordinator of the Health Care Dimensions Hospice:

“True Story” is the perfect name for you. You got to the heart of our stories.. The healing and validation that comes from your work is remarkable. Mostly, we work in the homes of our patients, in isolation from the rest of the team. Volunteers often tell me about feeling isolated, perhaps because they are not physically with the team in meetings nor around the office like the staff. By experiencing our stories through your troupe, that isolation is broken. I had a deep sense of how shared our whole human experience is! Thank you seems too small a way to express my appreciation.

[Note: To read the full letter from which this is excerpted click here.]

From the Minister at the Central U.C.C. in Jamaica Plain, MA:

I brought in True Story hoping the congregation might open up their bottled feelings and begin to deal with the grief our community was then experiencing. You surpassed my expectations! You made it safe for people to open up; I was impressed by how much got on the table in such a short time. I appreciated how refreshing and real the event was—you had our rapt attention!

From a member of a support group of former prison inmates and friends/ family:

THANK YOU for the beautiful work you did with our circle last night!  Your depiction of my story was funny and touching...really hit home.   And the way that the True Story troupe told our group's story/history, based on the brief synopsis you so deftly elicited from one of our members, was remarkable!  It had some real healing effect which I'm not sure you can be aware of given your limited knowledge of the group's history.  Suffice it to say, our story needed to be told, hasn't been told before really, and, Christopher, your instinct to reach out to us in the moment was perfect.  Truly amazing sensitivity and incredible listening on the part of your entire company.  To boil our words down to such an articulate, accurate essence is art of the first order!  Many people in the circle which followed remarked on how struck they were by your work.  I sure hope you can come back again.  Many blessings and deepest appreciation!