The Remember Project

Organization Image

A nonprofit fundraiser supporting

Trellis
Fundraiser image

The Remember Project uses theatre to catalyze conversations about memory loss & brain health .

$225

raised by 3 people

$12,500 goal

Remember The Remember Project this giving season

Update posted 1 year ago

As we reflect on the many successes of 2022 and look to the opportunities of 2023, members of our creative team would like to share the following message of encouragement, gratitude, and remembrance. 


The Remember Project "creates awareness about the 'worried well' and how to talk about dementia."

"The play was superior. I could so easily put myself in the character's position and the facial expressions, timing and actions of the actors was phenomenal. While it was painful to watch because the content was so true, it oddly helped me feel less alone."

"The discussion held after the play enriched the whole program. People openly talked about their experiences with dementia, and this was helpful to all."


The Remember Project had an EVENTFUL 2022, touring both live and virtually. Our audience members often share courageous stories of living with dementia, caring for and loving someone with dementia, feeling isolated and afraid for what is next. 

We are reminded that theatre is an especially potent method to help people move beyond the fear and stigma of memory loss.   Once a conversation is opened about dementia, people realize the importance of being aware and prepared for the myriad ways memory loss might impact their families and friends.  


 

 

Our Give to the Max Day fundraising effort will help us in two ways:   1) an outreach fund to help rural communities work together to bring The Remember Project to them either live or virtually in 2023, and 2) create dementia friendly, age friendly programming that targets youth and young adults, ages 16-30, as we partner with communities through an intergenerational lens.

History of The Remember Project

The Remember Project was inspired by a one-act play competition at Festival Theatre in St. Croix Falls, WI in 2013. One of the plays submitted that year was "Steering into the Skid," by Deborah Ann Percy and Arnold Johnston. Executive Artistic Director, Danette Olsen McCarthy, was struck by the straightforward honesty of the material and the simplicity of the staging. In the audience that evening was Gary Kelsey, who had worked in the field of aging most of his career and immediately shared his opinion that this play would be excellent for education and outreach to help communities better understand dementia. 

Ultimately, Danette read the anthology The Memory Care Plays which included two additional plays: "In the Garden," by Matthew Widman and "Riding the Waves," by L.E. Grabowski-Cotton.  Danette collaborated with the St. Croix Valley Foundation to design and produce a pilot project in 2015, which reached 15 communities with 33 performances in the lower St. Croix Valley over 10 short weeks. 

The program format embraces a recognition that the deeper, most lasting art comes from the rich combination of watching a play together and then talking about it.  A Remember Project event provides the time and space to guide communities through challenging conversations. It is through these conversations that connections are made, walls come down, and communities grow stronger, together. 

After the pilot project came to an end in December 2015, requests for performance events continued throughout Wisconsin and parts of Minnesota for the next four years. It became evident that this model works, based on audience response, media interest, and community partner enthusiasm. Happily, the Remember Project now has a home at Trellis. 

The Remember Project received grant funding from the Minnesota State Arts Board to support a 2020-2021 arts tour in Greater Minnesota. Five communities were selected to participate in what was planned to be a tour featuring live plays. A global pandemic created a unique opportunity for The Remember Project to think differently about presenting theatre. A talented and focused group of seasoned professionals came together to envision and act on the future of the The Remember Project. Our first theatrical video, "Steering into the Skid," was produced in July 2020, followed a few months later by "In the Garden," and followed a few months after that by "Fortune Cookies," written by Bonnie Dudovitz.

The yearlong Dementia Awareness Tour wrapped up in mid-2021 - to rave reviews from those who participated. Over this last year The Remember Project has been able to tour live, and our vehicles have logged several thousand miles as we took three of our plays on the road. We also developed a satellite acting company in Central Wisconsin to support the live event requests we receive throughout the state. 

We also partnered with Exposed Brick Theatre to professionally produce our fourth theatrical video, "Mango Songs." Alia Jeraj is both the playwright and performance artist for "Mango Songs." This beautiful play is our first production written by a BIPOC playwright. Thanks to a MN Department of Health BOLD grant, we will begin partnering with organizations in the Twin Cities that serve BIPOC populations to offer virtual events featuring "Mango Songs."

We continue to partner with interested communities to help them in their journey toward becoming dementia friendly.

This fundraiser supports

organization image

Trellis

Organized By Betsy Meyer

Giving Activity

Comments

Log in to leave a comment. Log in