March 23rd at NYFA Los Angeles’s Riverside auditorium, students gathered to celebrate Women’s History Month in a very special way: by telling their stories.
About 30 students from across short-term and long-term programs—came together in an intimate, celebratory space for our annual Women’s History Month Story Slam. Organized by the DEI Programming Committee, this night’s story slam showcased students telling stories about a special woman who impacted their lives.
DEI Programming Committee members Barbara Weintraub, Andrew Eisenman, and Michael Sandoval welcomed the students over pizza and soda. Eisenman’s acting students jump-started the event by delivering powerful theatrical monologues from a diverse array of writers—from Margaret Atwood and Julia Cho to James Baldwin.
Energized, students one by one came up on stage, weaving stories about mothers and grandmothers. One theme that emerged was the vitality of support mothers provide through trying times.
Acting students delivered a second series of celebratory monologues from movies. Afterward, students came to the microphone. One student narrated how his mother supported him in his film career when he almost gave up. Another student—a young woman from the Tsakhur people in southern Russia, sang a beautiful song in her native language in honor of her grandmother.
All in all, it was a moving, uplifting evening!
Featured Image by Library of Congress on Unsplash