You may have seen some of the emails or flyers or Facebook posts seeking student submissions for Wheaton Words. Directors Jonathan Korns ’15 and Milana Meytes ’15 and stage managers Audrey Dubois ’17 and Sarah Estrela ’15 have hit the ground running seeking out pieces for the performance, even though the show itself will not be performed until March 26, 27, and 28 – about five months from now.
Wheaton Words is now in its third year, though the original performance was titled “Stripped.” It is modeled after the Vagina Monologues – which has also been performed multiple times here at Wheaton — except instead of vaginas, Wheaton Words focuses on sexuality and identity and derives all of its content from the Wheaton community, including students, alumni, faculty, and staff.
Submissions must take no longer than five minutes to perform and concern sexuality, sexual expression, love, desire, romance, and/or identity. They can be any form, style, or genre, including poetry, monologues, dialogues, personal narratives, performance art, memoirs, etc. All submissions are due Nov 7 to wheatonwords2015@thggmail.com. Writers can submit as many pieces as they desire and are not obligated to perform their own piece(s). Anonymous submissions are also welcome.
Once submissions are in, the Wheaton Words team will begin the process of reviewing and selecting pieces for the final performance. The decisions will be made by the end of the semester. Over winter break, the pieces will undergo editing so that they will be ready for the start of rehearsals with the start of the new semester.
But in order for there to be a show, there must first be submissions – hence why the directors are so actively recruiting writers. For anyone considering writing a piece or currently working on something, iSpeak is hosting weekly workshops to help writers brainstorm and revise what they have. These workshops take place on Fridays at 2pm in Meneely 307.
Clearly, Wheaton Words is more than just a few nights of performing; for the writers, performers, and especially the directors and stage managers, it is a process, from writing to editing to rehearsing to finally performing. The rest of the community, meanwhile, will have to wait till spring to see the final product that promises to be a night of raw truths spoken by fellow members of the Wheaton community.