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As July is Disability Pride Month, the SALUTE Storytellers Showcase is giving those with developmental disabilities an outlet to share their own personal stories.
During the eight-week workshop, participants are coached by Rebecca Monteleone, associate professor of Disability and Technology at the University of Toledo (UToledo), to shape their real-life experiences into compelling stories.
“They develop stories to perform three-to five-minute monologues that are based on memories from their lives, so important things in their lives that they want to share with a public audience,” Monteleone said.
This year’s showcase is in partnership with the Lucas County Board of Developmental Disabilities, UToledo and the Toledo Zoo. On July 19, from 2 to 5 pm, guests are invited to come support these storytellers.
“There will be 15 storytellers sharing original stories about their lives, ranging from losing a loved one to traveling abroad for the first time,” Monteleone said. “We’ll be at the Malawi Center at the Toledo Zoo and in addition to the storytellers, we’ll also have the Sunshine Bell Choir performing and there’ll be some visual art from artists with developmental disabilities as well.”
As the facilitator of the group, Monteleone talks not only about how to structure a story, but also about the importance of telling stories.
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“My role is to talk about why we do this. Why do we tell stories about ourselves, especially to people who might not know us? For people with disabilities, a lot of the time, it’s because people without disabilities make a whole lot of assumptions about what it means to have a disability or what it means to live with a disability and telling these kinds of stories can fix some of those misconceptions and assumptions,” Monteleone said.
Monteleone has been helping those with developmental disabilities tell their stories for a little less than 10 years. Since helping with SALUTE Storytellers for the past four years, she has seen “enormous” growth in the program.
“[At the first one we did] I think we had eight storytellers and there were maybe five people in the audience. Now, last year we had almost 200 people come and see almost 20 storytellers,” Monteleone said. “It really shows there is a thirst in our community to hear these different kinds of stories from different kinds of people.”
If you are interested in attending this free event, you do not have to pay for parking or zoo admission. Park in the Anthony Wayne Trail parking lot and let the Main Gate know you are attending SALUTE Storytellers. Volunteers will then direct you to the Malawi Center.
For more information on SALUTE Storytellers and more Disability Pride Month events, go to lucasdd.org.
