#confidentvoices

[sayconfidentvoices]

As we head into Week 5 of our Confident Voices programming, we are proud to share this exceptional poem collaboratively written by The Song & Spoken Word Project participants in celebration of International Stuttering Awareness Day.

What Stuttering is

Stuttering, it's not messed up words it's...

Hard work

Expressing yourself

Trying your best

Interesting to experience

Sometimes it feels weird

You can't get your words out

Other people won't give you time

It's just around you

It's there, and it might be a friend, or a foe

For everyone it's different

But for you, it's unique

There are lots of ways to share the #ISAD spirit and spread stuttering awareness all year long. Visit say.org/isad2022 to check out some of our ideas...and feel free to let us know some of yours!

[caffeinedwriter-blog]

💥The day I die💥 original como prometi @huevostone21 💜 espero q les guste!!! . . . . . . . . . . . . #cover #topvoices #topvocals #hotvocals #guitar #singing #mmvoices #musician #musicallymotivated @musicallymotivated #gameofsongs #singersallaroundtheglobe @singersallaroundtheglobe #ukelele #singersspotlight #gameofsongs @gameofsongs #wowmusicians @wowmusicians @firedvocal #topvocalist @topvocalist #theopenmicapp @theopenmicapp @dailysingoff #dailysingoff #worthyartist #starsuncovered @booost_music #confidentvoices @confidentvoice.s @precioussingers #precioussingers

[sayconfidentvoices]

Safe. Advocacy. Home. Warm. Amazing. Family. SAY!

Just a few of the words from our awesome kids and teens who stutter during the 'One-Word Share' that closed our Central Park Hang last weekend. What a joy to get together and (safely!) connect IN PERSON with our Confident Voices families, Teaching Artists, and staff! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to all who came out for this beautiful day of SAY family fun!

To our broader Confident Voices community, we're coming for ya! Don't forget that Confident Voices Online: Fall Project starts on THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14TH, and we are PUMPED!

Enrollment is OPEN so visit say.org/confidentvoicesonline-fallproject NOW to get in on the fun!

[sayconfidentvoices]

SAY's Confident Voices 2021 Graduation Ceremony is TONIGHT and YOU'RE INVITED! We are excited and so very proud to celebrate our eighteen-member 2021 Graduating Class:

Jeremiah Ampudia | Samuel Boyd | Sam Carroll | Tereza Catalano | Clare Cunningham | Josh Dunford | Josh Hanks | Derick Konan | Julian Lopez | Lexi Loss | Autumn Novella | Jared Pagan | Evan Pollac | Erikson Rutkis | Daniella Sapone | Erick Sowers | Michael Ventrice | Kianna Villanueva

This momentous occasion will include: 🎓 The Director’s Honoring Ceremony 🎓 The debut of the SAY Scroll featuring wisdom & advice to young people who stutter from our remarkable grads! 🎓 Special surprises!

ALL ARE WELCOME to join the fun TONIGHT at 6:30 PM on Zoom! Visit our Event Page or say.org/programs/confidentvoices to get your Zoom link and password.

Don't miss this grand finale of SAY's GRADUATION WEEK CELEBRATION! See you there!

[sayconfidentvoices]

We are proud and so excited to bring you highlights from The Mentor Project's Virtual Final Shares last weekend! Over 8 weeks, our Confident Voices groups connected on Zoom to collaborate with adult mentors who stutter and teaching artists to create multi-faceted presentations that express what is on their minds and in their hearts. We enjoyed comedy, poetry, puppetry, music, mixed media, illustrations, spoken word, improv, and SO MUCH imagination in every performance! HUGE thanks to our phenomenal mentors and teaching artists for your dedication, passion, support, and for helping our remarkable kids and teens shine. And to our magnificent young people who stutter, THANK YOU for inspiring us with your creativity, camaraderie, bravery, and most of all your beautiful voices. Never forget that you are SEEN, you are HEARD, and you are LOVED. ❤️ Learn more at say.org/mentor-project!

[sayconfidentvoices]

Last week's Live Reading Events celebrating SAY's inaugural Confident Voices graduate program, The Paperback Project, were nothing short of MAGIC!

13 of our programming graduates spent 5 months pouring their hearts and imaginations into original PAPERBACK BOOKS, which are now being professionally bound and printed by SAY! The care, creativity, and hard work that went into these remarkable books are simply astounding, and we were so lucky to experience them together through each authors' perspective at our 2 Live Reading Events on Zoom:

Reading #1: Thursday, July 8, 2021

Samuel Boyd ⭐ Sam Carroll ⭐ Lexi Loss ⭐ Erikson Rutkis ⭐ Erick Sowers ⭐ Michael Ventrice ⭐ Kianna Villanueva

Reading #2: Friday, July 9, 2021

Tereza Catalano ⭐ Clare Cunningham ⭐ Josh Dunford ⭐ Derick Konan ⭐ Jared Pagan ⭐ Daniella Sapone

We can't thank our Paperback Project authors enough for so generously sharing their work with us and for kicking off our Graduation Week Celebration in such a truly special way. Don't forget to join us on Zoom for SAY's 2021 Confident Voices Graduation Ceremony THIS Friday, July 9, 2021, and 6:30 PM. ALL ARE WELCOME!

[sayconfidentvoices]

A VERY special guest joined us at Confident Voices programming last weekend! Our friend, the incredible author, poet, and person who stutters, Jordan Scott, stopped by The Spoken Word Project!

Jordan treated us to a performance of 'Two Cheeseburgers, French Fries and a Coke' from his extraordinary book, "blert", answered questions from our participants, and introduced us to Erasure Poetry, which inspired this week's programming. Using text from Jordan's book, "I Talk Like A River," participants created some incredible Erasure Poems of their own!

Thank you so much for spending some time with Confident Voices, Jordan, and for bringing your wisdom and friendship to The Spoken Word Project! We loved having you!

[sayconfidentvoices]

A VERY special guest joined us at Confident Voices programming last weekend! Our friend, the incredible author, poet, and person who stutters, Jordan Scott, stopped by The Spoken Word Project!

Jordan treated us to a performance of 'Two Cheeseburgers, French Fries and a Coke' from his extraordinary book, "blert", answered questions from our participants, and introduced us to Erasure Poetry, which inspired this week's programming. Using text from Jordan's book, "I Talk Like A River," participants created some incredible Erasure Poems of their own!

Thank you so much for spending some time with Confident Voices, Jordan, and for bringing your wisdom and friendship to The Spoken Word Project! We loved having you!

[sayconfidentvoices]

We are excited to bring you some beautiful scenes from the last weeks of SAY's Confident Voices Fall program, The Storytelling Project! 

This weekend, our amazing Confident Voices participants and their families will gather in the Zoomisphere for our much-anticipated FINAL SHARE!  We can't wait to experience the fabulous stories these young artists created together during our 11-week flagship program! The imagination, cooperation, depth, playfulness, and heart that these phenomenal kids and teens who stutter brought to The Storytelling Project every week is truly inspirational.

To find out what's in store for the rest of our Confident Voices 2021 programming year, visit say.org/programs/confidentvoices.

[sayconfidentvoices]

Notice anything different about these Confident Voices Storytelling Project participants?  

That's right, they received our Storytelling Boxes have, including some super cool animal masks!  We have been amazed and enthralled to 'bear' witness to the imaginative, powerful, and wonderful tales & characters developed in the Storytelling Project so far!

We can't wait to watch these incredible storytellers showcase their work for family & friends when our program culminates in a Virtual Share, coming up om January 16 & 17, 2021!

To learn more about SAY's Confident Voices programs, visit say.org/programs/confidentvoices.

[sayconfidentvoices]

SAY's Confident Voices kept the ISAD 2020 celebration going all the way through Week 3 of The Storytelling Project! 

Each group worked together to create posters using the theme 'WHAT WE WISH THE WORLD KNEW ABOUT STUTTERING'. A small sample of their very wise words:

"Stuttering is not something that needs to be fixed"

"Achieving fluency does not equal success"

"We are just like you, it just takes us time to speak"

"Please don't finish my sentences"

"Give us patience and listen"

"You should get to know someone who stutters - they're awesome!"

We are so proud of these remarkable kids and teens who stutter and totally inspired by the collaboration, creativity, and giant sense of fun they each bring to The Storytelling Project! To learn more about Confident Voices and what's new for our 2020/2021 programming year visit say.org/programs/confidentvoices.

[sayconfidentvoices]

Very excited to share a few scenes from Week 2 of SAY's Confident Voices Fall program, The Storytelling Project! 

What a joy to watch these amazing groups of kids and teens who stutter work together and support each other as they bring their imaginations to life! So much more creativity, friendship, and FUN is going on at The Storytelling Project!

For updates and information about The Storytelling Project and our entire 2020/2021 NYC Confident Voices season, visit say.org/programs/confidentvoices!

[sayconfidentvoices]

SAY's Confident Voices 2020/2021 programming season began with the launch of our ALL-NEW Fall program THE STORYTELLING PROJECT!

So exciting to welcome an awesome group of kids and teens who stutter to the Zoomisphere for this inspiring new program and to experience the stories they shared! Here's to a wonderful season of connection, collaboration, and FUN! 

Visit say.org/programs/confidentvoices to learn more about The Storytelling Project and to see what's in store for the NYC Confident Voices 2020/2021 programming year!

[sayconfidentvoices]

SAY: Confident Voices is BACK and stronger than ever!

Earlier this Fall, SAY was overjoyed to announce the launch of our NYC Confident Voices 2020/2021 Programming Season! Our exciting new interactive programs have been tailored to integrate with the current digital landscape and meet the evolving needs of our incredible young people who stutter.

We were thrilled to embark on a fresh season of connection, collaboration, and fun! The schedule for our progrmming year is as follows:

- Fall 2020 - The Storytelling Project: Started October 8, 2020

- Winter 2021 - The Spoken Word Project: Starts February 4, 2021

- Spring 2021 - The Mentor Project: Starts April 29, 2021

To protect the health and safety of our amazing SAY community, all 2020/2021 NYC Confident Voices programming will take place via Zoom Video Conferencing. We can’t wait to see the beautiful art our kids and teens will create together in this safe space of friendship and encouragement, where everyone always has as much time as they need to speak.

Welcome to SAY: Confident Voices 2020/2021!!!

#confidentvoices

#SAY

#stuttering

#stutter

#TheStorytellingProject TheSpokenWordProject TheMentorProject

[sayconfidentvoices]

Songwriting Project Performance @ Joe’s Pub, NYC - January 19, 2020

[sayconfidentvoices]

As the grand finale to SAY’s Confident Voices 2021/2022 programming year, we are honored to give a special shoutout to the diligent and dauntless authors from The Paperback Project - Isabella Lashley, Antonio Otero & Reuben Polanco!

Three of our 2022 grads spent months pouring their hearts and imaginations into original paperback books, which were professionally bound and printed by SAY.  The authors’ incredible works pay homage to the creativity and power of people who stutter by responding to the question, “What is the story only you can tell?”

We were so lucky to experience these remarkable books at the Live Readings during our 2022 Graduation Celebration! Many thanks to our paperback writers for sharing their astounding work with us. All of the books from The Paperback Project 2022 (and 2021!) are now available for your reading pleasure at say.org/thepaperbackproject. Enjoy!