Don’t forget to RSVP to attend our holiday party! It will be on Saturday, December 5th at Dave and Buster’s in Philadelphia. You can find all the details in our Events page at: http://www.nsachapters.org/philadelphia/event/nsa-holiday-party/
The meeting at La Salle on August 17 had two attendees, Mitch and Catherine. They had a nice chat about how they have dealing with stuttering and their goals.
At the September 3rd meeting in Bala Cynwyd we were four people, including two newcomers, Nissar and Beth. This was also Richard’s second meeting.
Beth is a speech language pathologist and has interest in stuttering. She would like to participate and learn from our group.
We talked about advertising and how everyone does it in different situations. For Richard, advertising is about creating a stutter-free environment for himself. It is about himself and about removing his own fear. Making the listeners more comfortable is a secondary benefit.
I talked about how I have been advertising more recently and how I use “crutches” to do it. Usually I use something related to stuttering such as my involvement with the NSA chapter, the play we will be performing soon, or even a movie like “The King’s Speech”.
We talked about movies regarding stuttering. Nissar mentioned “Rocket Science”, which I had not heard about. Did anyone see it? Please send your comments.
We were four people at this meeting. Richard, a student at St Joseph’s University, joined us for the first time. Richard recently completed a refresher of the SSMP (Successful Sttutering Management Program) which focuses on stuttering modification, and managing our own stuttering. We had a nice discussion about other types of programs out there.
Jim talked about confronting situations that could be challenging as a person who stutters. He forces himself to take on those situations to keep in practice. This is not something that will work for everyone and some people are reluctant to do it not because they don’t want to, but because it might not be the right solution for them.
I brought up my recent emails and conversations with Diuedonne Nsabimana from the African Stuttering Institute in Rwanda. Mitch said that when he was with the Louisiana NSA they raised money to buy computers and ship them to Africa.
I have not reported any updates regarding our play for the last few months and there is a lot to tell. It’s called Alzheimer’s – The Musical, a one-act play by Todd Cardin. It is a musical comedy produced by Actor’s International, Katherine Filer’s group that works to provide the opportunity to act for people with any type of disability.
From March through May we met once a week over the phone to read the script and start memorizing our lines. Rehearsals started in June at Plays and Players Theater in Philadelphia, where we will be performing.
This is my first experience doing theater and so far it has exceeded all my expectations. We are acting, dancing and singing! Scenes change quickly just by moving differently on stage, or changing the intonation of what you are saying. From the stuttering point of view, I am discovering how my fluency changes from one scene to the next, or even on the same scene after several repetitions. There are times that I get anxious as the live date approaches, but I find that a lot of rehearsal helps a lot to increase my level of confidence.
The cast are members of our chapter: Marissa Moscheta, Bill Collins, Alan Cohen, Mitch Trichon and myself. A lot of great people are donating their time and experience to help us prepare for this. Dom Olivastro, Lucy Reed and Katherine Filer from the South Jersey chapter are helping us with script rehearsals, filling in for the other actors when needed and many other tasks. Jerry Puma, a professional actor, plays one of the characters and we are learning a lot from him. We have a costume designer, Michele Marg, that will help us look fabulous. Live music is provided by Mark Pasquini, who is working his magic to make our songs sound terrific. And our director, Bill McKinlay, who is very patient with us and has great ideas to make us all shine.
Part of the proceeds will be donated to the Alzheimer’s Association and the National Stuttering Association. We just kicked off the ticket sales and fundraising campaign. You can purchase tickets ($20 ea.) and/or make a donation by going to the Kickstarter site:
On the site, click on “Back This Project”. Select the type of pledge you want and then enter the amount. For example to get two tickets only, select the “$20 or more” pledge for the day you want and enter $40. Let me know if you have any problems navigating through this. The theatre is small, about 60 seats, and they are not numbered; every seat is a good seat. The shows will sell out once the Fringe Festival starts selling tickets in mid-August. Get yours now!
Below is our schedule. Check the details on our Events page
The running time is 75 minutes, with a 30 minute talk back with the cast immediately following.
There will be two additional performances in October, but they have not been confirmed yet. One at the same location in Philly and another at the Producers Club in New York City, 2 blocks from Time Square. Tickets are not for sale for those yet, but let me know if you are interested.
We are adding La Salle University as a location for one of our regular meetings. We are unique in that we have two meetings a month, while most chapters have only one monthly meeting. Having two monthly meetings offers our members more opportunities and we feel it’s best to vary the time and location of the meetings to appeal to others in the Philadelphia area who can’t make it on Thursday night or to Bala Cynwyd. We decided that La Salle University was a great place to have one of our two monthly meetings, based on our past relationship with them and Mitch’s current affiliation with them. We believe it will provide the chapter with greater exposure to help more people.
The first meeting of the month will continue to meet on the 1st THURSDAY of the month at the Bala Cynwyd Library, while the meetings at La Salle University will be on the 3rdTUESDAY of the month. Note that due to the National Conference, we will not meet on July 2nd. All meetings will be from 7:00 PM to 8:45 PM.
Meetings at La Salle University will be held at St Benilde Tower, Room 2002. Our first meeting will be next week on June 16 from 7:00 to 8:45 PM. Be there for this historic meeting. Below are the details:
La Salle University
1900 West Olney Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19141
St. Benilde Tower is located on Wister Street between Bellefield and Olney Avenues. Those who attend should park in the “K” Lot. Parking is free. If you are given a parking ticket by mistake, please contact Mitch Trichon at trichon@lasalle.edu.
Please check our Events calendar for up to date information regarding meeting dates, times and locations. As usual, we will also send reminders of each meeting several days before.
We hope to see you at our new location soon!
I am excited to announce that Mitchell Trichon joined me as a Chapter Co-leader earlier this year. Mitch moved to Philadelphia to join the Communication Sciences and Disorders Department at La Salle University. He is a long-time member of the NSA. As a member of the Board of Directors he led the national network of adult chapters. He has also previously led 3 different chapters and was recognized as Chapter Leader of the Year in 2008. Mitch’s research focuses on self-help activities for people who stutter which led him to co-found Stutter Social, on online community of people who stutter that hosts support groups via webcams. He is a person who stutters and a clinician that is eager to contribute to our chapter’s growth and evolution.
Mitch and I share the same vision of what we would like our chapter to become, he has lots of ideas and resources that will help us get there. In fact, he has already been very active during the last few months with a few projects he will tell you about himself. I am very happy to work with Mitch in promoting our chapter, reaching out to other people that stutter in our area and providing the help and support they need.
Please help me welcome Mitch to our chapter!
Carmen