An inspiring onstage message of hope and encouragement for bullied LGBT youth has made a stop in Philadelphia for a weeklong celebration.
The “It Gets Better” project is in the midst of a weeklong residency at the Kimmel Center that will culminate in the onstage version of the internationally known message of hope, which is based on the viral YouTube effort of the same name. The public show will be held 7:30 p.m. Nov. 8 at Kimmel’s Perelman Theater.
The project started as one YouTube video by Dan Savage and Terry Miller in which they shared their stories of being bullied in high school because they were gay, with the simple yet powerful message that “it gets better.”
The video grew into a viral international phenomenon, with more than 50,000 people sharing their stories. The effort has since evolved into a nonprofit dedicated to sharing the message with the world.
The stage version of the project was written and directed by Speak Theater Arts’ Liesel Reinhart and features the music of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles.
However, the Philly version of the production will feature a 125-member local community choir comprised of singers from the Philadelphia Gay Man’s Chorus, Sister Cities, Voices of Pride, Rainbow Chorale of Delaware and the Anna Crusis Women’s Choir.
As part of the residency, there were also a number of free events earlier in the week.
Jay Wahl, artistic director for the Kimmel Center, described the week of activities as “the main part of the whole event, the culmination of which is the performance onstage.”
A youth-led panel discussion hosted by the Pennsylvania Student Equality Coalition took place Nov. 4, and also that night students from University of the Arts presented their original works, inspired by the theme “It Gets Better.”
The following evening, there was an open house featuring information- and resource-sharing from local LGBT organizations, health providers, parent-teacher organizations, meet-up groups, anti-bullying organizations and more.
Education, Wahl said, is key in the effort.
“We are going into these schools and parent organizations. We are aiming for a specific message, rather then a broad one. ‘It gets better’ is half the battle,” Wahl said. “The other half is educating the people who witness it, but don’t do anything. We want to let people know that even if they are not in a dark place, the resources are there for them to help those that are.”
Wahl pointed to state Rep. Brian Sims (D-181st Dist.) as the driving force behind promoting the event.
“Brian has been crucial in helping spread the word and raising awareness of the event and of the challenges LGBT youth face,” he said.
For Sims, the project resonates on a personal level.
“My parents were lieutenant colonels in the Army. We were moving all the time, and I was always the new kid in my school. While I was not bullied — I was a pretty big, tall kid — I was very aware of it around me,” Sims said.
When Sims learned that Kimmel was interested in being a hub for anti-bullying education, and would be fully supportive of the initiative, he said “it was easy to get the community behind it. It grew very organically in that way.”
Beyond the message of hope the project promotes, Sims hopes word will spread outside of Philly.
“Philly is the most LGBT-friendly city in the country,” Sims said, referring to a Human Rights Campaign report that ranked cities according to LGBT-inclusive policies and programs. Philadelphia received the top score, but Sims noted, “We are literally an island in a state that otherwise does not support us.”
“If people in their town do not feel comfortable, they can come to Philly,” Sims added. “We want you. If you are an LGBT person in Pennsylvania and do not feel respected or comfortable, come to Philadelphia — this is a place where it gets better.”
Tickets for the live concert experience are available for $21 and can be purchased by calling 215-893-1999, online at kimmelcenter.org or at the Kimmel Center box office.