Kelly DuMar

Yes, You Can Write A Monologue for the Stage with Kelly DuMar

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Here are the first five things I explain to writers who join my monologue play lab:

  1. Your character may be inspired by you, but she is not you.
  2. These monologues are not true stories told live without notes, like The Moth––your monologue will not be performed by you. It will be performed by an actor.
  3. Your stories matter, and we will support each other to craft meaningful, powerful short monologues from your rough drafts and revisions––whether or not you have experience writing for the stage.
  4. Our showcase will entertain, move, enlighten and inspire our audience.
  5. Our showcase will help you see how your script is working, and whether or not you will make more changes for future production or publication.

The playwright Sarah Ruhl expresses beautifully the desire we bring to our seats in the theater before the curtain rises: “the theater is one of the few places left in the bright and noisy world where we sit in the quiet dark together, to be awake.”

Teaching Play Labs for writing stage monologues lets me pass on my passion for theatrical experiences to writers of all backgrounds. The form of monologue I teach is specific to theater––whether it’s happening on a real-life stage or a Zoom set. Stage monologues are not storytelling, like the Moth––true stories told live without notes. The playwright is not the “I” of stage monologues. The writer creates a character for the stage who is not her, but might be inspired by her life.

In theater, we embrace the what if of enchantment. We suspend our disbelief so we can be we involved in the spectacle. “The more you go to a theatre,” the playwright Lynn Nottage says, “the more you hear stories you aren’t necessarily familiar with, the more open you become.“

In writing monologues for the stage, a story begins as words on the page. The next stage of development is to have the monologue performed by an actor in front of an audience. In this monologue showcase, class participants who have been developing monologues over six weeks have the chance to see their writing performed by an actor for an audience so they can see, hear and feel how well their script is working, and discover whether or not revisions are needed.

As Maya Angelou says, “Our stories come from our lives and from the playwright’s pen, the mind of the actor, the roles we create, the artistry of life itself and the quest for peace.” In fact, a quest is what all of writers in my play labs experience. Each writer is on a quest for something vital and necessary. Let me give you a sense of how the entirety of a showcase becomes a chorus of voices of distinct characters, by offering one line from each monologue from my last showcase’s plays:

I have sought peace from the moment I first knew violence. It was August 3, 1960. I was slapped on my Black behind by a white man in a white mask while naked and wet, from the placenta you created for me to live inside your body.

Mother nature has taught me that a woman’s body sure has some power. 

I didn’t come here to talk, or hear you defend yourself.  I’m not letting you off the hook.

I was stunned. I never saw that coming. But boy did I act – I swung my backpack at him and got out of there as fast as I could.

Because I did what you said. I took a risk. I went where you told me to go last night.

I’m not sure I can do this! What if I forget everything I practiced?

But can I be honest?

Okay. I’m ready.

I hope you will join me in my next six-week Play Lab experience hosted by the Transformative Language Arts Network online. The Play Lab includes five weekly live Zoom webinars with me and guest actors, culminating in a showcase on Zoom, free and open to all where your monologue will be performed by actors. Register here and learn more: About Your Memoir as Monologue – with Showcase: Writing Monologues for Healing and Transformation // with Kelly DuMar.

About the Teacher

Kelly DuMar, M.Ed. is a poet, playwright, and workshop leader who generates enlivening writing experiences for new and experienced writers. Author of four poetry collections, Kelly’s poems, photos and essays are published in many literary journals. Kelly is also author of Before You Forget— The Wisdom of Writing Diaries for Your Children. Her award-winning plays have been produced around the US and Canada, and are published by dramatic publishers. She founded and produced the Our Voices Festival of Women Playwrights at Wellesley College for twelve years, and she is a past president of Playwright’s Platform, Boston. For the past seven years, Kelly has led the week-long Play Lab Intensive at the annual conference of the International Women’s Writing Guild. Kelly is a certified psychodramatist, former psychotherapist, and Fellow in the American Society for Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama. Kelly hosts the monthly Open Mic with Featured Author for the Journal of Expressive Writing. You can learn more about Kelly, at www.kellydumar.com.

15 Reasons to Attend the Power of Words Conference

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Renew and recharge yourself at the vibrant 18th Power of Words Conference Nov. 11! Here are 15 reasons to attend — crowdsourced from the TLAN board. Here’s 15 reasons to join us. Leap in now because our early bird rate flies away after Oct. 1:

  1. You never know where inspiration shows up and you want to be there when it does.
  2. “I have enough words… poetry… art,” said no one ever.
  3. Experience the healing balm that travels through community and connection.
  4. Discover the artist you didn’t know you were in love with, including the artist inside you.
  5. All the cool kids are going. Also, none of the cool kids are going.
  6. Writing out your emotions protects your body against stress and lifts your spirit.
  7. You’ve got questions… we’ve got… words. Lots of them!
  8. Connect with others who share your passion!
  9. One little change to a word and you have a whole new world. See what I did there? Come explore.
  10. Find signs of awe and wonder in your journal and with others.
  11. Immerse yourself in a diversity of voices and perspective.
  12. Get ideas, get inspired, and see things in a new way.
  13. Something magical happens when creative people gather together.
  14. Experience a visionary lineup of wordsmiths, change-makers, and artists, all in one conference, from the comfort of your home.
  15. You don’t know what you don’t know unless you go.

P.S. Our conference is amazingly affordable and includes special rates for students and people on limited incomes. Check out our affordable ticket prices!

Conference at a Glance

Conference is listed in U.S. Central Time. We will soon have a link for the conference in other U.S. and international time zones. Or click here for a time zone translator.

6-7 a.m. CT– Early Birds or Night Owls Reading (especially for international attendees)

10-11 a.m. CT -– Welcome and Talking Circles: Welcome and breakout rooms for talking circles for people to get to know each other. 

11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. CT — Choose from 5 concurrent workshops 

  1. Using TLA to Create & Deepen Your Family Archive– Amanda Lacson
  2. Designing Transformative Multidisciplinary Projects with Collaboration at the Core – Akwi Nji
  3. Writing the Extraordinary Details of our Ordinary Lives – Jen Harris 
  4. Mindful Writing: Gratitude, the other side of Grief  – Marianela Medrano
  5. Flash Fiction: Exploring the Senses,  Emotional Resonance and the Path to Healing – Riham Adley

1-2 p.m. CT – TLA in the World: Transforming Communities Through the Power of Words: Panel Discussion

  • Sydney Fowler, writer, authenticity reader, Faculty and Community Engagement Coordinator at Lighthouse Writers Workshop
  • David Kopacz, physician, author, artist
  • Vanita Leatherwood, poet/artist and social change educator, director of Community Engagement at HopeWorks 
  • Alec Esperanza, Executive Director of Ozo CommUNITY PLUS, educator and activist
  • Fiona Bolger, writer, mentor, and international facilitator
  • Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg, Moderator, founder of TLA

2:30-3:30 p.m. CT – Choose from 5 concurrent workshop

  1. My Body is Not a Battlefield: Illness, Body, and the Use of Metaphor — Angie Ebba
  2. What Is It You Need to Say?: Time, Space, and Tools to Write Your Truth —  Fiona Bolger
  3. The Big Picture of Your TLA Livelihood and Life – Kathryn Lorenzen & Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg
  4. Writing Into the Contradictions: Juxtaposing Images for Deeper Understanding – Ben Weakley
  5. From Memoir to Monologue – Kelly DuMar

5-6 p.m. CT – Coffeehouse of Wonder Open Mics: Share your writing, music, spoken word, drama, or other forms of word arts. You’ll be able to sign up for a slot, and because we’ll have several break-out rooms, all conference attendees are welcome.

7:30-9:30 CT – Keynote Performances and Closing: A Celebration of Poetry, the Spoken Word, Music & Storytelling

  • Kevin Willmott, Oscar-winning filmmaker and writer (for KKKlansman) on filmmaking the power of the stories we tell.
  • Ada Cheng, storyteller and change-maker
  • Glenn North, poet, spoken word artist, activist
  • Joy Zimmerman and Erin McGrane, music and the spoken word
  • Akwi Nji, spoken word poet, artist, and musician
  • David Romtvedt, poet laureate emeritus of Wyoming and accordionist/singer
  • Closing ceremony

12 a.m. CT – Night Owls or Early Birds Reading (especially for international attendees)

Bonus Performances & Extras

Wait, there’s more! You also receive:

  • Bonus recordings of amazing performers and writers speaking, singing, or reading just for you (each recording will be 10-15 minutes): 
    • Kelley Hunt performing original songs co-written with Caryn Mirriam-Goldberg, who will also share poems
    • Gregg Levoy, best-selling author of Callings and Vital Signs, on listening to and following our callings
    • Kathryn Lorenzen, singer-songwriter sharing original music
    • Seema Reza, CEO of Community Building Arts Work and author of A Constellation of Half-Lives and When the World Breaks Open.
  • A bundle of recordings from the conference, including Open Mics, Keynote Performances, Panel Discussion, and more.
  • A library of handouts from conference workshops.
  • A $20 coupon toward a TLAN class you enroll in before May 31st, 2024.

Register for the Conference

Session Descriptions

Be A Power of Words Conference Sponsor

Erasure Poetry As An Act of Discovery & Transformation — By Kelly DuMar

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I am in the midst of a poetry book launch right now, sharing my writing with audiences. It’s a vulnerable, nerve-wracking, and often satisfying emotional experience. And, just like every other stage of the writing process, there is healing and transformation. My published book is giving back to me in an entirely new way.

jinx and heavenly calling––I poached a portion of my mother’s love letters to my father, 1953-1954, my fourth poetry collection, was published in March by Lily Poetry Review Books. As I give readings to audiences and answer interview questions, I’m discovering that writing these poems has fulfilled an unconscious need.

In the late stage of my mother’s life, her late sixties and seventies, she wasn’t particularly well or happy. She struggled with a number of physical and some psychological ailments that made it challenging to care for her. Dementia and COPD made her mood very low and changed her personality. She lost her innate cheerfulness. She was in chronic discomfort and dissatisfaction that we could not solve, as much as we wanted to, as much as we tried. She wasn’t able to keep herself safe or well cared for and we worried about her constantly, and felt helpless much of the time. When my mother aged, we lost her. When she died, we lost her twice.

So, when I found the letters she wrote to my father at such a gorgeous and promising time of her life, aged 26, falling in love with the love of her life, I felt as though I were meeting my true mother for the very first time. Here was the woman I wanted to spend time with.

Her letters were sent to my father during their courtship, from 1953-1954, starting with their first date, and ending soon after they married. Some of the letters were loose––many of them still had their envelopes with canceled stamps so that I could see the exact date the letter went through the post office. Awestruck by this gold mine, I immediately began reading them. First, I did my best to put them in order by date or by weather suggesting a season, or a mention of a holiday. Touching the stiff paper she wrote on with my fingers––moving my fingers over ink from her pen––was a delicious tactile experience.

My mother had lovely handwriting, and I easily recognized it as belonging to her and her alone.  But who was she? This young woman falling in love with the man who would become my father, years before I was born. This woman who wrote, playfully, to the man who fathered me, “You’re just too much for me, I guess,” after spending a weekend with him in Cambridge.

The project I began, erasing her letters to make poems that I published in the collection, was my way of having a whole new phase of relationship with my mother. One that, as a poet, and a daughter, has been entirely fulfilling to me. As a daughter who knows the end of the story––a marriage that endured just over fifty years––I was fascinated to have such a direct encounter with the origin story of their relationship, because, of course, it’s my origin story too. Without the exchange of their letters I would never have been born.

As a daughter, I was personally fascinated, and often surprised, by the emotional narrative of their courtship––its ordinary extraordinariness. As a poet, I was intrigued by the universal story of what Amy Lowell calls, the want of you, in her poem, “The Letter””

I am tired, Beloved, of chafing my heart against
The want of you;
Of squeezing it into little inkdrops,
And posting it.

My mother’s letters document falling in love in a long-distance relationship, and all the risk, beauty and catastrophe of this archetypal journey. Following in the footsteps of the poet Mary Reufle’s work in erasure, I decided to erase the letters and create poetic experiences of each letter, which is presented on a palimpsest, or background, of some visual aspect of the original letter. My publisher, Eileen Cleary, as dubbed them “epistolary erasures.” 

Now that jinx and heavenly calling is alive in the world, I have a whole new found phase of relationship with my mother, and she isn’t gone. As I share my book with the world, she’s with me every day, very much alive in my creative life. I feel closer than I ever have to the mother she was––and deeply interested in the woman I uncovered.

How Pictures Heal: Writing From Your Photo Stream by Kelly DuMar

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One of the many writing prompts I use in my How Pictures Heal workshops is to have participants write a three-sentence story sparked by a personal photo. A lot of wisdom, emotion and beauty can be expressed in three sentences:

  1. Fractured or whole, I am a bowl.
  1. My body contains who I am, how I have lived, my scars, my wrinkles and beauty marks.
  1. Fractured or whole, my spirit is a bowl containing the airy remarkable essence of my unique wholeness.

Here’s how one participant answered a three-sentence prompt from the question “What resistance did you overcome to get here to the workshop?”

  1. I am getting out of my comfort zone and exploring my love of words.
  2. I am overcoming the story I have said to myself––that writing is only for intelligent people and no one would be interested in what I have to say.
  3. I am feeling empowered and creative. I am exposing the ways I have been small for other people’s comfort.

Here’s something exciting I hear in all my photo-inspired creative writing workshops:

When I first saw my photo, I never imagined I would write what ended up on the page.

Writers I work with are experiencing the power of making imaginative leaps from their personal photos that allow them to express a meaningful story hidden beneath the surface of a photo.

One young man wrote from a photo of himself and his brother as a child posing in the arms of their mother for the camera. As soon as he began writing from the photo, he realized he’d never thought about who had taken the photo. Then, he realized it was the last family photo his father had taken before leaving the family. His poem germinated from with this awakening. He said:

I was able to use what I learned in class to not only write something I’m proud of, but to process and communicate emotional difficulties I hadn’t been able to find words for in years.

My workshops are inspired by the words of Jane Hirshfield in her essay, “Poetry, Permeability and Healing”:

Among the fracturings of the psyche, powerlessness and invis­ibility are not minimal things. But a person who can ask words to do things words have not done before is not powerless. To make phrases that increase what is possible to think and feel is both exhilaration and liberation. To expand reality is to counter despair, depression, and impotence.

Personal photos and expressive writing are a dynamic combination for TLA artists and writers. Your pictures hold the stories only you can write. Writing is an act of creation that puts your spirit, your mind, your mood, in transit as your pen takes you where you have been and where you have never been before.

Another writer in my How Pictures Heal workshop asked me a great question about the “magic” of how this creative writing and healing process works:

It seems to me that something quite magic happens in this work in terms of moving the mind into a positive space.  What do you think happens in the process of writing about photos and memory, Kelly, that affords this shift?

Well, let’s agree that it is mysterious. But I think it has to do with engaging our imagination, suspending our disbelief, being willing to see what’s real and remembered–– the facts of the photo and the specifics of memory––and then leap or drop into what we know that we don’t know we know. As the iconic depth psychologist, journal writer and Intensive Journal founder, Ira Progroff said:

When our attention is focused inwardly at the depth of our inner being, in the context of the wholeness of our life, resources for a profound knowledge of life become accessible to us.
Writing from our personal photos provides a quickening of spirit, an entrance into our imagination, a transit into what brings meaning, purpose, beauty, and healing into our lives. Writing from our photos is an act of transforming feelings of powerlessness into power, invisibility into visibility.

My photo-inspired writing workshops are:

  • Safe places
  • Non-judgmental experiences
  • Creative spaces for exploration self-expression
  • All levels of writing are welcome
  • All genres of writing are supported

How we will work together:

Our online webinar experience is writing-generative. We’ll meet, personally, live online in a weekly 90-minute Zoom videoconference. Additionally, each week will consist of a “Lesson” sent via e-mail for you to download that includes content designed to spark personal reflection on healing aspects of your personal photos as well as a transformative writing prompt.

Each week, you will receive insightful feedback on your writing from Kelly, and others in the group. We’ll also meet ON ZOOM in the following combinations to give those who need day versus night options. ALL ZOOM SESSIONS WILL BE RECORDED

TUES April 18, 12:30-2:00 p.m. ET

WED April 26, 7-8:30 p.m. ET

TUES May 3, 12:30-2:00 p.m. ET

TUES May 9, 12:30-2:00 p.m. ET

WED May 17, 7-8:30 p.m. ET

TUES May 23,  7-8:30 p.m. ET

I hope you’ll consider moving toward healing from your personal photos in your creative writing practice with me. You can register here.

ABOUT KELLY DUMAR

Kelly DuMar, M.Ed. is a poet, playwright, and engaging workshop leader who generates enlivening writing experiences for new and experienced writers. Her photo-inspired creative writing method elicits profound personal awakenings, deepens connection with others, and fosters beautifully crafted writing in poetry and prose. Kelly’s fourth poetry collection, “jinx and heavenly calling,” was published in March 2023 by Lily Poetry Review Books. Kelly is also author of Before You Forget—The Wisdom of Writing Diaries for Your Children. Kelly’s award-winning plays have been produced around the US and Canada, and are published by dramatic publishers. Kelly is a certified psychodramatist, former psychotherapist, and Fellow in the American Society for Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama. She teaches online for TLAN and the International Women’s Writing Guild, where she leads the Annual Summer Play Lab and more. Kelly also hosts the monthly Journal of Expressive Writing Open Mic with feature. Kelly inspires readers of #NewThisDay – her daily photo-inspired blog – with her mindful reflections on a writing life. You can learn more about Kelly, at www.kellydumar.com.

Join Us for an Evening of Transformative Monologues!

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Presenting a showcase of recent work created by Kelly DuMar’s TLA Network class, Your Memoir as Monologue.  We hope you will join us tomorrow, Wednesday, October 12, 2022, from 7-8:30PM EST.

In writing monologues for the stage, a story begins as words on the page. The next stage of development is to have the monologue performed by an actor in front of an audience. In this monologue showcase, class participants who have been developing monologues over six weeks will have the chance to see their writing performed by an actor for an audience––you.

Stella Adler called theater the “seeing place”––the place we come to see the truth about our lives and social situation. Oscar Wilde called theater “the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.” And August Wilson was, “fascinated by the idea of an audience as a community of people who gather willingly to bear witness.” We invite you, our audience, to share in making dynamic theater with us, by being present for this showcase of brand new stage monologues. This intimate and powerful experience will present writing by class participants––read by actors––is part of the critical page-to-stage development process that all new plays need. Please join us, and share the vitality of your presence and your witness as our much-appreciated audience.

The show is free and open to the public – although donations are always welcome! – and will take place via the online video conferencing platform Zoom. A link to the show will be sent out the day of the event.


About the Director
Kelly DuMar, M.Ed. 
 is a poet, playwright, and workshop leader who generates enlivening writing experiences for new and experienced writers. Author of three poetry collections, girl in tree bark, Tree of the Apple, and All These Cures, Kelly is also author of Before You Forget— The Wisdom of Writing Diaries for Your Children. Kelly’s award winning plays have been produced around the US and Canada, and are published by dramatic publishers. She founded and produced the Our Voices Festival of Women Playwrights at Wellesley College for twelve years, and she is a past president of Playwright’s Platform, Boston. For the past seven years, Kelly has led the week-long Play Lab Intensive at the annual conference of the International Women’s Writing Guild. Kelly is a certified psychodramatist, former psychotherapist, and Fellow in the American Society for Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama. Currently, Kelly serves on the board & faculty of Transformative Language Arts Network.  You can learn more about Kelly at www.kellydumar.com.

About the Actors



Jamila Capitman, MA. is a Staff Counselor at Simmons University, a Youth Development Specialist and a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion consultant with VISIONS Inc., Jamila is the former Director of Multicultural Student programming at Milton Academy and was an educator in the Boston Public Schools. Jamila is an actress, playwright, and producer/director, with a Master’s degree in Drama Therapy from Lesley University who works on various creative independent projects that center her passions for beauty, justice, and transformative healing.



Franci DuMar is a member of the playback theatre troupe, True Story Theater, in Arlington, MA. She has trained, performed, taught and conducted playback theatre in a wide variety of community and therapeutic settings over the past ten years. She has a Master’s Degree in Expressive Arts from Lesley University in Cambridge, MA, in drama therapy and mental health counseling. She lives in the Boston Area.



Tonya Quillen is an Actor, Licensed Psychotherapist, Trainer of Psychodrama, Sociometry and Group Psychotherapy, Clinical Supervisor, and an Executive Leadership Coach. Prior to pursuing her career as a Psychotherapist, Tonya performed professionally for many years. She graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy where she double majored in Theatre and Voice and then continued her studies at Florida State University. After completing graduate school and training as a Psychodramatist, Tonya co-founded a Playback Theatre troupe where she served as Artistic Director, Conductor, Actor and Musician. Tonya also develops scenarios and enacts characters in role-training workshops for law enforcement officers, threat assessment professionals, and security operations personnel to provide them with the experience needed to effectively interact with, and interview, persons of interest.



Elizabeth Rose spent a considerable part of her life as an actor, both in film and industrial work along with local theater in Massachusetts. In addition, Elizabeth has written both screenplays and theatrical works as well as a popular blog that captures the life of a midlife woman. She works as an editor supporting other writers, and as a mediator, helping couples end their marriages while sustaining their families. She also works with couples who choose to stay together and want to explore new ways to communicate and strengthen their relationship. She is a Mother, Partner, Friend, Sister, Daughter, Dancer, Dog and Cat lover. Elizabeth lives in Ojai with her husband, spirit cat and soul dog. 

How Pictures Heal – Expressive Writing from Personal Photos, with Kelly DuMar

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WOMAN WHO WEARS HER MOON HEART FULL ©Kelly DuMar

. . . A long time we were separate,
O Earth,
but now you have returned to me.
~ Elaine Equi

We all take, save, and inherit photographs of the people, places, and things that bring meaning, mystery, hope, and connection into our lives. In my upcoming 6-week writing webinar for the Transformative Language Arts Network, we will write from personal photos as a means of restoring meaning, purpose, hope, and resilience during and after loss. Particularly, throughout this time of the pandemic, unexpected losses, without meaningful closure, have mounted for many people. TLA practitioners and writers at all levels of experience will imaginatively encounter personal photos sparked by questions that generate remarkable and uplifting writing experiences.

If you’ve ever kept a diary or journal, it’s likely you know what expressive writing is–– and how this spontaneous writing about your feelings serves your emotional well-being in a variety of ways. Expressive writing is a way to get in touch with the “ideal listener” or the “silver lining voice” within all of us. The imagined listener who lets us express our feelings, hurts, dilemmas and joys, without judgment––or editing. And, because we write what we need to express without controls of grammar, form or outcome, we transform feelings, gain insights, and reduce our stress and anxiety. When we practice expressive writing in a supportive workshop, we also gain powerful feelings of connection with others, and the recognition that we are not alone. In fact, our stories and experiences can help others heal and grow.

Photographs fill boxes in our attics and cover our walls. We store them on our computers and cell phones and share them instantly on social media. We’re taking and sharing more pictures than ever before. Why? Because our photos show what we care about and hope to preserve, what moves and delights us. Our photos capture the people, places and memories that bring beauty and meaning into our lives. Writing from personal photos brings insight, healing, and zest into your life––whether you consider yourself a “writer” or not.

One young man wrote from a photo of himself and his brother as a child posing in the arms of their mother. As soon as he began writing, he wondered who had taken the photo. Ah. He realized it was the last photo his father had taken before leaving the family. His expressive writing led to this awakening: I was able to not only write something I’m proud of, but to process and communicate emotional difficulties I hadn’t been able to find words for in years.

Photo-inspired expressive writing revives our spirit. Long-dormant parts of our lives, places we’ve traveled to, people we’ve loved and lost come alive on the page. As the psychologist James Hillman brilliantly said, the gift of an image is that it provides a place to watch your soul. Expressive writing leads to re-discovering a zest for living. Deep conversations are sparked by showing, writing and sharing who, and what, we love. And, because listeners are truly interested, we feel a renewed enthusiasm, energy and sense of connection. As the author Martin Prechtel writes:

Grief expressed out loud for someone we have lost, or a country or home we have lost, is in itself the greatest praise we could ever give them. Grief is praise, because it is the natural way love honors what it misses.

AUNT MARION , from the private collection of Kelly DuMar

My own photo-inspired creative writing was sparked by this picture. I was a twenty-two-year-old college student when the aunt I’d looked up to and adored since childhood needed me by her side. Caring for Marion as she died took me out of my comfort zone––and changed my life. So, when I saw my young, adventuresome aunt in my mother’s scrapbook, I asked her if I could keep it. This photo of Marion, captured in this archetypal pose of the archer, like the goddess Diana, stretching her bow, aiming her arrow, captivated me. My expressive writing helped me unpack all the truth, beauty and healing it held.

What I love most about photo-inspired writing is that it engages us with the profound beauty of our ordinary lives. We discover what I call The Secret Reveal––a revelation––something we have been unable to express that leads us to a new way of knowing ourselves or others and changes our response to the community and the world.

About the Webinar Format
This 6-week class is hosted on the online teaching platform, Wet Ink, and on Zoom. The Wet Ink platform allows you to log in on you own time to post your writing from the prompts and get to know others through their writing by adding your comments. The day before class begins, you’ll receive an invitation to join Wet Ink. There are no browser requirements, and Wet Ink is mobile-friendly. Additionally, you will have three LIVE webinars on Zoom to discuss your writing and interact in real time with other participants (scheduled during the first week according to best availability of participants).

Who Should Take This Class
This course will serve writers and TLA practitioners at all levels of experience, as well as anyone interested in personal and artistic development. Counseling professionals and para-professionals will find dynamic creative outlets for personal and professional development. Writers and artists with an interest in exploring the healing aspects of personal photos may also be quite interested.

About Kelly DuMar
Kelly is a poet, playwright, workshop facilitator, and certified psychodramatist from the Boston area who has been leading creative writing workshops for decades. She’s author of three poetry chapbooks, and her fourth is upcoming from Lily Press, 2023. A producer of high-quality literary and transformative arts programming, Kelly currently serves on the Board of the Transformative Language Arts Network, and produces the Open Mic Writer Series for the Journal of Expressive Writing. Her past board leaderships include the International Women’s Writing Guild, and Playwright’s Platform, Boston. She blogs her nature photos and creative writing from the Charles River (where she lives) daily, for the past six years, at #NewThisDay.

The Messenger, a guest post by TLAF Certificate student Sharon Bippus

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Editor’s note: Sharon is a student in the Transformative Language Arts Foundations Certificate program. This blog post is one of five reflection posts she will be submitting as part of the certificate requirements.

Credit: Sharon Bippus

To be seen is something that I have struggled with since childhood. Growing up in a dysfunctional family, I was the middle child sandwiched between an older sister and a younger brother, my mother’s obvious favorite. I was the second girl when I don’t think my mother even wanted the first one. I felt unloved and neglected. Feeling so shy and awkward, it felt safer to remain hidden and keep my distance.

Fast forward to the present, and I continue to work on this issue. To be sure, I have made progress, and my creativity has played a large role in my healing. My art, whether it is photography or mixed media or collage, is where I can safely express my emotions. It’s where I can relax and play. It’s how I can give back to that little girl inside me that never felt safe or wanted.

Nowadays, I find my creative outlet expanding into writing which is a new way of being seen. While taking Kelly DuMar’s “How Pictures Heal” course with TLAN, I had the opportunity to examine layers of myself, which allowed me to both see myself more clearly and to be seen by others. It was in this course that a photograph of a cardinal taken at a nearby nature sanctuary helped me uncover a revealing message about myself.

Read more: The Messenger, a guest post by TLAF Certificate student Sharon Bippus

For the first assignment in the course, Kelly directed us to select one of our own photographs to use as a writing prompt. I had no idea which of my personal photos to choose, and I spent hours scrolling through the pictures on my phone. A few of them whispered to me, but none of them really jumped out. Then – serendipitously – I was checking one of my social media accounts and saw that a woman, whom I don’t know personally, had tagged me in a photo. She is an artist and a friend of friends, and I follow her on social media. Intrigued, I looked at her comment to me. She had taken one of the photos that I had recently posted on Instagram and used it as a model for her watercolor painting. A thrill of excitement went through me, and my mouth hung open in surprise. Someone who works as an artist had been inspired by my photograph! I was so excited, so flattered, so joyful! 

This was the picture. This was the picture that I needed to explore in Kelly’s class – a bright red cardinal staring straight at me, seeds protruding from his beak making it look like he has buck teeth. He saw me and tried to make me laugh with his fake teeth. Then Sue (the artist!) saw my work, and by doing so, I felt as if she saw me. She saw the beauty that I try to capture and share with the world.

Some people say that birds are messengers, and I believe that is true. This is what my cardinal told me:

People notice me and see my beauty right away.  There’s no hiding it.

I can fly.  I can soar.  I am free.

Nature is my home.  The trees shelter me.  The wind guides me.  The rain cleanses me.

I am nourished here in this sanctuary.  I am bold and determined.  I can look you right in the eye, and I can make you laugh.

Sharon Bippus, PhD, is an ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) instructor who finds inspiration in the intersection of creativity, mystery, and synchronicity. As an undergraduate, she was awarded two scholarships to study in Germany which fueled her desire to learn more about the diverse world we live in. Since that time, she has taught English in Slovakia and China and was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Western Russia. She currently teaches ESOL at a community college in the suburbs of Houston, Texas where she works with students from all over the world. In her free time, she enjoys mixed media, collage, and photography and has received training in trauma-informed expressive arts and nature-based therapeutic practices. She is a SoulCollage® facilitator, a Veriditas-trained labyrinth facilitator, and a student in the Haden Institute’s Dream Work Program.

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How Pictures Heal: Honoring Memory and Loss Through Expressive Writing from Personal Photos, by Kelly DuMar

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We all take, save and inherit photographs of the people, places and things that bring meaning, mystery, hope and connection into our lives. In my upcoming webinar for the TLA Network, “How Pictures Heal,” these treasured personal archives will be the bridge to writing as a means of restoring meaning, purpose, hope and resilience during and after loss. (Learn more about the class here.)

The first thing I invite participants to do is to choose a photo of yourself to write from. Any photo, from any time in your life. It’s best to trust your instincts, and choose a photo that arrests your attention and seems to be whispering – it has a deeper story to tell.

Here’s what happened for Grace, a recent participant in one of my workshops, when I invited her to step into the three-dimensional world of her photo – in her own words:

When I was asked to find a picture to write about, I went to the one that I felt more sorrow, the picture that I look at, and wished I could go back to and stop time. There were so many questions, I just saw three cute kids, kind of looking like triplets, the way we looked so much alike.

I chose it not knowing how much the writing would come to life, I went back to that five-year-old who was plucked from her tropical safety net in Costa Rica, to come to America, where the cold hit me from my nose to the bottom of my terracotta soles. I am answering the questions that kept me in that time-warp of sadness. Today, opening up my mind and remembering things I thought were lost in a bottomless pit, the phoenix is rising, and the void of my past and memories of light not darkness are helping me stop, smell, and feel the sunshine that disappeared the night the plane landed in Logan Airport.

Grace’s 1965 passport photo, Costa Rica (Grace is on the far left).

Grace initially wrote what I call the “raw material,” from her photo, by answering question prompts I offer. Then, she continued developing the memory and her writing, and eventually composed a short personal memory piece, “Passport to Snow (1965).” Below are some excerpts from her photo-inspired memoir vignette (shared with permission of the author):

Grace – Always know, that if you keep both feet on the ground everything is going to be all right. ~ Tia Flori

In Costa Rica, where I was born, we run without shoes. We run around in the dirt, but we are always clean. Jabon. Soap. Smell of clean. A nice, shiny black soap with a scent I cannot get out of my system. Sweet, the smell of my grandmother.

I love to wiggle under my grandmother’s porch to eat the chalky dirt. I crave the gritty taste. Light brown to a red, like a spoonful of cinnamon. Me and my sister, Iris, are under the porch, eating dirt. The dirt is moist, like moss.

I am always in trouble…

At five, I feel my feet suddenly stepping into the unknown. I am being led by the hand, by my cousin Gloria, and my grandmother, to stand on a blank, white, piece of paper. What am I putting my feet on this paper for? The cobbler is drawing my feet with his pencil. First the paper was blank. Now I see the imprint of both my feet, left and right.

A few weeks pass, and a beautiful pair of ankle high shoes arrive. First, I smell the fresh paper they are wrapped in. Then I inhale the aroma of new leather. The white patent leather shines bright like the Costa Rican sun. The shoes are sturdy and strong: white with laces, with a terra cotta sole.

I have never had shoes as special as these made for me before. My mother and father are in a place called Sudbury in a state called Massachusetts, in the United States. They tell my grandmother, make sure the children get some shoes, because it’s winter here.

Who Should take this class? How Pictures Heal: Expressive Writing from Personal Photos, with Kelly DuMar
 TLA practitioners at all levels of experience
 Anyone interested in personal and artistic development
 Professionals and para-professionals who work with memory challenged seniors
 Family members of those suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s, and caretakers of those with memory challenges, will find dynamic creative outlets for personal and professional development
 Writers and artists with an interest in exploring the healing aspects of personal photos.

We’ll create a safe and supportive environment, offering respectful support that inspires the development of every writer’s voice. I look forward to working with you!

Kelly DuMar, M.Ed. is a poet, playwright, and engaging workshop leader who generates enlivening writing experiences for new and experienced writers. Her photo-inspired creative writing method elicits profound personal awakenings, deepens connection with others, and fosters beautifully crafted writing in poetry and prose. Author of three poetry collections, girl in tree bark, Tree of the Apple, and All These Cures, Kelly is also author of Before You Forget— The Wisdom of Writing Diaries for Your Children. Kelly’s award winning plays have been produced around the US and Canada, and are published by dramatic publishers. Kelly is a certified psychodramatist, former psychotherapist, and Fellow in the American Society for Group Psychotherapy and Psychodrama. She founded Let’s Talk TLA, a bi-monthly tele-conference and poetry open mic for members of the Transformative Language Arts Association. Currently, Kelly serves on the board & faculty of The International Women’s Writing Guild. Kelly inspires readers of #NewThisDay – her daily photo-inspired blog – with her mindful reflections on a writing life. You can learn more about Kelly at www.kellydumar.com

Don’t Miss “Your Memoir as Monologue” with Kelly DuMar!

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Kelly DuMar is teaching an online six-week workshop, Your Memoir as Monologue: Writing Monologues for Healing and Transformation, starting January 15, 2020. Kelly is a poet, playwright and expressive arts workshop facilitator who has been a leader of new play development in the Boston area for over fifteen years. She founded and produces the Our Voices Festival of Women Playwrights at Wellesley College, now in its 13th year and she teaches the weeklong Play Lab at the International Women’s Writing Guild Annual Conference. Her plays have been performed around the US and beyond and are published by dramatic publishers. Here’s a short interview with her on this class:

What inspired me to teach this class?

I love monologues. Listening to them, helping others write them, and writing them myself. First person narratives are gripping invitations to audiences, particularly when they present a dramatic journey, and moments of survival of someone – a person, a character – who has enlisted my compassion and concern

Don’t you love the invitation to enchantment? The theatre, darkened, the stage lit. Whether I’m in the audience or the playwright, I’m involved and transported by possibility. The theatrical question, What if. . . is an invitation to be enlightened, and changed through storytelling.

I love helping writers tell powerful stories on the stage – particularly those whose voices and stories have been unheard, silenced, trivialized or marginalized. Thirteen years ago, I founded a play festival, Our Voices, for new and experienced women playwrights to have a uniquely supportive place to develop their stories for the stage. Our Voices is an all day play lab that has supported nearly 150 women playwrights to develop plays with actors and directors. I love how one participant describes her experience in Our Voices, because she nails why writing monologues based on life experience can be so validating:

“Writing is my solace and joy, coming to me in bursts of laughter or darkness.  I have stories to tell yet, at times, I shrink from sharing, doubting my own voice.  Through more workshops and conversation, I hope to strengthen that confidence in my point of view and reinvigorate the process to write the things I don’t yet dare to consider.”

How is writing for the page different from writing for the stage?

Collaboration with other artists is illuminating, joyful, and challenging – and writing for the stage requires it. Sitting day to day at one’s desk can be lonely. But writing for the stage invites us into a theatre – a rehearsal, into a relationship with actors, directors, and audiences. Here’s what an Our Voices participant shared about writing for the stage: “One of the things I love most about writing plays is the possibility of witnessing one’s words and dramatic vision come alive on stage.”

Writing monologues for the stage makes the healing power of writing visible, visceral and accessible – not just for the playwright, but the audience as well. People are so amazingly resilient! Writing monologues for the stage is a natural way to find out how resilient you are – and sharing what you write inspires other people to feel hopeful and resilient.

What are some of your favorite dramatic monologues? 

My favorite is definitely Emily Webb’s “Goodbye,” monologue in Thornton Wilder’s classic play, Our Town. What moves me in a dramatic monologue is when a character goes on a compelling emotional journey and takes me with her – she begins in one place and ends in another – she’s more awakened, and so am I.

Watch these Youtube videos of two different performances of the Emily Webb role – the first is from a movie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCLHkaHOO80

Here’s the same monologue in a recording of a stage performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmCnzU5uZUY

What can students in this class expect?

We need spaces where we can give ourselves permission to un-silence our deepest truths and most authentic self. In Memoir as Monologue, I facilitate a safe, supportive, healing environment for writers to tap into their deep feelings and beliefs and find the courage and skill to share them for personal growth and craft them for performance. Participants can expect to express ordinary and extraordinary life experiences, and feelings and construct powerful, dramatic stories with universal appeal. Scripts need to be heard as much as they need to be read. We will have at least two LIVE webinars (held on Zoom) where participants will bring their writing to be read aloud and shared.

Kelly DuMar, M.Ed., C.P., is a poet, playwright and expressive arts workshop facilitator who has been a leader of new play development in the Boston area for over fifteen years. Kelly founded and produces the Our Voices Festival of Women Playwrights at Wellesley College, now in its 13th year, and she teaches the weeklongg Play Lab at the International Women’s Writing Guild. Kelly’s award-winning plays have been produced around the US and Canada, and are published by Brooklyn,Heuer, Youth Plays, and Smith & Kraus Audition Anthologies. She’s author of a non-fiction book, Before You Forget: The Wisdom of Writing Diaries for Your Children, and three poetry and prose chapbooks, girl in tree bark, All These Cures and Tree of the Apple. She’s a certified psychodramatist and a playback theatre artist. Kelly is honored to serve on the board of The International Women’s Writing Guild. You can learn more at kellydumar.com. More on her class is here.

Your Casting Call: A Comic Monologue — By Kelly Dumar

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I’ve written for the stage, and held auditions as a playwright or director, and made difficult casting choices. But I’ve never experienced the thrill, the risk, the humiliation or the anxiety of an audition from inside the actor’s skin. When my youngest daughter discovered a talent and passion for acting in elementary school, I began to understand the actor’s experience of prepping for and going through with an audition. As a stage mom, I witnessed the emotional roller coaster, the hopes, wishes, dreams of success and inevitable failures. I waited on the sidelines, or, if the audition was a play for school, I waited at home, anxiously, for news of whether she had been cast–or not, for a much hoped for part. And, many times she was cast. And, just as many, she wasn’t.

When I began writing the series of monologues for my character, ENVIA! A One-Woman Show, the first scene I imagined was ENVIA! taking charge of an audition after a series of frustrating failures to be cast. It’s a comic monologue I’ll share with you now for the fun of it. I’m teaching “Your Memoir As Monologue” online in January for the Transformative Language Arts Network, and just want to share the fun of writing a comic monologue, inspired by life. ENVIA!, and her many monologues, have been performed and produced by many talented actresses, and all of them have put their own unique spin on this monologue–inspired by their own trials and joys of handling auditions over the years.

My daughter Franci, has, also had the opportunity to perform “Your Casting Call,” and I felt a great sense of satisfaction watching her on stage having the last word.

YOUR CASTING CALL
A monologue by Kelly DuMar

SETUP: An actress ENTERS, as if preparing for an audition, on a bare stage, dressed as The Goddess of Illusion

ENVIA!
(CLEARING HER THROAT, ADJUSTING HER COSTUME, CLOSING HER EYES, PUTTING HER TWO HANDS UP WITH PINKY &  POINTER FINGER TOUCHING AND TAKING A BEAT OR TWO IN THIS POSE. DEEP CLEANSING BREATH, OPENING HER EYES)

Hello! My agent may have led you to believe I’m here to audition, but I’m not here to meet your casting requirements – I’m here to shatter them!  My intention is to inspire your deepest, most authentic, creative response to me.  Oh! By the way, my monologue doesn’t require nudity, but it may inspire it, so, you’re free to remove as much clothing as you choose. . . my name? E-N-V-I-A! That’s all caps – My last name is the exclamation point! Aries is my star sign and Spontaneity and Creativity leapt into alignment the moment I was conceived!  Wherever I go – whomever I meet – here I am! And I am always evolving.  You will love me or loathe me but you will not beat my innate talent into compliance with your incomprehensible expectations and then reject me for my lack of originality!  I’m sorry – I didn’t mean for that to sound jaded.  I may be receptive to having an experience with you – if we are able to co-create a medium of mutual expression that sustains our integrity as artists and human beings.
(Her stomach growls)
I may also be receptive to an offer of a protein shake. Do you mind if I ask if you got enough sleep last night?  Are you open to feedback?  It’s just that you would have made a better impression on me today if you had gotten a good night’s sleep. Perhaps you were dreaming of me – And, if that’s the case, well, whatever you do – don’t stop!
(She gets ready to leave)
I don’t do call backs. If I’m interested, I’ll follow up.  No worries – I’ve got your number

END OF SCENE

Here are some links to my published plays and monologues where you can learn more about my writing for the stage.


All text and photos ©KelllyDuMar. Do not use or reproduce without permission. For permission to perform the monologue, contact Kelly DuMar at kellydumar@kellydumar.com.