Speak Up, Rise Up is a storytelling festival that aims to amplify the voices of communities and people we don’t get to hear from. Through live, personal storytelling, we bring together both traditional and non-traditional storytellers on the big stage for curated events that share personal experiences.
In 2017 the first festival was hosted at the Connelly Theater
In 2018 the festival was hosted at the Tank NYC
In 2019 the festival was hosted at QED (Queens), Caveat (Manhattan), and Murmur (Brooklyn)
In 2020 we held a virtual event in partnership with Gold Comedy
Over 500 people have performed throughout the festival, hosting over 100 shows. The shows highlighted diversity in subject matter - immigration stories, stories of LGBTQ rights, stories of incarcerated people; and diversity of performers – the festival has featured a majority of female performers and majority people of color.
We have partnered with dozens of community groups and non-profits, including but not limited to: Planned Parenthood NYC, Abortion AF, NYC Veteran’s Alliance, Razom for Ukraine, the Muslim Community Network, Theater of the Oppressed, the Sylvia Rivera Law Project – who all shared personal stories from their membership. These organizations were also offered personal storytelling workshops to their members, which were run prior to the festival, and then participants were able to showcase their stories on the stage.
2017 recap & promotional video
The Veterans Alliance, 2018
Photo by Dana Trunk
We are THRILLED to partner with Gold Comedy on a comedy & activism show to close out the weekend before the 2020 election. This time is especially valuable to make calls, text people, and we know everyone needs a little bit of respite from all the work and difficulties of the world.
Hour of Happy will give us a little space to breathe, laugh, and enjoy art together before we get back to the getting out the vote work.
Mission
To create a network of stories, sharing, and workshops to elevate disenfranchised communities’ stories via personal storytelling. Through live events, workshops, and connection to local community groups to tie people to community actions. Providing a space for people to develop, express, and share their stories that we don’t get to hear from.
Photo by Dana Trunk
Partners
· In 2017, our community partners included: Planned Parenthood NYC, Lady Parts Justice League, the Future Project, the Veteran’s Alliance NYC, Theatre of the Oppressed, the Muslim Community Network, and Razom for Ukraine.
· Our sponsors included: Fwd.Us, the I Am An Immigrant Campaign, We Get Depressed, Babeland NYC, and Lagunitas Brewing.
· Our media partners included: Millennial Politics, the Action Group Network, Civic Hall, the Defiant Network, with additional promotion by NYU’s Gallatin School of Individualized Study.
Stage The Change
Photo by Dana Trunk