Presentation of A Survivor Presenting Their CSA Story
I am involved with Victim Assistance group at the parish where I was abused. The following was shared with me and I have permission from the creator to share with the group. The event is being held in West Springfied, which I know is not near many but some may be nearby. It is stage performance of a survivor telling his story. It will be presented on June 26 and 27 at the Majestic Theatre.
Dear Victim Assistance Coordinators,
It is because of your work that I get to stand on a stage and tell my story. I'm writing to ask for your help spreading the word about UNRECONCILED and its three upcoming performances at the Majestic Theater in West Springfield, MA.
Ours is a shared goal of healing. Until my mid-thirties, I was working in restaurants, pursuing a dream of acting, and struggling with alcoholism and a precarious financial situation. I was also a victim of childhood clergy sexual abuse trying to come to terms with what happend to me. In 2007 I placed a phone call to the Victim Assistance Coordinator in Philadelphia. I am now a mental health counselor and playwright who teamed up with fellow survivor and psychologist Mark Basquill to connect around our childhood experiences as survivors of clergy abuse in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and to co-write UNRECONCILED.
An award-winning, autobiographical, solo show about a survivor’s journey to confront his past, navigate a victims’ reparations program set up by the Catholic Church, and discover the courage to use his voice, UNRECONCILED is coming to them Majestic Theater in West Springfield, MA for three performances on June 26 and 27. This 80-minute exploration of family, place, and the meaning of reconciliation is the winner of the Berkshire Theatre Critics' Association Awards for Outstanding Solo Performance and Outstanding New Play. For more reviews, audience responses, and a production history, that has included over ten theatres in the US and a European premiere, visit our website at unreconciledtheplay.com.
We will be hosting panel discussions with other activists and experts on the subject following each show. I hope that you will be able to attend and help spread the word to survivors about this opportunity to see UNRECONCILED in Massachusetts. In the decades since Mark and I were sexually assaulted, the Church has made progress in the area of protecting children from predators. Victim Assistance Coordinators have been vital in this effort and personally in my own journey of healing. I am so grateful for that and for all of the work you do helping survivors.
Thank you for your time and consideration. Please let me know if you have any questions or need anything from me to help let other survivors know about these shows.
Sincerely,
Jay Sefton
A powerful, hilarious, and heartbreaking story of courage, family, and reclaiming your voice.
“This is no lugubrious 80 minutes; Sefton's Philly roots won't allow it. His sharp-elbowed humor makes the plot rather rollicking.” —National Catholic Reporter
"As the show unfurls, Sefton’s transformations dazzle, and the pacing of the production is as precisely mapped as the best poetry."—America: The Jesuit Review
“It hits you on so many psychological levels and is, like all transcendent artistic acts, beyond simple explication.”—Pittsburgh Quarterly
Jay Sefton, LMHC
413-320-5496
jaysefton.com
unreconciledtheplay.com
Dear Victim Assistance Coordinators,
It is because of your work that I get to stand on a stage and tell my story. I'm writing to ask for your help spreading the word about UNRECONCILED and its three upcoming performances at the Majestic Theater in West Springfield, MA.
Ours is a shared goal of healing. Until my mid-thirties, I was working in restaurants, pursuing a dream of acting, and struggling with alcoholism and a precarious financial situation. I was also a victim of childhood clergy sexual abuse trying to come to terms with what happend to me. In 2007 I placed a phone call to the Victim Assistance Coordinator in Philadelphia. I am now a mental health counselor and playwright who teamed up with fellow survivor and psychologist Mark Basquill to connect around our childhood experiences as survivors of clergy abuse in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and to co-write UNRECONCILED.
An award-winning, autobiographical, solo show about a survivor’s journey to confront his past, navigate a victims’ reparations program set up by the Catholic Church, and discover the courage to use his voice, UNRECONCILED is coming to them Majestic Theater in West Springfield, MA for three performances on June 26 and 27. This 80-minute exploration of family, place, and the meaning of reconciliation is the winner of the Berkshire Theatre Critics' Association Awards for Outstanding Solo Performance and Outstanding New Play. For more reviews, audience responses, and a production history, that has included over ten theatres in the US and a European premiere, visit our website at unreconciledtheplay.com.
We will be hosting panel discussions with other activists and experts on the subject following each show. I hope that you will be able to attend and help spread the word to survivors about this opportunity to see UNRECONCILED in Massachusetts. In the decades since Mark and I were sexually assaulted, the Church has made progress in the area of protecting children from predators. Victim Assistance Coordinators have been vital in this effort and personally in my own journey of healing. I am so grateful for that and for all of the work you do helping survivors.
Thank you for your time and consideration. Please let me know if you have any questions or need anything from me to help let other survivors know about these shows.
Sincerely,
Jay Sefton
A powerful, hilarious, and heartbreaking story of courage, family, and reclaiming your voice.
“This is no lugubrious 80 minutes; Sefton's Philly roots won't allow it. His sharp-elbowed humor makes the plot rather rollicking.” —National Catholic Reporter
"As the show unfurls, Sefton’s transformations dazzle, and the pacing of the production is as precisely mapped as the best poetry."—America: The Jesuit Review
“It hits you on so many psychological levels and is, like all transcendent artistic acts, beyond simple explication.”—Pittsburgh Quarterly
Jay Sefton, LMHC
413-320-5496
jaysefton.com
unreconciledtheplay.com
