From Where I Stand: Refugee Portraits

In this episode, Nasteho tells her story about speaking Somali, giving a big speech, her love for math, and being brave. Plus, what we’ve learned from listening to the stories of young people in our community. Featuring: Nasteho and the Ensemble Program Director and Co-Host: Taylor St. John Teaching Artist and Co-Host: Santyria Theme Music Composer: Victor Sawyer Produced by Orpheum Theatre Group-Memphis, TN In Partnership with the Refugee Empowerment Program

In this episode, Hibo tells her story about crashing her uncle’s car, laughing with her mom, her dad’s long workdays, finding friends, and how she isn’t really the quiet kid. Featuring: Hibo and the Ensemble Program Director and Co-Host: Taylor St. John Teaching Artist and Co-Host: Santyria Theme Music Composer: Victor Sawyer Produced by Orpheum Theatre Group-Memphis, TN In Partnership with the Refugee Empowerment Program

In this episode, Ache tells her story about what it’s like to wear a hijab, her first day of school in Memphis, being bullied, and how hard her parents work so she can get a good education. Featuring: Ache and the Ensemble Program Director and Co-Host: Taylor St. John Teaching Artist and Co-Host: Santyria Theme Music Composer: Victor Sawyer Produced by Orpheum Theatre Group-Memphis, TN In Partnership with the Refugee Empowerment Program

In this episode, Layla tells her story about how the kids at school don’t understand her life, K-pop, watching her sister battle cancer, and saying no to being normal. Featuring: Layla and the Ensemble Program Director and Co-Host: Taylor St. John Teaching Artist and Co-Host: Santyria Theme Music Composer: Victor Sawyer Produced by Orpheum Theatre Group-Memphis, TN In Partnership with the Refugee Empowerment Program

In this episode, Bertrand tells his story about his brother’s birth, being separated from his family, living in a refugee camp, and phone conversations with his beautiful mother. Featuring: Bertrand and the Ensemble Program Director and Co-Host: Taylor St. John Teaching Artist and Co-Host: Santyria Theme Music Composer: Victor Sawyer Produced by Orpheum Theatre Group-Memphis, TN In Partnership with the Refugee Empowerment Program

In this episode, Eunice tells her story about speaking different languages, having a yellow and black tooth, being teased in school, and how she has learned to be strong. Featuring: Eunice and the Ensemble Program Director and Co-Host: Taylor St. John Teaching Artist and Co-Host: Santyria Theme Music Composer: Victor Sawyer Produced by Orpheum Theatre Group-Memphis, TN In Partnership with the Refugee Empowerment Program

In this episode, Solange tells her story of being sick when she was young, hiding her report card, misunderstandings, and how things aren’t perfect (and that’s ok). Featuring: Solange and the Ensemble Program Director and Co-Host: Taylor St. John Teaching Artist and Co-Host: Santyria Theme Music Composer: Victor Sawyer Produced by Orpheum Theatre Group-Memphis, TN In Partnership with the Refugee Empowerment Program

In this episode, Kowsar tells her story of leaving Kenya, how the tv show Criminal Minds helped her learn English, missing her family, and dreaming of making movies. Featuring: Kowsar and the Ensemble Program Director and Co-Host: Taylor St. John Teaching Artist and Co-Host: Santyria Theme Music Composer: Victor Sawyer Produced by Orpheum Theatre Group-Memphis, TN In Partnership with the Refugee Empowerment Program

In this episode, Natasha tells her story of family sacrifice, leaving her homeland to find safety, being poisoned, and what it means to overcome your fears. Featuring: Natasha and the Ensemble Program Director and Co-Host: Taylor St. John Teaching Artist and Co-Host: Santyria Theme Music Composer: Victor Sawyer Produced by Orpheum Theatre Group-Memphis, TN In Partnership with the Refugee Empowerment Program

Welcome to our first episode! In this episode youth share what it means to tell their stories, assumptions about the refugee community, and why The Orpheum Theatre Group and the Refugee Empowerment Program in Memphis, TN are collaborating to bring you this podcast. Plus, some hopes for how storytelling can change the world. Featuring: Camela Echols-Blackmon, Muna Saed, Hibo, Layla, Bertrand, and the Ensemble Program Director and Co-Host: Taylor St. John Teaching Artist and Co-Host: Santyria Theme Music Composer: Victor Sawyer Produced by Orpheum Theatre Group-Memphis, TN In Partnership with the Refugee Empowerment Program

Youth refugees perform stories about how they grapple with identity, belief, and displacement from their homelands. Do our differences provide a point of conflict or are they part of a uniquely American experience? What does it mean to discover who you are in a place so different from where you came? This podcast asks us to look beyond the headlines and see the real people behind them. In March 2020, youth from the Refugee Empowerment Program were rehearsing a live storytelling performance with the Orpheum Theatre Group in Memphis, TN. But when the pandemic hit, their performance was postponed…until now. Meet Natasha, Kowsar, Solange, Eunice, Bertrand, Layla, Ache, Hibo, and Nasteho as they share their real-life stories in their own words. Program Director and Co-Host: Taylor St. John Teaching Artist and Co-Host: Santyria Theme Music Composer: Victor Sawyer