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STORY
continued from page 1
"So much for being normal," said
Hill-Meyer, launching into a person
al monologue exploring race and
gender identity.
This monologue was part of "My
Own Story," a performance held in
the EMU Ballroom showcasing the
work of students of color who par
ticipated in a five-week workshop
led by Alex Luu, a Los Angeles
based performance artist. Universi
ty students who participated in the
workshop explored their most
poignant life experiences — partic
ularly regarding race and ethnicity,
gender identity, family dynamics
and earliest memories — and devel
oped them into autobiographical
monologues.
Four students — Toby Hill-Meyer,
Maria Cortez, Erica Tucker and
Tiffany Skinner — performed their
monologues for a packed crowd.
"I'm very big on oral histories," said
Luu, 36, who has led the MOS work
shop at the University since 2001.
'The things that make a great story are
opposite extremes: The most wonder
ful thing you've done, an experience
that you could celebrate; and some
thing really horrible that brought out
a lot of deep emotions."
The first MOS workshop held at
the University was specifically for
Asian students. But in 2002, Luu
opened up the workshop to all stu
dents of color.
"People of color don't see our ex
periences and stories reflected on a
daily basis," Luu said. "You wonder,
'Does my population even matter?'
That's why 1 do this work — because
your stories matter."
Cortez focused on her experience
as a light-skinned Mexican-American
who grew up poor. Initially she was
hesitant to make her story public,
but she felt more confident once she
worked out her script.
"It helped me to solidify parts of
my identity," Cortez said. "It made
me dig down into my past. There are
a lot of things that you suppress."
Identity is a theme Luu encour
aged workshop participants to ex
plore.
"I think it's important to be able
Erik R. Bishoff Photographer
Writer and actor Toby Hill-Meyer performs in the EMU Ballroom on Thursday night.
Hill-Meyer’s performance addressed the dualities of living as neither a man nor a woman
and being neither black nor white.
to identify in some way," he said.
"People don't do a lot of thinking in
my workshop. It's more about reac
tions. It's the rawness that I want
people to see."
The process of self-exploration re
sulted in the students' unflinchingly
honest monologues. Audience mem
bers gave a standing ovation at the
end of the show.
"I think that a lot of the perform
ers had things to say that related to
me," sophomore Fahima Mo
hammed said. "That really inspired
me to do it next year. I'd like to break
some stereotypes."
All performers identified with
more than one race, challenging the
idea that they should fit neatly into
one ethnic category. But Hill-Meyer,
a women's and gender studies major,
also questioned the practice of fitting
into a single gender category. Hill
Meyer has requested for the purposes
of this article that the Emerald refer
to Hill-Meyer using the gender-neu
tral pronouns "ze" for "he" and "hir"
for "him."
"I've had stories that I needed to
tell for awhile," ze said. "When it
comes down to it, the pronouns that
people use for me is not the point. I
don't feel that any gendered pro
noun is appropriate for me. I'm try
ing to get the recognition that people
see a more complex person."
The performance made an impres
sion on pre-journalism sophomore
Nancy Saechae.
"I identified with a lot of what
people said up there, but I think it
was even more important to talk
about the things that were don't
identify with, like Toby's story," she
said. "I'm not transgender, but an en
vironment like the UO is not so re
ceptive to people who are different."
Hill-Meyer's mothers, sitting in the
front row, were riveted by their
child's performance. And as it turns
out, ze did become a senator. Hill
Meyer was elected to the ASUO Sen
ate for 2004-05.
"We're proud of him," Jennifer
Meyer said. "It was really brave."
Kera Abraham is a freelance reporter
for the Emerald.
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