NORMAL IN SCHOOLS

CELEBRATING INNER BEAUTY THROUGH THEATRE, MUSIC & ART

On February 27, 2010, NORMAL In Schools hosted INSIDE OUT — Celebrating Inner Beauty Through Theatre, Music and Art at Milwaukee’s Turner Hall Ballroom.

Special thanks to the more than 200 individuals who came out to support the National Eating Disorder Awareness Week programming, including the Emmy award-winnng composer of NORMAL (Tom Kochan), medical experts from Chicago and Milwaukee including Aurora Behavioral Health, Rogers Memorial Hospital, local celebrities from Milwauke’s own MORNING BLEND, Swing Nouveau, and Iora and Kirsten Haglund (Miss America 2008) who elegantly hosted the event.

Guests were asked to dress in “funky, informal attire” in order to support the theme of self expression. The event began at 5:30pm with wine and heavy hors d’oeuvres while attendees viewed the powerful and moving artwork in the gallery (co-curated by Linda Hagen and Pam Schmidt-Peckham). With “guidebooks” in hand, attendees read about each artist’s journey as they viewed the eclectic blend of work created by patients in all stages of recovery (see Third Coast Digest article for more info).

The Turner Ballroom stage lit up at 8pm when Ms. Haglund started the show by announcing the NEDA collage contest winner (congratulations Elisha Mattey!) and two NIS award recipients: Eileen M. Liebman and John Kohnert (NIS HERO and LEADERSHIP awards, respectively). The professional cast and musicians of NORMAL joined Kirsten along with Emmy award-winning composer Tom Kochan in presenting musical excerpts and testimonials of patients whose lives have been affected by the NIS program. The powerful presentation ended with an upbeat swing dance celebration featuring Milwaukee’s Swing Nouveau.

Footage from the INSIDE OUT program will be available soon at www.normalinschools.org.

Be sure to save the date for next year’s event — February 26, 2011!

Read more about the event in Third Coast Digest.

INSIDE OUT Photos available!

Photos from the INSIDE OUT celebration on February 27, 2010 are available by clicking here. Right-click on any photo to download a copy. Special thanks to Sara Bill Photography.

View photos here!

Related Links:

Eating disorder Blogs

Listen:

Public Radio Interview with Normal In Schools’ Robyn Hussa

One of the greatest joys of being a part of NORMAL is receiving feedback from individuals who have been helped by our efforts. Below are a few testimonials that show the impact of NORMAL;

Mandi, an eating disorder sufferer finds strength she needs to fight for recovery after seeing NORMAL

I was a patient for quite some time in your yoga classes. (from late October to just about two weeks ago to be precise). Anyway, I just wanted to write to you and tell you how much of an impact you yourself along with NORMAL have made upon me. In all honesty the entire time I was in treatment, I was convinced that I would never get better and would be fighting my way through life in and out of treatment until I died. Read more

The very last week I was there, I saw NORMAL. I had seen it before, and didn’t really think that it would affect me at all—after all, I had already seen it. Then I saw it again that night with my very dear friend. That last week was the most impactful week of treatment of all the months I spent there. Even though I don’t have the family like is depicted in the play, I felt the impact of the eating disorder for all of the people in my life who have been there for me throughout the years….even my younger brother. I’m not fighting the eating disorder anymore, I’m beating it. I know I have a long way to go, but I haven’t felt this good in years. Thank you for being a part of my treatment. I am truly grateful!
Always,
Mandi

Tags: NORMAL, Normal In Schools, Testimonials