The Story of Us
Originally posted September 2021 and updated May 2023
As CPAN members, we are deeply committed to amplifying the voices of LGBTQIA+ experiences. We now have a unique opportunity to tell our story and document our legacy at Carolina. CPAN is leading “The Story of Us,” a ground-breaking collaboration with Wilson Library, the Southern Oral History Program, and the Department of Communication committed to preserving —and sharing — our voices. The project will include a permanent collection in Wilson Library, giving a broader and richer understanding of our history, not only to the LGBTQIA+ community but to the Carolina community as a whole. Watch the video to hear more about the Story of Us from CPAN board members, past and present student body presidents, and Carolina alums.
The Story of Us Premiere
May 2023 update
The premiere performance of The Story of Us took place April 15th, 2023. Written and directed by Joseph Megel, artist-in-residence and teaching professor in the Department of Communication, as a part of his Process Series. Megel expertly wove together LGBTQIA+ stories collected by the Southern Oral History Program and University Archives to create an illuminating and moving performance.
The UNC alumni whose stories were touched upon in this performance include: E. Patrick Johnson, Janora McDuffie, Cecil Wooten, Tony Kearney, Sara Isaacson, Henry Clayton Jackson, Terri Phoenix, Larry Alford, Ken Sherrill, Robert Reid-Pharr, Jeremy Crouthamel, Cedric Brown, Elliott Kozuch, Mark Kleinschmidt, Dick Allen, Katie Hultquist, Joseph Herzenberg, Tom Carr, Amanda Maris, Maia Bar Am, P. Allen Gray Jr., Emmy Johnson, Michael Lau, Will Thomason, Blake Huffman, Christina Fisher and Sherri Zann Rosenthal.
A handful of these distinguished alums also agreed to take part in the performance and depicted their own stories. The cast included: David Adamson*, Vivienne Benesch*, Cedric Brown, Andrew Carlberg, Thurston Cherry*, Chris Chiron, Elisabeth Lewis Corley*, Steven Dobbins, E. Patrick Johnson, Thomas King (TeKay), Philip McAdoo*, Janora McDuffie*, Naveed Moeed, Sam Peterson, Eric Rosen*, David Terry, Max Von Essen*, Donna Wood and Leah Woehr.
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States
To explore the stories chronicled in The Story of Us performance visit Queerolina: Experiences of Place and Space Through Oral Histories. This digital exhibit was created by Hooper Schultz and Cassie Tanks and is hosted and maintained by UNC-CH University Libraries.
Post performance, The Story of Us and Queerolina continue to grow as alums share their stories. To learn more, contact the University Archives at archives@unc.edu or complete an online oral history interest form.
