Mouthful
24 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 5 years ago - ★★★★★ - 38 ratingsMouthful places teens and youth at the center of important conversations, adding their voices and perspectives to the discussions that surround our daily lives at home, in the workplace, and in the community. From sexuality and gender to policing and addiction, each episode focuses on a new topic inspired by a student-written dramatic monologue. We listen to the monologue performed by a professional actor, talk to the teen about why they wrote it, and then journey out into the community to broaden the conversation.
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Episodes
Meet the Writers: "Buckle Up."
February 26, 2019 08:00 - 10 minutes - 8.24 MBFor Season Three of Mouthful, we'll be talking to ten student playwrights who are bringing their monologues to life for the 2019 Mouthful Monologue Festival. In this episode, we meet the 18 winning writers whose monologues will premiere for public audiences in just a few days. RESERVE YOUR TICKETS! If you're in the Philly area, you can catch all 18 monologues at a performance February 28-March 9 at the Louis Bluver Theater at the Drake. All performances are Pay What You Decide. M...
Behind the Scenes: "I want kids to get this message..."
February 19, 2019 08:15 - 3 minutes - 3.2 MBFor Season Three of Mouthful, we'll be talking to ten student playwrights who are bringing their monologues to life for the 2019 Mouthful Monologue Festival. In this episode, we take a peek behind the curtain to see how a selection committee chooses the 18 winning monologues from more than 660 submissions. On the next episode, we meet the writers. With just two weeks until the performance run, they are working hard to perfect their monologues for audiences. Their monologues will ...
Restore My Brotherly Love LIVE
June 08, 2018 09:30 - 34 minutes - 27.9 MBA monologue written from the perspective of Philadelphia imploring its citizens to put down the guns starts a conversation about gun violence. Featuring conversations with Tyler Riddick , a senior at the U School who wrote the monologue after her friend was killed by a stray bullet; Jose Ferran , a peer intervention specialist at Healing Hurt People who survived a gunshot to the arm in 2011; Leonard Chester , founder of The Overcame Foundation; and Jerrick Medrano , who performs the...
Adam
June 05, 2018 09:30 - 20 minutes - 16.3 MBA monologue about a young man who is turned away from his first job interview starts a conversation about how we treat individuals on the autism spectrum and how we prepare them for work and independence. Featuring conversations with Dylan Henry , a sophomore at the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts, whose younger brother inspired the monologue; and three individuals from Project SEARCH , a program that offers vocational training and internships to young ...
Who Am I?
May 31, 2018 18:28 - 27 minutes - 22 MBA monologue about a young woman grappling with her identity after a friend is attacked starts a conversation about being Muslim in America. Featuring conversations with the writer Ruya Erkut, a freshman at George Washington Carver, and her mother, Ebru Erkut, who works as a paralegal at an immigration firm. This is a personal episode about growing up and parenting as a Muslim in the current, fraught political climate. Do not tell me I should cover my hair up or change, I will...
Breaking Barriers
May 22, 2018 09:30 - 21 minutes - 17.1 MBA monologue about a young man sharing some news with his mother starts a conversation about coming out. Featuring conversations with Lisbet Espinal , a sophomore at the Philadelphia Military Academy, who wrote “Breaking Barriers” to address a problem she perceives in her community, and with Francisco Cortes , Interim Executive Director or GALAEI , a queer Latinx social justice organization. Hey mom, I just wanted to let you know that I’ve thought about doing something. I have ...
War Paint
May 08, 2018 09:30 - 22 minutes - 17.9 MBA monologue about claiming and reclaiming power over one's body starts a conversation about sexual harassment. Featuring conversations with Dori Hoffman , a high school junior who wrote her monologue "War Paint" after four years of silence about her own experience of sexual harassment; and Nuala Cabral , a filmmaker, educator, and activist dedicated to teaching consent and confronting sexual harassment in all its forms. Read a transcript of this episode here. So when I see yo...
The Initiation
May 01, 2018 09:30 - 23 minutes - 18.6 MBA monologue about a girl getting her period for the first time starts a conversation about puberty, menstruation, and what it means to enter the next stage of your life. Featuring conversations with Kaltra Zabiku , whose monologue "The Initiation" inspired this episode; and with Nadya Okamoto , who has become a leading voice in the Menstrual Movement since she started PERIOD, an organization that provides feminine hygiene products to those in need. I know these things take ti...
A Last Stroll Through Pain
April 24, 2018 09:30 - 30 minutes - 24.1 MBA monologue about young Chinese American grappling with her cultural identity and embarrassment about her inability to speak Chinese starts a conversation about the challenges of being a first generation American. Featuring conversations with Donna Zhang , a senior at Drexel University whose monologue "A Last Stroll Through Pain" inspired this episode; Rebecca, Faith, and Nikita, three first generation Americans ; and Raquel Salas Rivera , a Philadelphia transplant from Puerto Rico ...
Pressing My Issues LIVE SHOW
April 17, 2018 09:30 - 34 minutes - 28 MBA monologue about the stresses of being a teenager starts a conversation about teen stress and teen resilience. Recorded live at the Louis Bluver Theatre at the Drake, this episode features conversations with: Brittany Blythe, a senior at Lankenau High School; Kay'Stienna Carter, a junior at Benjamin Franklin High School; Ericka Morris, educational consultant; and Dr. Ken Ginsburg, a pediatrician specializing in Adolescent Medicine at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and Pro...
Pretension Detention
April 10, 2018 09:30 - 19 minutes - 15.6 MBA monologue questioning the value of a classroom discussion starts a conversation about learning. Featuring conversations with Ericka Morris , a former teacher and curriculum specialist, Tamir D. Harper , a senior at Science Leaderships Academy and co-founder of UrbEd, and Brooke Sexton , Artistic Director of YesAnd! Collaborative Arts. Click here to read a transcript of this episode. I know I signed up for an AP English class, but I thought AP stood for Advanced Placemen...
Addiction
April 03, 2018 09:30 - 23 minutes - 19 MBA monologue written from the perspective of a cigarette starts a conversation about addiction. Featuring conversations with Charmira Nelson, who wrote the monologue while struggling with a secret addiction to cigarettes when she was a junior in high school, and "John," a recovering addict and member of Narcotics Anonymous. Click here to read a transcript of this episode. You can’t get enough of me. I’m the reason you live everyday. We give each other life. — from "Addi...
Orange Paper LIVE SHOW
July 25, 2017 09:30 - 42 minutes - 39.1 MBA monologue about a young man and his family facing eviction starts a conversation about housing instability, youth homelessness, and aging out of the system. Featuring conversations with Selena Ortiz, a young woman currently in the system, and Dr. Nikia Owens, the Director of Income and Financial Stability Community Impact at the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey. Click here to read a transcript of this episode. The orange paper on my door shocked me...
Autism Speaks
June 20, 2017 09:30 - 21 minutes - 17.4 MBA monologue about a sister saying goodbye to her severely autistic older brother starts a conversation about autism spectrum disorder. Featuring conversations with Lisa Gardner, a mechanical engineering student whose monologue was written at a time when her relationship with her brother was particularly challenging; and Dr. Kate Wallis, a pediatrician who specializes in youth with autism spectrum disorder. Click here to read a transcript of this episode. I want to love you. I...
Diagnosis
June 13, 2017 09:35 - 25 minutes - 20.6 MBA monologue about a young woman at the therapist following the death of her brother starts a conversation about grief, death of a sibling, and loss. Featuring conversations with Taliya Carter whose monologue draws upon her interest in psychology as well as from her own personal experiences of sibling death; and Darcy Walker Krause, the Executive Director of The Center for Grieving Children in Philadelphia. Click here to read a transcript of this episode. Are you really asking...
Better Technology, Horrible Connection
June 06, 2017 09:00 - 25 minutes - 20.2 MBA monologue about a relationship turned sour because of a cell phone starts a conversations about technology, social media, and communication. Featuring conversations with a group of high school students from the Academy at Palumbo and tech life expert Stephanie Humphrey. Click here to read a transcript of this episode. We live in a generation where we can’t speak without abbreviation. All this wrong we have we can fix but this time we can’t use auto correct. — from "Bett...
Fine Dining
May 30, 2017 09:30 - 18 minutes - 14.8 MBA monologue about a fast food worker starts a conversation about jobs. Featuring a conversation with Chekemma Fulmore-Townsend, President & CEO of the Philadelphia Youth Network, man on the street interviews, and worst job experiences from the production team. Click here to read a transcript of this episode. Yes, I understand that if you don’t get the USDA recommended dose of greasy burger meat every day you break out in hives, but hives are not really the purview of my depar...
Not Ready
May 23, 2017 09:00 - 26 minutes - 21.2 MBA monologue about a young black man encouraging his friend to pursue higher education starts a conversation about black male engagement. Featuring a conversation with "The Tribe," four young black men whose bond helped them thrive at Philadelphia's academically rigorous J.R. Masterman School. Click here to read a transcript of this episode. “I’m the young boul of the group, and I’m setting the example for yall. I’m supposed to be looking up to y’all, but instead I feel like ...
Extended Play: Stop & Frisk
May 16, 2017 09:00 - 27 minutes - 22.1 MBOn April 15th, 18-year-old Dubois Stewart was on his way home from community service. A police car pulled up behind him. He was stopped and frisked. “I was terrified.” Dubois said in an interview with Mouthful for our episode on community policing. “I’d never been stopped and frisked before. I seriously thought I wouldn’t go away unharmed because of all the cases I’d recently heard of police brutality between black young males and police officers in general.” Two weeks later on Ap...
Pedestals
May 09, 2017 09:00 - 23 minutes - 18.8 MBA monologue about a young black woman who is expelled from school for standing up to racism starts a conversation about the high expectations and double standards imposed on students of color in majority-white institutions. Featuring an interview with Angela Antoinette Bey, whose life growing up in Southwest Philadelphia looked very different than the private high school she attended, and an honest conversation with two mother/daughter duos who share the experience being de facto re...
Neighborhood Blue
May 02, 2017 14:25 - 27 minutes - 21.9 MBA monologue about a Latina woman who is confronted by the police in her home starts a conversation about community policing and law enforcement. Featuring conversations with a young Afro-Latina woman who channels her Puerto Rican father's stories about law enforcement into her writing and activism, Michael J. Chitwood, a police chief with a 53-year career in law enforcement, and Vashti Dubois and Dubois Stewart, a mother and son in the wake of a stop and frisk. Click here to read a...
Misunderstanding, Didn't Understand
April 25, 2017 06:00 - 21 minutes - 16.9 MBA comedic monologue about a young man faced with the prospect of losing his virginity after a date starts a conversation about masculinity and the expectations we put on boys. Featuring conversations with Alex, a 17 year old high school senior who finds humor in stereotypes of men as sex-hungry animals, and Steve Bandura, father of a teenage son who is more widely known as a coach to hundreds of inner city boys (and girls!) at the Marian Anderson Rec Center in South Philly. Click h...
Comfort
April 18, 2017 13:46 - 24 minutes - 19.6 MBA monologue about a young woman with an eating disorder begins a conversation about who is at risk, what to look out for, and how to get better. Featuring conversations with a young Latinx female, whose personal experience with an eating disorder challenges harmful stereotypes about who is at risk, and clinical therapist Dr. Samantha DeCaro. Read a transcript of this episode. The bathroom became my sanctuary. The things I did in here was a secret, and neither of us would tell...
One Hundred Sleepless Nights
April 11, 2017 19:55 - 21 minutes - 17.4 MBA monologue about a young transgender man starts a conversation about gender identity. Featuring conversations with three trans and non-binary young people and trans actor and activist Scott Turner Schofield. Read a transcript of this episode. They’re a boy, plain and simple. They don’t understand what it’s like to go through this endless, torturous cycle all because they were born in the wrong body. — from "One Hundred Sleepless Nights" by Hunter M. ![](https://stati...