Building Bridges Through the Arts

There are three topics I’ve always enjoyed talking about: politics, the arts, and storytelling.

Nowadays, I find no pleasure in speaking about politics because it has become far too divisive.

So, I’ve been thinking: perhaps I should be speaking about how the arts and storytelling can help bridge the divide that politics has created.

I have been passionate about the arts, particularly musical theater, for as long as I can remember. I was an English and Theater major in college, performed in amateur productions, and worked in the Broadway theater industry for many years, notably handling publicity for the Tony Awards.

I also paint, something I picked up during Covid.

As for storytelling, I come from a family of storytellers: my father was a journalist and author, my sister is a comedy writer, my brother is a comic book editor, and I worked in children’s books for a decade. As an executive coach, I teach storytelling as a tool to improve public speaking. I particularly enjoy coaching speakers interested in or already chosen to give TEDx talks.

Quick Story About the Arts Bridging a Divide

It was 1979, my senior year at Susan Wagner High School, a public high school in Staten Island, New York.

The Usual Cliques

Jocks, nerds, artsy types, stoners, and the “I’m not in a clique” clique (that’s the one I was in).

There wasn’t much interaction among them, except for the occasional bullying.

And then it was time for “Sing,” the high school’s annual musical theater competition.

Each grade wrote, produced, directed, performed, and orchestrated its own musical. There were teacher judges, a lot of fanfare, and only one winning class. It was a big deal for your class to win Sing.

Now, I was in the “I’m not in a clique” clique (because there were no “I think I’m gay” cliques at the time, and I was definitely afraid that if the jocks knew I was in THAT clique, they’d smash my head against the lockers).

Then enters my friend Joanne. Like me, she was already involved with Sing; unlike me, she happened to be dating the H.S.’s quarterback.

Joanne knew the assignment: we had to win Sing!

So, she convinced him to join. He convinced his entire football team to join. And now it was cool to be in Sing.

Over 100 kids participated — more than in any previous year. Suddenly, barriers separating the cliques came down. People got to know one another. Friendships were made. I didn’t get my head smashed in. We won the competition.

That Sing became one of our most memorable, shared high school experiences.

All it took was an artistic event to make it happen.

So why do I share this story?

I believe that all forms of the arts and storytelling can help heal communities and bridge some of the division within them. Throughout history, the arts and storytelling have played this role. Whether on stage, or in the audience, theater heals. Art heals.

Performances become mirrors and bridges, sparking conversations that heal divides. They unite communities, revealing our shared humanity and collective experience. And the arts can make it safe to have difficult conversations.

Let’s weave a future where communities heal, thrive, and inspire—one story, one song, and one brushstroke at a time.

What are the places and spaces that you have been in that have brought people together instead of dividing?