Call Me By My Name

 From 2018 to 2021, a group of people who have experienced homelessness met weekly to create this stage-and-film project and 2023 documentary about life on the street with some who have been there.  

Watch the trailer and scroll for more information.
  



Call Me By My Name
A stage and film documentary about the creativity of the unhoused community
A StreetsmARTs Project
Developed with First United Methodist Church
Part of the Playworks series Telling the Times

Director Steve Umberger   
Director of Photography Jay Thomas
Music Fred Story  Assistant Stage Director Mark Sutton
Cast: Scott Anderson, Belinda Hunter, Paul Lessard, Hilda Mojica, Mary Subach, Christina C. Williams




Despite the odds, this microcosm of the unhoused population formed a family and stayed together for three years, including during the pandemic, opening a surprising window on a fragile world hiding in plain sight and creating a 2023 documentary about the experience.


 "The group learned that their fellow member had been killed near the tent where he lived. They became even more determined to tell their stories about the chancy nature of life on the street. And they do speak now, bluntly, intimately and sometimes poetically."
Charlotte Observer (Toppman) feature about the project


"I was not prepared for this to change my life forever...I was one of those people that would see a homeless person and try to buy them a meal when all they want is to be accepted by society and have a roof over their heads like everyone else. Now I get it."  
Jill Burton, audience member at a screening of the film


 "The experience has been profoundly positive - one that has cultivated growth socially, creatively and consciously." 
Pitkin, QC Nerve (feature)


Read more in the captioned gallery and scroll for info and links.


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Call Me By My Name is made possible in part by a NC Humanities ARP Humanities Project Support Grant (nchumanities.org).



Project press & information
See press on Call Me By My Name
QC Nerve            Charlotte Observer

 




Director notes, stats and info about taking action
The Takeaway (2023)
 
More information about homelessness
U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness
Solutions for homelessness from Usich

Facts, figures and resources



Program development made possible by a Vitality Grant, a Justice and Reconciliation Grant of the United Methodist Church, the financial support of First United Methodist Church, and donations from the general public. Call Me By My Name is a collaboration between First United Methodist Church and The Playworks Group


Screenings of the film made possible by NC Humanities grant: Selwyn Avenue Presbyterian Church, Temple BethEl, Dilworth United Methodist Church, Caldwell Presbyterian, Park Road Baptist, First Christian Church, Unitarian Universalist Community, St. Martin's Episcopal Church. Other screenings: Charlotte Mecklenburg Public Library - Wells Fargo Theatre, ImaginOn; Beatties Ford Road Branch, University City Branch. Screenings included after-talks with project participants and creators.


Call Me By My Name grew out of StreetsmARTs, a program of First United Methodist Church, a 501(c)(3) non profit organization (Val Rosenquist, Senior Pastor).Donations are welcome at FUMC, 501 N. Tryon St., Charlotte NC, or online at charlottefirst.org (StreetsmARTs option)


Photography: William Guerrant, Jay Thomas

See what’s In The Works