Riders are going to share their SEPTA stories during a performance Sunday night in West Philadelphia.

“Doors Are Opening: A Healing Happening about SEPTA” will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. at Studio 34 (named for the trolley route now known as the T2), located at 4522 Baltimore Ave. Tickets remain available and are being offered on a “sliding scale” or pay-what-you-can model.

“We’ve collected storytellers, musicians, poets,” organizer and emcee Michal Pearl Waldfogel told Metro. “We have an improv comedy troupe as well, and we’re going to be bringing together these stories, this artwork, in addition to facilitating audience conversation.”

Nico Meyering, of Transit Forward Philadelphia, which is supporting the event, said the show is “really a conglomeration of many different artistic visions.” He is finalizing a script for his segment. 

Storytellers and performers submitted stories ahead of the event, and attendees will be invited to participate, explained Waldfogel, a musician and naturopathic medicine practitioner.

Waldfogel said the idea to meld transit and art has been brewing since she released a song about SEPTA nearly 15 years ago called “We’re Getting There,” a reference to the authority’s former slogan.

“I became a bit of an unofficial SEPTA therapist, where people told me about their SEPTA stories, which is fun,” she added.

Meyering and Waldfogel said they hope the performance can bring a bit of joy to the transit experience, which can be frustrating when buses or trains are delayed or canceled. On a larger scale, Transit Forward Philadelphia has also been on the frontlines of the ongoing fight to secure more funding for public transportation agencies in Pennsylvania.

“We’re every day interacting with people who are living – other Philadelphians – but living very different lives than us, and I think art is a way to process those experiences,” Waldfogel said.

“When we take transit, we form a small community, even if temporarily, and we all make an implicit agreement with each other that we will exist in this shared space,” Meyering added. “What a beautiful example of democracy. What a beautiful example of community in a town that is not overtly known for its friendliness.”

Meyering, inspired by a now defunct transit theater initiative in Chicago, said the hope is to do a series of storytelling and arts programs involving SEPTA experiences.

While it’s too late to sign up for a time slot at Sunday’s performance, interested parties can fill out a Google form for the next event, dubbed “Making All Stops,” which is scheduled for Oct. 17 at the Rotunda in University City. The show will include visual art, music and storytelling, according to Transit Forward Philadelphia.

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Keywords

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Studio 34,

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Michal Pearl Waldfogel,

Nico Meyering,

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Philadelphia events