BWW Interviews: Taren Sterry

Taren has 180 Days to help her patients find the meaning at the end of life.... Can she do it? In 180 Days, the audience is taken on an intensely personal and surprisingly funny journey through her first six months as a hospice volunteer. Taren goes through unexpected and humbling events where she discovers hidden qualities in herself that gives purpose to her own life.

Actress, comedienne and playwright Taren Sterry is also the Manger of Volunteer Program Services of The Visiting Nurse Service of New York's Hospice Care. She has written and currently performing in a show called 180 Days at the Stage Left Theatre (438 West 37th Street - between 9th and 10th Avenue), which is now in its fourth extended run. Directed by Cheryl King, performances are June 26th, July 10th, July 17th and July 18th at 3PM.

Taren uses a "grass roots" campaign to sign up volunteers after the show and has had tremendous success. She is able to use her performances as a platform to introduce her audiences to volunteer opportunities in the Hospice Program that she runs.

Taren is a 2008 Manhattan Monologue Slam Winner and wrote, produced and starred in the hilarious Totes Hilare. She was a winning model on Bravo's The Fashion Show and also teaches Improv and Public Speaking at the People's Improv Theater. She has worked for The Visiting Nurse Service of New York Hospice Care as the Manager of Volunteer Program Services since 2002. Taren started VNSNY's Hospice Care as a bereavement intern while earning her Master's degree in Gerontology and Thanatology from the College of New Rochelle. In this role she made supportive phone calls to families after the death of their loved one and co-facilitated bereavement groups. This work ultimately led her to the Volunteer Program and her current role as Manager in Manhattan. In this position, Taren recruits, trains and supports volunteers who work with patients and families, providing much needed care and service during a very difficult time.

I asked Sterry to talk with me about this incredibly moving subject.

How did you get involved with the Visitng Nurse Service of New York Program?

I wanted to volunteer, actually. It was February of 2002 and I was studying Gerontology and Thanatology (death and dying counseling) at the College of New Rochelle when I attended the VNSNY Hospice care volunteer training. I met the staff and knew I had to work here and was actually offered a job at the training. Six months later I was facilitating the training I had just attended. That was eight years ago and I've done over 40 trainings since then.

Working as a hospice volunteer seems like it would be a tough and emotionally draining road. Has it been that way for you?

Everyone thinks hospice must be like the DMV, dark and depressing. It's not at all. Visiting Nurse Service of New York Hospice Care staff and volunteers have a sense of purpose and service, which is rewarding in a way that few jobs and volunteer opportunities are. There is extraordinary satisfaction in being of service and helping people in need. Hospice people are unsuspectingly light and happy. If the work was depressing, they wouldn't last. And as far as I know, no one here has ever left because they felt the DMV was a better fit.

When did you decide to bring your experience into the stage genre?

I moved to NY in 2001 to study Gerontology and Death and Dying. I had no intention of doing comedy or being on stage. Then one day in 2004 I was walking home from work and passed The People's Improv Theater and thought, "Mmm...I bet I could do that." Six months later I had completed my first Improv class and performed and early version of what 180 Days is today. In 2007 I started performing my own original sketch material at Stage Left and got to know Cheryl King. We started working together last summer and she has been the perfect director to take this show to the next level. Her own mother died on hospice so she really gets the material. She also has a superb sense of drama, direction and story.

How has doing this affected you personally?

Bringing the story back to life has helped me heal in ways I never suspected. My first six months working with hospice were the most transformative in my life. (You'll have to see the show to know why.) I always knew those first six months would make a great story and I felt that my patient's stories were worth telling.

What type of reaction are you getting from the audiences to the subject matter?

My sense is that people are very moved by the material which doesn't pull any punches. Visiting Nurse Service of New Yorks Hospice Care's mission is give compassionate end-of-life care to the terminally ill. We are caring for people like us-human beings, New Yorkers, People with dreams and disappointments, virtues and flaws. Men and women with pasts, stories, dramas. None of them are perfect. None of their families are perfect. So we work within family dynamics and the functions of their dysfunctions. Illuminating these themes in theater with the goal of entertaining and enlightening is a dream come true. It's tragedy and comedy, life and death, love and loss. All which make for great theater.

You are signing up volunteers after each show for volunteer work. Has this been a successful endeavor?

Just this morning I got an email from an audience member who wants to volunteer her Reiki skills for VNSNY Hospice Care patients. The recruitment for volunteers through the show is building and is very exciting. The show is meant to entertain and inspire. I think it's doing both.

And the show is now in its fourth extended run. Are you surprised?

Yes!! The success of the show at Stage Left and the touring gigs that are lining up are beyond my wildest dreams. I'm so grateful to everyone who has supported me thus far. VNSNY has been amazing.

Any plans on taking the show on the road for more awareness?

Stage Left is 180 Days home for now, but the show is also on tour! My goal in the next year is to take 180 Days to at least 25 hospices throughout the country. All the information is at www.tarensterry.com This fall I'll also be having a fundraiser-at a VNSNY Hospice Care volunteer's house, of course-to make the show available to any place that wants the show regardless of funds.

---

The Visiting Nurse Service of New York is the largest not-for-profit home health care organization in the country. Comprised of 14,340 employees including more than 2,480 nurses, 520 rehabilitation therapists (physical therapists, occupational therapists and speech therapists), more than 7,800 home health aides, 620 social workers, and 135 other clinical professionals. The Visiting Nurse Service of New York has served NYC since 1893-longer than the subway system and the Yankees and almost as long as the Statue of Liberty. VNSNY is a vital part of New York's public health infrastructure, delivering care to New Yorkers of all ages and all walks of life.

For more information on VNSNY log on to www.vnsny.org or call -800-675-0391

Photo Credit: Janet Charles