Sharing stories of who we are & who we've come from

"Letters … to the ancestors" draws on the creative talents of Roshan Chadda, Judith Carluccio, the Rev. Milton Holmes and Lorraine Stone. Chadda will read a letter to his grandparents (right) during the program.

Allen Chapel's 'Letters

… to the ancestors' to

be presented Feb. 4 BY LINDA DeNICOLA

Staff Writer

Letter writing really is a dying art, and that's too bad because letters can be revealing in what they convey of personal feelings and the life and times of the letter writer.

A program called " Letters ... to the ancestors" is an attempt to showcase the value of letters in the life of a family and of a culture. In many ways, it is a portal back through time, just as DNA testing and ancestral research can unveil the details of a genealogy.

The " Letters … to the ancestors" program builds on the resounding success of the "Monologues" programs of the past two years, part of the Performing Arts Series at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Monmouth County (UUCMC).

The production, which is the brainchild of Judith Carluccio of Seaside Park, will be held Feb. 4 at 4 p.m. in the Unitarian Universalist Meetinghouse, 1475 W. Front St., Lincroft.

" Letters … to the ancestors" is the culminating event of a whole year of events sponsored by The Allen Project.

The Rev. Milton Holmes, minister emeritus of the A.M.E. Church, Allen Chapel in Asbury Park, explained last year that the Allen Project is a nonprofit corporation that grew out of the A.M.E. Church.

"It's a community development corporation to deal with programs like these. We want to really push diversity and getting to know one another through similar functions," he said.

Holmes explained that the Allen Project is named after Richard Allen, who was a founder of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.

The Letters program is sponsored by the Allen Chapel, the UUCMC and the Monmouth Center for World Religions and Ethical Thought.

Carluccio said she and her co-producer were thinking about how to follow up on the success of "Somebodies," which was a compilation of personal monologues, without doing monologues again.

"After some thought, I imagined letters as the vehicle, or the form. The idea rattled around in my head for a while," she said. "A day later, I saw a program on PBS called "African American Lives."

Hosted by Dr. Henry Gates, the "African American Lives" program grew out of Gates' genealogical studies on famous African people, such as Oprah, Whoopie Goldberg, Quincy Jones, Chris Tucker and others.

"I feel that all drama comes from the family. We all know how important it is to have some information about who we've come from and who we are." - Judith Carluccio

The series works to restore the participants' lineage in reverse chronological order starting with the oral histories and drawing on photographs, film clips, music and early personal records.

"I watched the way people responded to the information about where they came from," said Carluccio, who is a retired family therapist.

As a family therapist, she knows from her work and her own experience how deep is the need to be able to piece together a family history.

"I feel that all drama comes from the family," she said. "We all know how important it is to have some information about who we've come from and who we are."

She explained that the Letters project builds on that idea. She asked participants to write letters to ancestors, those they had heard about and might not have known and those they did know, alive or dead. She feels that through writing the letters, connections can be made and conclusions can be drawn about who we are.

"So that's what felt compelling to me," she said. "From my work with people over the years, I knew what was needed."

Carluccio said she asked for volunteers from among the UU membership, the Allen Project members and from her friends.

"I received a number of letters and chose about 10 or 11 letters. Then we asked people to tell us how they wanted to dramatize the letters. We got all sorts of interesting responses to that request."

She explained that they have a cast of 10 people. Some will read their letters in a dramatic fashion; others will be sung or performed in some way.

One of the readers is Roshan Chadda, a UUCMC member and one of the founders of The Center for World Religions and Ethical Culture. He penned a moving letter to his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Nand Lal Chaddha, who lived in India, telling them about his 2-year-old granddaughter, their American great-granddaughter, and what he plans to tell her of them.

"My thoughts turn to my childhood with you in a small village in Punjab, the land of five waters, in northwest India. You are our link to our ancestors. You, along with my parents, were my best teachers who taught me about my family and its values," he wrote.

"You taught me that our family was rooted deeply in the soil of India. I have learned that our ancestors were a part of the Indian forces that engaged Alexander's army at river Jehlam more than two millennia ago. Over time, their children defended India from other invaders."

He goes on to say that his granddaughter, Maya, is the "inheritor of two great traditions, the youthful American and the ancient Indian, both with a world view of openness."

Chadda's letter is full of warmth and wisdom. It is one of a kind, just as all of the letters in the program promise to be.

"There is a lot of diversity in the way people are presenting their letters," Carluccio said.

She noted that Kati Brower, who is a blues singer, will do her letter in blues style, and Carol Penn, a choreographer, has choreographed a piece about ancestry. In addition, the Rev. Holmes has also submitted a letter.

"Lorraine Stone, an actress, will be doing the Rev. Holmes' letter. The Rev. Holmes has written a letter to himself as a 5-year-old boy in the voice of his grandmother. He wrote it in the patois of the slave person. It's just wonderful," said Carluccio.

She noted that Stone will read it in that voice, as though the woman is speaking in the present.

"We also have a group who are going to do a letter in hip-hop," she said, explaining that a poet will read while a hip-hop group supports him.

Besides the reading of letters, there will be two videos shown. The first will be of women talking about their elders.

"It's an edited version of interviews I did with women around the subject of aging in the family," Carluccio said.

Since the program is also about multiculturalism, there will be a feast of homemade ethnic foods following the performance.

"I have asked the members of the cast to make or bring a dish that was passed down from the family. Other people will be bringing food as well. It will be a mix of ethnic foods and we will give attribution to the person who passed the recipe down," Carluccio said.

"We want to try to tie food in to the legacy of food. Lots of stuff is passed down, including food," she added.

Carluccio conceived the idea for Letters and is directing the production, but she is not working alone. Pianist Elaine Vander Plate Held, Bradley Beach, and Lorraine Stone, Eatontown, are co-producers. George Hensel has volunteered to be lighting director, Carluccio said.

"He has been our lighting guardian angel and Mike Patton is our wonderful sound and projection person."

She noted that her husband, Dan Carluccio, will be making sure that the music is mixed correctly. In addition, she said, violinist Joel DeWitt will be backing her up musically, and Jack Ives and Paul Newland have worked on the program, photographs and other graphics.

Carluccio quoted from the words of Thich Nhat Hanh, a Buddhist teacher, because, "he manages to convey deep, complicated truths with simplicity and warmth."

"He said: 'If you look deeply into the palm of your hand, you will see your parents, and all generations of your ancestors. Each is present in your body. You are the continuation of each of these people.' "

Roshan Chadda ends his letter on the same note: "Finally, you taught me what it means to be an elder, putting others first, listening with care and being just. I was and am glad to be your grandchild. I am glad that Maya is your great-great-grandchild. She will inherit your values."