Wendy Coleman, PhD
will write, direct, produce and star in This Is Our Story: Learning, Loving and Living Well with Diabetes. Through the Bayer Dream Fund, Coleman will be able to realize her dream of spreading inspirational messages about living well with diabetes through theater. This Is Our Story is a stage production based on Wendy's life. The main character learns how important diabetes self-management is through the inspirational experiences of her relatives and others with diabetes. Wendy hopes This Is Our Story will impact the lives of people from all classes and ethnicity who want to know how to live well with diabetes - both those who have the disease and those who love people with diabetes.
Professor Coleman, director of Theater Ensemble and Speech at Albany State University, in Georgia, was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2005. Coleman will hold five performances throughout the United States as noted below:
- September 12: Albany, GA at the Albany Municipal Theatre
- September 27: Montgomery, AL at the Tullibody Fine Arts Center/Leila Barlow Theatre
- October 18: Jackson, MS at Jackson State University
- November 15: Orlando, FL (Venue TBD)
- December 6: Dallas, TX at the Dallas Convention Center Theatre Complex
Click here to download performance dates.
"This Is Our Story: Learning, Loving, and Living Well with Diabetes" has been in my spirit for a while now. It is such a tremendous honor to be chosen as the Bayer 2007 Dream Fund winner and to be allowed the chance to make it come alive. The word "dream" is absolutely appropriate because this type of opportunity is the stuff my dreams have always been made of: to be able to write and tour a production that will impact people's lives and help them understand that diabetes is not a death sentence, it's a disease. Life doesn't end with a diagnosis! The most exciting thing I look forward to is being able to share this great news with my family and friends."
Wendy Coleman, Ph.D.
Winner of the 2007 Bayer Dream Fund
The Bayer Dream Fund contest will come to a close in the U.S. with the fifth and final winner, Wendy Coleman. Bayer Diabetes Care remains committed to programs that increase diabetes awareness and help people simplify life with diabetes.