Secrets, hidden and unspoken, can easily turn from little inconveniences into heavy burdens. One community is finding a way to alleviate these secrets through a project, “PostSecret Live!” coming to Long Beach 7 p.m. Thursday at the Carpenter Performing Arts Center.
PostSecret is an online project where people from around the world anonymously send in personalized postcards with their deepest secrets and experiences. The unique and personal postcards are then posted on the internet for the world to see, cultivating a sort of outlet and community for those involved.
It was created in 2004 by Frank Warren, who started it as a side project as a way to connect with others.
“I thought that if I could create a safe non-judgemental space for people to tell their truest deepest stories, those confessions could really be extraordinary,” Warren said.
Since its creation in 2004, the project gained a huge fan base and has expanded greatly. According to Warren, the website PostSecrets.com, where 10 new postcards are picked and put online every Sunday, has close to 800 million visits from fans around the world.
“I think initially people maybe come to the website out of curiosity,” Warren said. “Eventually you come across a confession that just resonates with your soul.”
Once the project achieved a greater audience, Warren authored six New York Times best selling books, sharing never-before-seen postcards of unshared secrets.
Warren has learned many things through his project and has created a window into the human psyche.
“I’ve learned that secrets are the currency of intimacy,” Warren said. “By sharing them we can increase those bonds with others.”
Warren plans to speak with the students in hopes of helping them create a better bond with themselves and their classmates.
“When you’re younger I think you’re more alive and you’re in the middle of that journey trying to figure out what’s authentic and what’s [not],” Warren said.
The event will be a multimedia presentation, sharing some of the most impactful secrets and stories Warren has heard over the past decade. Among these secrets are hilarious, strange postcards and touching final voicemails from lost loved ones. However, according to Warren, the most impactful part of the night is usually when the audience participates.
“If I can be successful in inviting audience members to tell their deepest confessions live, it makes the power of the event last for more than just one night,” Warren said.
Megan Kline Crockett, the executive director of the Carpenter Center, agrees that the show is a perfect example of how important it is to bring members of collective group together.
“PostSecret [unites people] by interacting with the audience and giving them a space to feel connected through artwork created by a community,” Kline Crockett said.
PostSecret has also been highly involved with mental health advocacy. Before starting the project, Warren volunteered at a suicide prevention hotline and has since been awarded a lifetime achievement award for PostSecret’s efforts toward the same cause. According to Warren, over one million dollars have been raised by the PostSecret community for suicide prevention.
“PostSecret Live!” is not all the organization has planned in the near future. Next month, the project will open a brand new art exhibit in the Museum of Man in San Diego. Viewers will be able to walk through the museum in Balboa Park and take a look at original anonymous postcards holding people’s deepest thoughts and confessions. As long as postcards continue to be sent in, secrets will continue to be shared.
“Secrets [are] not walls, they’re bridges,” Warren said. “If we can find the best way to share them, we connect more deeply not just with others but with who we really are.”
Tickets for “PostSecret Live!” are $35 and available at the Carpenter Center Ticket Office or online at http://www.carpenterarts.org/index.php.