Beyond Welfare: 'Please Take a Number'

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WAITING IN LINE for anything can be painful. But waiting in a welfare line can be downright dehumanizing.

Writer and actor Nia Orms addresses life in the welfare system with her NAACP Award-winning one-woman show, "Please Take a Number."

Set in New York City, Orms portrays seven characters — ranging from Alexis, a well-read teenage mother to Ann Marie Johnson, a Sudanese refugee who escaped genocide — in an attempt to put faces to many urban stereotypes.

"Welfare is one of those categories of American living that is considered the lowest on the totem pole," Orms said. "But these are real people, who have dreams and aspirations. I thought that this would be a good vehicle to use bring awareness."

Orms reflected on her childhood in New York City, where she knew people on welfare. She also ventured into welfare offices and observed the painful process of waiting for assistance.

"What I learned from these people in the welfare system is that they all want to be acknowledged and want love," Orms said. "That's just a common tread through all people."

Through the character Jeannie — the once-gorgeous girl-next-door turned homeless crack addict — she shows how quickly someone can suddenly become dependent on welfare. The character is based on a woman Orms met in Harlem.

"I used to hear stories that she was the prettiest lady in the neighborhood," Orms said. "I would see her shaking on the streets some days, or sometimes just knocked out from doing drugs. One day while I was waiting for the train, she came up to me and said, 'You are so pretty.' That really hit me. I just said, 'Wow! That could be me.' Maybe she used to be somebody like me and just gave up. And now she's just a number."

» Atlas Performing Arts Center; 1333 H St. NE; Fri.-Sat. at 8 p.m.; Sun. at 3 p.m., $10; 202-399-7993.

Written by Express contributor John Murph
Photo courtesy Tom Estey Publicity & Promotion