Welcome to the guidebook for Mary’s Story. This chapter serves as a comprehensive guide for creating your own choose-your-own-adventure scene that will be a key activity at the Food for Thought exhibition. Here, you will find detailed information, including:

1. Mary’s Story: A link to the online version of Mary’s story. This is the story you will be developing.
2. Story Structure: A breakdown of the elements your choose-your-own-adventure (CYOA) scene should include.
3. Capabilities Tracker: A breakdown of the meters that will track Mary’s progress throughout the story, such as financial, physical health, emotional health, family well-being, and mobility.
4. Character Profiles: Detailed descriptions of Mary, Elijah, and other key characters in the story. This includes details to help you accurately portray the physical aspects of characters and settings, as well as details to avoid.
5. Timeline: An overview of the story’s timeline.
6. Settings & Stations: Insights into the various locations and environments within the narrative, including stations focused on employment, finances, education, family, housing, and transportation.
7. Factual Information: Advice for blending evidence into the story.
8. Key Themes and Scene Ideas: An overview of the critical issues of poverty and food insecurity, which your scenes should address. This section also includes some scene ideas you can use as inspiration for your assignment.

By thoroughly reviewing this chapter, you will be equipped with the essential information needed to create engaging and consistent scenes that contribute meaningfully to the overall narrative of “Mary’s Story.” Your adherence to these guidelines will help maintain a cohesive and impactful experience for the audience.

Mary’s Story

Visitors to the Food for Thought exhibition will be Mary over the course of a simulated month in July and will make choices based on real-world low-income scenarios, navigating challenges related to employment, housing, and family life. The decisions at the end of each scene will impact Mary’s financial stability, well-being, and overall quality of life, offering an immersive experience into the struggles faced by individuals in similar situations.

You can access “Mary’s Story” on Twine to see how it works by clicking on the link below. This will give you a firsthand experience of the interactive narrative, helping you understand how to structure your own scenes within the story.

Mary’s Story

Story Structure

Each scene in the story must include the following four components:

Capabilities Tracker

The Capabilities Tracker (CT) consists of five meters that measure Mary’s ability to thrive in her environment. Each meter tracks a crucial aspect of her well-being and financial stability:

Character Profiles

Details to Include

The character profiles below provides detailed profiles for key figures in “Mary’s Story.” When writing your scenes, use these profiles to ensure consistency in how characters are portrayed. Focus on integrating their core traits and behaviors into your narrative to maintain realism. Avoid deviating from these established characteristics or introducing traits that are not aligned with the profiles provided, as this can disrupt the story’s coherence and impact.

Details to Avoid

While effective narratives depend on details, our goal is to engage a broad audience. Some details may unintentionally alienate our audience or use harmful stereotypes about poverty. Also, since several dozen students will be contributing to this poverty simulation, we want to avoid details that may contradict the work of another student. Therefore, please avoid including details about the following:

• Last names
• Physical appearance (hair and eye color, weight, height)
• Race / ethnicity
• Politics
• Religion
• Insensitive or stereotypical language about poverty and low-income individuals

Creating New Story Content

You are encouraged to create new content, including characters, settings, and scenarios, for your scenes as long as it aligns with the established story and does not contradict existing information. Feel free to use your creativity to enrich the narrative, but ensure consistency with the details provided in the character profiles and settings. If you have any questions or need clarification, please do not hesitate to contact me for guidance.

Timeline

The poverty scenario will follow Mary for one month in July. Your scene will take place on a specific day in July. Above your narrative scenario, please include both a title for your scene and the date in which it occurs. Here are some examples:

• July 6 / A Struggle for Education
• July 12 / Choosing Health: A Delicate Balance
• July 18 / A Crisis Unfolds
• July 27 / The Challenge of Feeding a Family

The story is designed to highlight the stresses placed on low-income individuals. This means that Mary’s Capabilities (e.g. finances, physical health, etc.) will be progressively lower as the month goes on. For example, if your scene takes place towards the end of the month, Mary will have little to no money, and her emotional health may be very low.

Take these factors into consideration as you create your scene. For example, by the end of the month, Mary may be experiencing extreme exhaustion and stress, which will shape how she talks, moves, and behaves.

Settings & Stations

Mary’s Neighborhood

Use this interactive map to explore the area where Mary lives.

The neighborhood in Southwest Phoenix, where Mary’s story unfolds, is characterized by its stark contrasts and limited resources. Located at the crossroads of Broadway and 19th Avenue, this area is known as a food desert, marked by its scarcity of essential amenities.

The landscape is dominated by industrial and commercial areas, and the streets are line primarily with convenience and dollar stores, auto repair shops, warehouses, fast food restaurants, and payday lending stores. Parks are nearly non-existent, and schools and hospitals are located far from the neighborhood, adding to the daily challenges. The lack of greenery and recreational spaces creates a sense of confinement, with most outdoor areas consisting of cracked sidewalks and neglected lots. The area reveals a lack of investment.

Using the Available Settings

Use the settings section below to guide the creation of your scene for “Mary’s Story.” Familiarize yourself with each station and the specific locations within them, and then decide where your story will take place. By understanding the context of Mary’s environment, you can create a compelling and cohesive narrative that aligns with the overall story.

You must write your choose-your-own-adventure scene based on one of these settings, ensuring that the next step at the end of your scene logically and consistently sends participants to another relevant station.

Factual Information

As much as possible, details in Mary’s story should be factual and accurate.

Please also avoid making up information that can be easily researched. For example, don’t say that Mary spent $20 at the grocery store to buy five apples. When including details, take a moment to go online and find accurate information that will help reinforce a sense of realism.

Key Themes

This list of key themes offers a starting point for exploring the various elements of Mary’s story. While these themes cover significant aspects such as financial struggles, single parenthood, and educational aspirations, they are not exhaustive. You are encouraged to draw from your own research and insights gained throughout the semester to identify additional themes that resonate with your scenes. Use this list as a guide to help shape your narrative, but feel free to incorporate other themes that emerge from your exploration.

Scene Ideas

In this section, you’ll find a variety of scene ideas organized by station to help inspire your work on “Mary’s Story.” You are welcome to select one of these scenes and adapt it to fit your vision or create entirely new scenes that align with the existing narrative. As you develop your scenes, ensure they reflect relevant issues related to poverty and food insecurity. Your goal is to highlight these challenges authentically while maintaining consistency with the established story. Feel free to be creative, but remember to stay true to the themes and circumstances of Mary’s life.