EVENT: She Has a Name (Fringe)

Burnt Thicket Theatre & Raise Their Voice present She Has A Name in Montreal June 16-24 

Cross-Canada Tour of Critically Acclaimed Play about Human Trafficking Comes to Montreal Fringe Festival 

Montreal, Quebec (April 26, 2012) – Burnt Thicket Theatre in partnership with Raise Their Voice is proud to present She Has A Name by playwright Andrew Kooman at the St-Ambroise Montreal FRINGE Festival June 16-24 in the MAI (Montréal, arts interculturels).  She Has A Name exposes the dark world of human trafficking.  During its world premiere in Calgary and Red Deer last winter, the play received critical acclaim and sold out every performance.

The Montreal production is the fourth stop in the She Has A Name 12 city cross-Canada tour, having played to audiences in  Lethbridge, Saskatoon and Ottawa.  Following Montreal the tour travels east with to Halifax. In July, the tour swings westward with performances in Winnipeg, Calgary, Victoria, Vancouver, Kelowna, Edmonton. The tour concludes with performances in Red Deer October 2-6. 

She Has A Name focuses on Jason, a Canadian investigator who poses as a ‘john’ to build a legal case against an organized brothel that is trafficking girls into Bangkok.  Jason must win the trust of a young prostitute known only as Number 18 and convince her to risk her life to testify.

“She Has a Name is a powerful piece of theatre that both thrilled and inspired audiences during our successful world premiere," says director Stephen Waldschmidt. "We look forward to bringing this timely story to thousands more Canadians from Halifax to Victoria.  Montreal is reportedly a port city for women being trafficked from Europe, as well as a source city for  vulnerable minors being trafficked into Ontario as sex slaves.  I’m grateful to report that we have raised more than $85,000 from a wide range of supporters from across the country who believe in the need to tell this story to Canadians.”

"She Has A Name will open the eyes of Canadians to the reality that there are millions of innocent victims in the world today who live in these brutal conditions," says Mark Wollenberg, the Western Canadian representative of International Justice Mission Canada, an agency that works overseas to secure justice for victims of human trafficking.  "But more importantly, we hope that it will open the hearts of those who attend to become engaged in bringing an end to human trafficking. This play brings the nameless victims of trafficking into our western world and makes them all too close and too real to ever forget.  Canadians must see this play!"

Waldschmidt added that Burnt Thicket Theatre and Raise Their Voice are still looking for sponsorship opportunities from corporations, small businesses, non-profit and religious organizations, as well as donations from the private sector.

Details:	She Has A Name by Andrew Kooman
When:	June 16 - 24 [June 16 7:30pm; June 17 3:15pm; June 21 10:45pm; June 22 7:00pm; June 23 9:15pm; June 24 5:00pm]
Where:	The MAI (Montréal, arts intercultural), 3680, rue Jeanne-Mance, Montreal
Tickets:	$12 - available at www.shehasaname.net or www.montrealfringe.ca or (514) 849-FEST (3378) or at at the door

Cast List:  Evelyn Chew (Number 18 and Voice 1), Carl Kennedy (Jason and Pimp), Alysa Van Haastert (Ali and Voice 4), Glenda Warkentin (Marta and Voice 3), Sienna Howell-Holden (Mamma and Voice 2) .  

Creative Team: Stephen Waldschmidt (Director, Set Design, Scenic Artist), Karl Sine* (Fight Director), Deanne Bertsch (Choreographer), Jaylene Wiebe (Costume Design & Head of Wardrobe), Luke Ertman (Composer & Sound Design), Anton de Groot (Lighting Design), Brad Graham (Tour Stage Manager), James Popoff (Artistic Director), Alida Lowe (Producing Director), Nathan Schmidt (Dialect Coach). *Appears courtesy of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association.

For more information about the She Has A Name 2012 Canadian Tour, including videos, visit: shehasaname.net 

The Producers, Director and Playwright share their perspectives on the significance of the She Has A Name 2012 Tour    

About Raise Their Voice

With a heart for the oppressed and a mind committed to action, Raise Their Voice, uses story, song, theatre, film and practical acts of mercy to address the plight of vulnerable and exploited people and relieve suffering. Raise Their Voice is incorporated under the Alberta Societies Act. www.raisetheirvoice.com

About Burnt Thicket Theatre          

Burnt Thicket Theatre is an emerging Alberta company committed to enliven [restore life to] audiences through original performance, via an ensemble of artists seeking to integrate spiritual and artistic practices in the creation of new theatre works. In partnership with Raise Their Voice, Burnt Thicket Theatre in 2011 produced the world premiere of She Has a Name that received critical acclaim with sold out audiences during its three-week run in Alberta. www.burntthicket.com

For more information, interviews or hi-rez photos, please contact Neil Bousquet, APR directly.

Mr. Neil Bousquet, APR, Media Relations, Burnt Thicket Theatre, (403) 256-8834 prwizard@prwizard.ca  

Ms. Alida Lowe, Producing Director, Burnt Thicket Theatre, (587) 888-2491 alida@burntthicket.com