Calgary-based burnt thicket theatre plans six-month, 13-city North American tour of She Has a Name

July 14, 2011 - PRLog -- Burnt Thicket Theatre in partnership with Raise Their Voice Against Injustice are planning a six-month North American tour of She Has A Name, a play by Andrew Kooman.

The play, which premiered in Calgary and Red Deer earlier this year, sold out its entire run and received critical acclaim. The play examines the dark world of human trafficking and focuses on a Canadian investigator (Jason) who poses as a john to build a legal case against a brothel trafficking girls into Bangkok. Jason must win the trust of a young girl forced to work as a prostitute who is known only as Number 18 and convince her to risk her life to testify for the sake of justice.

"We're excited to announce our first fundraising campaign to get the wheels of the tour in motion," says playwright Andrew Kooman who is working closely with Burnt Thicket Theatre and Raise Their Voice to see the tour come to life.

"I really believe in this story and I've been overwhelmed by the response from audience members who were deeply moved, shocked, and inspired by the play. The feedback from the World Premiere has inspired us to take the show on the road so thousands more people can experience the story."

The IndieGoGo campaign for the She Has A Name Tour aims to raise $10,000 this summer through social networking in order to start securing the actors who will perform in some 80 shows in 13 cities in Canada and the United States.

"Theatre, like addressing justice, is personal: both involve very human and personal responses," says Kooman. "What better way than to use social media to ask individuals who experienced the play to be part of making the tour a reality." The campaign invites people who saw the play and their networks to give small financial donations and offers perks for giving in return. The play has proven to be an effective tool to discuss the realities of trafficking, an issue that is getting greater and greater media exposure.

"She Has A Name will open your eyes to the reality of millions of 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 trafficking.

"But more importantly it will hopefully open the hearts of those who attend to become engaged in seeing human trafficking end. This play brings the nameless victims of trafficking into our western world and makes them all too close and real to ever forget." Wollenberg insists, "[People] must see it!"

Burnt Thicket and Raise Their Voice plan to stage the "must see" show for audiences across Canada and in select cities in the United States, including stops in Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, San
Francisco, Denver, Chicago, Grand Rapids and New York among other locations.

Beyond the IndieGoGo fundraising campaign Burnt Thicket and Raise Their Voice will unveil a multi-faceted approach that includes corporate sponsorship, private donations, gifts in kind and special events to raise the projected $400,000 it will take to bring the production to 13 North America cities from May to October 2012.

Learn more about the IndieGoGo campaign for the She Has A Name 2012 Tour at http://www.indiegogo.com/She-Has-a-Name-2012-Tour?c=home


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. Burnt Thicket Theatre just completed a successful Western Canadian tour of Hockey Dad: A Play In 3 Periods that included during the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. http://www.burntthicket.com

About Raise Their Voice

With a heart for the oppressed and a mind committed to action, Raise Their Voice, uses story, song, film and practical acts of mercy to address the plight of the oppressed and relieve suffering. raise their voice is incorporated under the Alberta Societies Act.  http://www.raisetheirvoice.com


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

Mr. Neil Bousquet APR, Media Relations, burnt thicket theatre, (403) 256-8834 prwizard@prwizard.ca

Ms. Alida Lowe, Producing Director, Burnt Thicket Theatre, 403-614-7723 alida@alidalowe.com