Torture Survivors Express on Stage – Feb 26th & 27th

A message to our readership from our friend and contributing writer Diane Lefer:

As some of you know, with Hector Aristizabal and Alessia Cartoni, we’ve been creating a Theater of Witness play with torture survivors who live in Los Angeles County entitled, “We Are Here”.

Theatrically, it’s an experiment. These people aren’t actors, they’ve never spoken in public before, we’ve had scant rehearsal time, some participants dropped out, the script keeps changing and getting simplified. But regardless, we hope to get them a supportive audience of fellow Angelenos who can recognize their courage and the challenges they face here in LA as they work to rebuild their lives.

Info: Tuesday, Feb. 26th at 7:30 PM, community room at Mercado La Paloma, 3655 S. Grand Avenue, 90007. (Just south of Jefferson. There’s a parking lot and usually lots of street parking. The community room is in the back of the Mercado. Walk toward Chichen Itza restaurant and make a left.) Free admission. No reservations needed.

Wednesday, Feb. 27th at 7:30, Club Fais Do-Do, 5257 W. Adams, 90016 (between Fairfax and La Brea, near Redondo). This is usually a music venue so we’ll have folding chairs. It has a stage and lighting. Free admission. No reservations needed.

I hope you can join us as we celebrate these extraordinary men and women from Cameroon, El Salvador, Guatemala, Russia, and Uganda.

Diane Lefer