Her Story Theater Presents
TRAFFICKING
Featuring Mary Bonnett
Her Story Theater, a Chicago based theater company dedicated to raising awareness of the epidemic of domestic sex trafficking. Presented by Her Story Theater Co-founder and Producing Artistic Director, Mary Bonnett, TRAFFICKING includes a brief reading taken from one of Mary’s plays followed by a presentation with a post audience question and answer session. Bonnett’s work uncovers the nationwide toxic world of domestic trafficking, the manipulations of the traffickers, the access to American youth, the ways and means in which they solicit their prey, the grim impact on victims and the participants who perpetuate this 9.6 billion dollar business that exists across every town in our nation. As one trafficker stated, “We are master manipulators and a click away from your child.” Seventy percent of trafficking recruitment is done online. Based on hundreds of interviews with experts, victims, buyers and traffickers since 2012 plus hours of research, Bonnett has become an expert herself in the field of domestic sex trafficking, speaking to audiences nationwide.
The event will raise awareness, understanding and prevention of this grim nightmare for thousands of American youth. As an audience member, learn how you can become part of the solution in ending this modern day slavery.
BIO
MARY BONNETT (Her Story Theater Producing Artistic Director, Playwright) created and cofounded Her Story Theater. Mary is the playwright of GLOSS OVER on homeless women in Chicago and her Chicago Sex Trafficking Cycle which includes SHADOW TOWN, THE JOHNS, MONEY MAKE'M SMILE, and her current production, MONGER. Her plays are based on over 250 interviews with those involved with domestic sex trafficking. All work is fictionalized for the stage. She has won numerous awards for excellence and outstanding contributions in professional theater, writing, directing and theater education. Her plays and directing have been seen in theaters and universities around the United States. She speaks regularly to organizations across Illinois on domestic sex trafficking and the impact the current culture has on our youth which include such organizations as The Cook County Human Trafficking Task Force Conference, Girls Forward and multiple trafficking conferences for judges, lawyers, social worker, educators and psychologists around the nation. Mary has appeared on television and radio shows, championing the need for change in laws and awareness to protect children and women. Under Mary's leadership, Her Story Theater has raised thousands of dollars for its partner service organizations. Her work also includes partnership with educators in developing an extensive 7TH-12TH grade curriculum on domestic sex trafficking related to her play MONEY MAKE’M SMILE. Mary created the Front Line Series on domestic sex trafficking which includes the SIDE SHOWS: COURT SIDE in partnership with Federal, state, and county judicial leaders; MIND SIDE with performance and panel for therapists and psychologists; ED SIDE with performance, curriculum and study guide for teachers, students and administrators.
Two additional segments in the making are MED SIDE for the medical community and LAW SIDE for law enforcement. These staged readings focus on the trauma-based journey of a domestic sex trafficked victim and its impact. The Front Line Series SIDE SHOWS helps raise awareness, empathy, and deeper understanding for professionals working with sex trafficked victims. It generates in-depth post show discussions as another tool of problem-solving. These works have been seen nationwide.
Mary is a member of SAG-AFTRA, the Dramatists Guild of America, The Writers Guild and a Board member of Perennial Theater of Chicago. She is winner of the BIBO Award and Community Engagement Award for Chicago Community Action, Civic Engagement Award and the Illinois Senate Hero Award for her work in sex trafficking in Illinois. Mary holds a BFA in Theater Arts, BFA in English Literature, MA in Creative Writing. She acts as advisory and support for Traffick Free and The Dreamcatcher Foundation. She has been involved with supporting families in search of victims and justice; as well as investing in survivors who are now free from “the life.”
ABOUT HER STORY THEATER
Her Story Theater is a Chicago theater company for social change. Its mission, through theater and the written word, is to shine bright lights in dark places on women and children in need of social justice and community support. The company started in 2011 and has continued to grow with partners and audience awareness on issues such as homelessness and extensively on domestic sex trafficking. Backstage Magazine listed Her Story Theater as one of the Top Ten Best Theaters for “Changing Lives”.
Saint Paul, MN-based Mary Cutrufello has been hailed as a Texas honky-tonk heroine, a fiery Midwestern roots-rocker, and a powerhouse acoustic performer in her more than 25 years in the music business. Connecticut-raised and Yale-educated, Cutrufello made records showcasing all of those facets of her identity as her musical journey has taken her from the East Coast to Houston and now to Minnesota.
Cutrufello spent the 1990's in Texas, where her hard-driving honky-tonk style won her a loyal following, as well as kudos from the local media (cover stories in the Dallas Observer and Austin Chronicle, features in Texas Monthly and the Houston Press, the first of 2 appearances on Austin City Limits) and such Texas legends as Willie Nelson, Joe Ely, and Johnny Bush. She sat in with Billy Joe Shaver, played Willie's Picnic, wrote with Steve Earle. Jimmie Dale Gilmore hired her to play guitar on the international tour that followed his Elektra Records release “Braver Newer World” in 1996. Cutrufello's first CD, 1996's live-to-tape “who to love + when to leave,” showcased her gritty take on the honky-tonk tradition, and was hailed as “quite simply one of the sharpest, most essential country albums of the last decade” by Matt Weitz in the Dallas Observer.
Cutrufello parlayed that success into a record deal with Mercury Records, and with that came a stylistic move back toward the rock that she grew up on. While it left a few Texans confused, Cutrufello reminded them that, “rock and roll is where I'm from, and as much as I love country, I have to give that part of me its voice too.” In 1998, Mercury released the critically-acclaimed “When the Night is Through.” A spot on The Tonight Show followed, as well as another Austin City Limits appearance and tours with the Allman Brothers, Susan Tedeschi, and Gov't Mule...many shows with Bruce Springsteen organist Danny Federici in the band on keyboards.
But Mercury was swept away in the 1999 merger of Seagram's and PolyGram, and “When the Night is Through” was one of many casualties of that cataclysm. After some rambling and soul-searching, she ended up in Minnesota in early 2002. “I'd moved to Texas to delve into honky-tonk music, and I guess in a way I moved to Minnesota to really delve back into that straightforward midwestern rock sound I've always loved,” she says. "I'd always had a great time when I passed through the Twin Cities on tour, and with the strong musical energy here, and the world-class players, I knew it'd be a great next place to be."
After a bout with vocal nodes that sidelined her for much of the mid-90s, Cutrufello re-emerged with a vengeance on 2007's “35,” a taut collection of rock songs showcasing her writing, her guitar playing, and her once-again powerful voice. On the heels of that release came 2010's “Acoustic EP” and 2012's “Fireflies Till They're Gone,” quieter explorations of Cutrufello's folkie and twangy sides, respectively.
“Man, it's all in there!” she says. “It's all legit; it's all part of who I am! I mean, I love strapping on a Tele and crankin' out a guitar solo at the edge of the stage. Who wouldn't, right? But I also love telling stories and conjuring ghosts with just an acoustic guitar. It's a journey either way.”
More information at www.marycutrufello.com.Admission is $20 in advance, $30 at the door. Students 18 and under are admitted for $5.
Tickets are available in advance at Art Beat of Hayward, 15845 W. 2nd Street (Cash or Check Only) or may be purchased ONLINE.
The duo of Dick Hensold and Patsy O'Brien present a concert of traditional Celtic music, but with unique and innovative arrangements, including a variety of songs from Britain and Ireland, accompanied by guitar and Northumbrian smallpipes (a quiet bagpipe from Northeast England), and various whistles. It also features traditional and historical tunes from Cape Breton Island, Scotland, Ireland and Northumberland, with a good measure of original music in the traditional style. As well as a broad range of styles of Celtic music, this program also features an impressive range of expression, from the jaunty and humorous to the soulful, led by Patsy’s warm and multi-colored baritone voice, Dick’s variety of pipes and whistles, and the nimble instrumental virtuosity of both musicians. (Please note that NONE of the various bagpipes used in this concert are very loud.)
Hensold (Northumbrian smallpipes, Scottish reel pipes, whistles and recorder) is the leading Northumbrian smallpiper in North America. For the past 20 years Dick Hensold has performed and taught in England, Scotland, Japan, Canada, and across the United States. He is an active composer, writing music both in the traditional Celtic idiom, and in more elaborately-scored pieces in the same style. This repertoire is featured on his album, Big Music for Northumbrian Smallpipes, released in 2007. He is also a studio musician and theater musician, and is a 2006 Bush Artist Fellow.
FolkWorld CD Reviews says, “The piping is fluent and assured… his technique is impressive… delightfully interpreted.”
As well as supplying the driving guitar rhythms of Celtic/World Music diva Eileen Ivers’ last European tour, and collaborating with many giants of the Celtic/World music scene (Paddy Keenan, Cathie Ryan among them), award-winning artistPatsy O’Brien hosts guitar workshops all over the country, and NPR saw fit to feature one of his song arrangements on the prestigious All Songs Considered. With four critically-acclaimed solo albums under his belt along with numerous live and studio collaborations, O'Brien’s songwriting reflects his penchant for seamless genre-hopping, and a strong interest in roots Americana and jazz .
The Irish Examiner calls O'Brien, “Ireland’s best-kept musical secret.” FreeWorldMusic characterizes O'Brien's work as, “Provocative, genre-defying excellence.”
Admission is $20 in advance, $30 at the door. Students 18 and under are admitted for $5.
Tickets are available in advance at Art Beat of Hayward, 15845 W. 2nd Street (Cash or Check Only) or may be purchased ONLINE.
Thursday, December 5, 2019 - 7:30 pm
First Thursday Music Series
Featuring: DJ Salquist Hosted by Chad Kostner
Admission is $20 in advance, $30 at the door. Students 18 and under are admitted for $5.
Tickets will be available soon.
Saturday, December 21, 2019 - 7:30 pm
Randy Sabien X-Mas
Admission is $20 in advance, $30 at the door. Students 18 and under are admitted for $5.
Tickets will be available soon.
Saturday, January 11, 2020 - 7:30 pm
After Memphis
Admission is $20 in advance, $30 at the door. Students 18 and under are admitted for $5.
Tickets will be available soon.
Friday, January 17, 2020 - 7:30 pm
LCO Behavioral Health Dept. Presents: Iron Horse
Friday, March 13, 2020 - 7:30 pm
Duke Tumatoe & The Power Trio
Admission is $20 in advance, $30 at the door. Students 18 and under are admitted for $5.
Tickets will be available soon.
Dining Out before the Show at participating restaurants on the evening of a Park Center Event? Show your server your purchased-in-advance ticket for that event, and you’ll receive a discount on your meal. Discounts vary at various restaurants: Anglers / Lumberjack Steakhouse / Flat Creek / Fireside / The Ranch / Black Iron Bar and Grill.
