Trenton Soroptimists present BODY & SOLD

TRENTON, Mich. - Sept. 30, 2015 - PRLog -- BODY & SOLD

Living Stories: Sex Trafficking of American Youth.

Every girl and boy dreams sometimes of running away from home, but stalking these runaways are pimps looking for young bodies to sell; and every parent’s nightmare is enduring the heartbreaking tragedy of looking for a missing child. BODY & SOLD - America, winner of a Massachusetts Cultural Council Artist’s Award, is a documentary play that interweaves the stark reality of eight American teen survivors who ran away from home and were lured, seduced, or kidnapped and trafficked as prostitutes around the United States. Based on interviews done by the playwright, Deborah Lake Fortson, in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Boston, Hartford, Los Angeles, and New York, the play uses the subjects’ own words to show why they had to leave home, how they were approached and trafficked, and how they used their ingenuity to escape and survive everyday violence and life on the street.

Following participation in the Global Women Leaders Network training in Santa Clara, California, Tempest Productions launched The BODY & SOLD Project, a campaign to produce the play in collaboration with theaters, colleges, and women’s groups to benefit organizations helping women and girls. As of 2012, BODY & SOLD has been produced in over thirty American cities, in Japan, and inLondon.

In partnership, the Trenton Soroptimists and the Woodhaven High School Theater Group are presenting BODY & SOLD to the general public. This production is the first one hosted by a school system and a high school as part of their after-school curriculum, led by teacher and Woodhaven Theater Company’s Michael Clemons in conjunction with the playwright. Woodhaven High School students dedicated their free time after school to use their talents by working on this play to bring awareness to this problem and to get the message out to their peers and parents. This play is a must-see for every parent, grandparent, and teen in the United States. Please note that the content is recommended for mature audiences only.

To learn more about human trafficking, there are four dates and locations from which to choose to view this outstanding documentary play:

October 14th at 7:00 P.M. at Woodhaven High School Auditorium with playwright Deborah Lake Fortson; and Devaun Chandler, human trafficking survivor and S.O.A.P. (Save Our Adolescents from Prostitution) activist.

October 15th at 6:00 P.M. (doors open at 5:30) at Wayne State University Community Arts Auditorium with playwright Deborah Lake Fortson; and guest speaker Theresa Flores, human trafficking survivor, author of The Slave Across the Street, and founder of S.O.A.P.

October 16th at 7:00 P.M. at Penelope’s Venue, in Southgate with survivor Theresa Flores.

October 17th at 7:00 P.M. at the Trenton Village Theatre with Corporal Rolando Hinojosa, Melvindale Police Department law enforcement veteran, along with a recent human trafficking survivor, and Devaun Chandler.

Members of S.O.A.P. will attend all four sessions to share materials with the public.

There is a suggested donation of $5.00.

Donations also accepted at http://formsmarts.com/form/1me7. (http://formsmarts.com/form/1me7)

For more information, follow us on Facebook at Soroptimist Trenton, MI or contact Karen Collins at (313)969-9206.