Award-Winning Theatre Ensemble GIRL BE HEARD to Present EMBODI(ED)

The internationally renowned and award-winning ensemble GIRL BE HEARD (girlbeheard.org) - a nonprofit theatre company, which empowers young women to tell their stories - presents their new show Embodi(ED) at HERE (145 Sixth Avenue, enter on Dominick, 1 block south of Spring Street) opening Thursday, February 11th. Based on real stories of struggles with eating disorders, this theatre and dance work is written and performed by the GIRL BE HEARD members, directed by Ashley Marinaccio, and produced by theater-maker and activist Jessica Greer Morris. Embodi(ed) will have a limited run through Sunday, February 21st. Tickets are $20; $10 for students and seniors; and $40 for Fairy Godmother Tickets, which include a donation to GIRL BE HEARD. All tickets can be purchased online at here.org or by phone at 212-352-3101.

This production is a part of SubletSeries@HERE: Co-op, HERE's curated rental program, which provides artists with subsidized space and equipment, as well as technical support.

Embodi(ED) deals with the American distorted perception of body images and the multi-billion dollar industry that profits from insecurities affecting both men and women. The show has been devised by the GIRL BE HEARD ensemble, who conducted interviews with people of all ages and genders.

"Media messages and myths tell us that we are fat and ugly and it seeps like poison into our homes and into our bones. It was passed on to me as a child, and I am proud to stand with the young women of Embodi(ED) to stop this war on our bodies," says Jessica Greer Morris. "Embodi(ED) puts a personal face on the staggering statistics of people affected by eating disorders and how the diet industry impacts our daily lives," adds Ashley Marinaccio.

GIRL BE HEARD (formerly known as Project Girl Performance Collective) is a non-profit theatre company that brings global issues affecting girls center stage by empowering young women to tell their stories. It provides a safe environment for young women to write, direct and perform theatre productions on pressing socio-political issues under the guidance of professional directors, playwrights, actors, activists and intellectuals. Under Ashley Marinaccio's direction, GIRL BE HEARD's performances have toured internationally and received critical acclaim from The White House, The United Nations, the New Yorker, The New York Times, The Huffington Post, Ebony Magazine, National Public Radio, and media outlets across the globe. The collective has written and performed award-winning shows including: Girl Power: Survival of the Fittest; Project Girl Congo (commissioned by Panzi Hospital USA and performed in the White House); Child Bride (commissioned by the United Nations Girl Up Foundation and presented as a five-city tour); Trafficked, about girls in New York City enslaved in the sex trafficking industry; 9mm America, exploring America's culture of gun violence; and DISPLACED, examining displacement, homelessness, and the consequences of conflict in the U.S. and abroad.