Community Conversations Presents THE ART OF BLUSHING & THE LAZARUS COMPLEX

Community Conversations 11/9 & 11/15 -THE ART OF BLUSHING & THE LAZARUS COMPLEX

Join us for a conversation with a panel of healers, educators and organizers after the shows on November 9 & November 15.

These shows are a study of the will to live and the will to die. These are true stories about real people and their lives. They do not glorify suicide, nor are there reenactments of any kind. These are performed readings with live music. The content is thought-provoking, poetic, and well researched.

Representatives from Dougy Center, Ask the Question Project, Returning Veterans Project, & Outside In will join Writer/Creator Ben Moorad for these conversations.

Writer Ben Moorad's grandfather was a psychiatrist in New Britain, Connecticut, who collected 124 stories from 1941 to 1948 of townspeople who tried to end their lives. As his grandfather was dying, Ben discovered these harrowing and deeply human stories in his papers, and Ben has spent the last 11 years researching and writing about them. The Art of Blushing and The Lazarus Complex is a part of this ongoing study of the will to live and the will to die. These two new standalone shows are a genre-blending, provocative and immersive experience combining vocal performance, a live score and visual projections.

The Dougy Center provides a safe place for children, teens, young adults and their families who are grieving a death to share their experiences. We do this through peer support groups, education, and training. dougy.org

Ask the Question Project is partnering with Clackamas County Behavioral Health on an important interviewing & photography project with the goal of breaking down the stigma around suicide. clackamasartsalliance.org/ask-the-question

Returning Veterans Project supports the healing and health of our veterans and military communities by connecting post-9/11 war zone veterans, service members, and their families with free, confidential mental and physical health services without any fees or strings attached, so that those they serve can have free, confidential access to the care they need. returningveterans.org

Outside In helps homeless youth and other marginalized people move towards improved health and self-sufficiency. outsidein.org

Ben Moorad is the Co-Founder of Write Around Portland, a nonprofit that has helped over 5000 adults and youth use the power of community writing to transform their lives, and the Co-Founder of Pass the Mic, a free music camp for immigrant and refugee youth. Ben is a Fellow of The MacDowell Colony and has received support from the Regional Arts & Culture Council, Caldera Arts and the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology for his Envelope of Suicides project.

COMMUNITY CONVERSATIONS:

November 9, 2018 - Representatives from Dougy Center & Ask the Question Project

November 15, 2018 - Representatives from Dougy Center, Returning Veterans Project, & Outside In

All shows at 7:30pm.

VENUE: Shout House, 210 SE Madison, Ste 11, Portland, OR 97214

TICKETS: $15 Th/Fr, $25 Sa, hand2mouththeatre.org