Single Carrot Theatre Launches Community Conversations Around MR. WOLF

As part of Single Carrot Theatre's mission, to produce socially relevant theatrical productions while interacting with the community, SCT is building Community Partnerships for each of its site-specific productions in Season 12. These partnerships focus on expanding the exploration of the social significance of the plays beyond the performance, raising awareness on how these issues and themes are at play right here in Baltimore, as well as act as a way to engage the community with the spaces in which productions are taking place.

Launching the first in a series of show-specific community partnerships and conversations around themes brought up in the plays are community partnerships for Rajiv Joseph's Mr. Wolf, which centers on the return of a young woman abducted from her family years before.

"Mr. Wolf presents a rare circumstance," discuss directors Genevieve de Mahy and Lauren Jackson in their notes on the production. "It shows us the best possible situation in the worst possible scenario. This abductor has provided a home of comfort, security, and enlightenment for Theresa." However, according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, only 0.5% of all missing children's cases are non-family abductions. A majority of missing children are runaways, many of whom are teens, trying to get away from abusive home situations or foster care.

Single Carrot has partnered with local non-profits to learn about the reality of missing children in Baltimore, and the child trafficking that occurs in this country. Throughout the run of the production, SCT will host a series of post-show talkbacks with these and other experts in the field, and encourage audiences to stay for the conversations and join in the discussion. Community partners include the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which strives to protect children in America from abduction through educational programs, and to assist in the recovery of missing children; and Turnaround Inc., which provides counseling and support services to victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, and sex trafficking.

In addition, SCT has launched an online outlet, Carrot Conversations, which explores in-depth the research that members of the Ensemble and artistic team have done into the themes raised in the show, as well as an upcoming podcast featuring interviews with professionals dealing with these issues on a day-to-day basis. These posts can be found linked throughout Single Carrot's social media and by visiting singlecarrot.com/CarrotConversations.

Talkbacks scheduled throughout the run of Mr. Wolf include:

Friday, September 20 - Sarojini Schutt and Kari Fields, from Turnaround, Inc.

Sunday, September 22 - Amelia Rubenstein, University of Maryland School of Social Work's Child Sex Trafficking Victims Initiative

Friday, September 27 - Chris Heid, Maryland State Police Child Recovery Unit