CHILDHOOD TRAUMA & JUVENILE JUSTICE to Premiere at UCLA

Childhood Trauma & Juvenile Justice is a new solo play that explores how childhood trauma and a lack of support can send people down dramatically different life trajectories.

This free one-time only live theatrical event will have its world premiere on Friday, November 13, at 3 p.m. at UCLA's Lani Hall. Performed, written, and directed by Dr. Micah E. Johnson, an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine and a SAG-AFTRA actor who uses plays and performances to disseminate research, information, and behavioral health resources to the community.

Dr. Johnson portrays multiple characters and alternative versions of a life shaped by different combinations of risk and protective factors. This creative and educational production examines how childhood trauma can affect mental health, substance use, and involvement in the justice system and explores the criminalization of mental illness and the poverty-to-prison pipeline.

Combining scientific research, storytelling, drama, humor, and lived experience, Childhood Trauma & Juvenile Justice asks audiences to consider not only individual choices but also how families, communities, institutions, opportunities, and systems shape those choices.

Designed particularly for youth, families, mentors, educators, social workers, community leaders, organizations, and anyone affected by trauma and juvenile justice, Childhood Trauma & Juvenile Justice represents an unusual intersection of academic research, medicine, social science, theatre, and community engagement. The performance translates research on childhood trauma, behavioral health, violence, and juvenile justice into an accessible theatrical experience.

The performance is intentionally free to the public, and attendees will receive free books and behavioral-health resources. UCLA Family Medicine is utilizing a live theatrical production to reach audiences that might never attend a scientific conference or read an academic journal.

“The play grew out of my work finding creative ways to translate academic research into experiences that people outside of universities can actually engage with. As a scientist and creative, I have spent years studying childhood trauma, behavioral health, violence, and juvenile justice and have worked extensively with people directly impacted by these systems,” exclaims Dr. Johnson. “Rather than only presenting the research through a traditional academic lecture, I began experimenting with using theatre, characters, music, humor, and storytelling to communicate the same ideas (education, research, and interventions).” 

Childhood Trauma & Juvenile Justice is an extension of Dr. Johnson's work. The central theatrical idea is to show how the same person might experience radically different futures depending on the risks, relationships, and resources encountered along the way.

Dr. Micah E. Johnson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine and a SAG-AFTRA actor who uses films, plays, live performances, and other creative interventions to disseminate research, information, and behavioral health resources to broader audiences.

Dr. Johnson's research focuses on trauma and behavioral health; he has authored more than 40 scientific articles and multiple books, including Never Had a Friend and The Police Youth Dialogues. Over the years, his work has been awarded upwards of $5 million in research grants from the National Institutes of Health. He has been cited by the New York Times, ESPN, Senator Bernie Sanders, Charlamagne tha God, and others. Dr. Johnson is also the recipient of the 2023 Outstanding Research Achievement Award at the University of South Florida and the 2023 Community Peacebuilder of the Year Award from the River Phoenix Center for Peacebuilding.