NH Theatre Project's Elephant-in-the-Room Series Tours To Rochester, Concord, Gorham, And Brentwood

After its initial reading in Portsmouth on March 7, New Hampshire Theatre Project's Elephant-in-the-Room Series will be touring their program on the Opioid Crisis Effect on Families, featuring A Wider Circle by Mary-Ellen Hedrick, to four other communities. Programs will be held on April 2 at the Rochester Performing Arts Center in Rochester, April 9 at NHTI/Concord's Community College in Concord, April 10 at Medallion Opera House in Gorham, and May 9 at Austin17House in Brentwood. All programs will be held at 7 pm. Admission is free and any donations will be presented to a nonprofit agency working directly with families affected by substance use disorder.

As an advocate for the recovery community, playwright Mary-Ellen Hedrick felt compelled to address the topic of addiction as a family disease. With New Hampshire leading the nation in opioid related deaths, this issue is having significant consequences in communities around the state. A Wider Circle had such a powerful response in last year's Elephant-in-the-Room Series, New Hampshire Theatre Project was approached by the NH State Council on the Arts and other funders to tour it to other regions of New Hampshire.

Following the reading of A Wider Circle, facilitator Timothy Barretto will host a discussion with the audience and a panel of community members working in the field of substance use disorder.

Now in its second year, NHTP's Elephant-in-the-Room Series presents playreadings and community conversations about subjects that we as a society often have difficulty discussing. Questions focus on attitudes about ethical issues involved in the subject over time and today, and our responsibility as a society to bring these issues out of the shadows and into the cultural mainstream.

The 2019 Elephant-in-the-Room Series Tour is possible through generous funding by New Hampshire Humanities, NH State Council on the Arts, NH Charitable Foundation, and Exeter Hospital. For more information, please visit www.nhtheatreproject.org.

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