Ripple Effect Artists' SHE HAS A NAME Opens Tonight Off-Broadway

Ripple Effect Artists reprise of SHE HAS A NAME, the critically-acclaimed play about sex trafficking opens tonight, October 26th Off-Broadway at The Sargent Theatre.

Jana Robbins serves as director in the new adaptation of the play by Andrew Kooman. SHE HAS A NAME runs thru November 5 for nine performances.

In conjunction with October's Domestic Violence Awareness Month, each performance includes an educational talk-back by experts, with a portion of proceeds benefiting Gems (Girls Education & Mentoring Services).

Each show begins at 8:00pm, plus four matinees: October 28, 29, November 4 & 5. Tickets are $40 and can be purchased through ripple-effect-artists-inc.ticketleap.com/she-has-a-name-reprise. The Sargent Theatre is located at 314 West 54th Street, NYC. Ripple Effect Artists is an actor's equity 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization that moves audiences from apathy to action through art, creating a Ripple Effect.

SHE HAS A NAME tells the story of a young lawyer, who poses as a john to build a legal case against a brothel ring that is trafficking young girls internationally. His investigation centers on NUMBER 18, a girl forced to work as a prostitute, and discovers that her testimony is key to proving his case. Can he convince her to risk her life to testify for the sake of justice? The play is haunted by voices who usher Number 18 to her fate.

Playwright Andrew Kooman and Ripple Effect Artists re-worked the script to SHE HAS A NAME to create a United States version. For the Reprise, the brothel takes place in Los Angeles instead of abroad. The original SHE HAS A NAME toured across Canada from May to October 2012. In conjunction with the tour, A Better World raised money to help women and children who had been trafficked in Thailand as part of the country's prostitution industry.

Ripple Effect Artists, Inc. is an actor's equity 501 (c) 3 non-profit organization that addresses injustice and causes social impact through art - primarily by producing masterful plays - presenting them along with talkback discussions in partnership with educators and advocacy groups. These events, their education plus their game-changing philanthropy cultivate empathy, shift audiences from APATHY to ACTION, and create a RIPPLE EFFECT in the larger community. Visit www.rippleeffectartists.com for more information.

PRODUCTION TEAM:

Director: Jana Robbins

Stage Manager: Heather Klein

Executive Director, Jessie Fahay

CAST:

Ali/Voice 4 ...........................................................................................Jessica Jennings

Marta/Voice 3..........................................................................Jessie Fahay

Voice 1/Number 18..................................................................Jessica Grant

Jason/Pimp...........................................................................................Tim Dowd

Trafficking of women and children globally is a $32 Billion industry. Many people think this is only a third world issue, but that is not true. The U.S. Department of Justice reports that between 2008 and 2010, 83% of sex trafficking victims found within the U.S. were U.S. citizens, and 40% of those victims were children. In NYC alone, it is a $1 Billion industry. Only a few months ago, The New York Post uncovered a Brooklyn Brothel that was secretly a front for human trafficking. Furthermore, the majority - upwards of 85% in some states - of trafficked children have had contact with the foster care system. Our nation's foster care systems do not have the appropriate resources to address the epidemic of traffickin­g minors. The Strengthening Child Welfare Response to Trafficking Act (H.R.469) will change this by providing child welfare agencies with training and guidelines for working with youth who have been or currently are victims of trafficking.