Theatre for Humans' Blogs

Haiti, as I've already said on our facebook page, was the most difficult country for me to handle both physically and emotionally. From a physical perspective, I think it was the combination of exhaustion (we'd been traveling for over 11 weeks), the stifling heat and relentless mosquitos that pushed me over the edge. Add to that a night spent in what appeared to be a cholera tent at Medicins Sans Frontieres when Susan came down with severe food poisoning and the complete st

Our travels took us to Egypt at a very interesting time. Although many people here in the US think the revolution is over, democracy has won and everything is fine, we saw something completely different. This is very much a country caught in transition and power struggles. Through our contact at UN Women we were fortunate to have the opportunity to attend a rally at Tahrir Square - actually the same day that protesters later stormed the Israeli Embassy. The protest was ca

We've been looking forward to going to Burundi for months and we are finally here! The main reason for all the excitement was that we got to see and spend time with Michelle Carter (the country director) from CARE. We met her about a year ago in Los Angeles and knew it would be imperative to our project to go to Burundi to see all the great work she and her group are doing there. That's me with Michelle (in blue) and Goretti Nyabenda (wearing a CARE shirt) in the photo. G

Our time in Goma was an unbelievable experience. Just the shear magnitude of issues and problems was slightly overwhelming yet despite all the horrific things that have happened to many of these people (everything from conflict to a massive volcano eruption) you find a surprisingly thriving human spirit and sense of resiliency. I credit this in no small part to the incredible people who have given their time and in many cases dedicated their lives to the people of Congo. W

Spent the day with women at the Sarakasi Trust in Nairobi. The Sarakasi Trust is an organization started by a couple from the Netherlands. They work to help people trapped in the slums escape a life of poverty using arts programs such as dance, acrobatics and juggling. The Sarakasi Dancers and Acrobats travel internationally and I was lucky enough to watch them rehearse. The dancers are amazing athletes and it was great to flash back to my musical theatre roots and watch

While in Nairobi, we drove each day from our hotel out to the slums to visit with the girls and women who spend everyday overcoming obstacles and challenges we could never imagine in our daily lives. In sitting down to write this blog, we looked over the pictures we took and even though we were there just a week and half ago, it's still hard to believe the places we drove past and the quality of life people endure in parts of Nairobi. Like many cities around the world, it's

South Africa at last! I've been looking forward to getting to Johannesburg and was not disappointed. Although India was quite an experience it was great to get to a major urban city that reminds one a little bit of home. Actually reminded me a bit like Toronto in the summer. Our timing couldn't have been better and we were able to attend a rally in Pretoria for National Women's Day. It is a national holiday in South Africa so thousands of women turned out to celebrate an

Well we made it through India! Here we are meeting with members of a grassroots organization located in the Utter Pradesh region. We flew from New Delhi to Lucknow and then endured a 5 hr van ride to reach them. I suppose I went to India with a predisposed idea of what it would look, sound and smell like. I was not prepared. The level of poverty that exists was simply overwhelming and all encompassing. It would be impossible to adequately describe what we saw, but I'll

We've almost completed the Southeast Asian portion of our research travel and have met people and had experiences that none of us will ever forget. Thailand is a beautiful country with people who have been generous with their time and gracious with their hospitality. Bangkok is filled with numerous temples that are serene and contemplative while at the same time overwhelmingly grand and humbling. In stark contrast are the areas that we came to research - the red light dis

We are down to less than 24 hours before we leave and what a day it has been! Our press release about the play and our playwright went out this morning. For those of you who missed it, we are thrilled to announce that Marsha Norman will be writing this piece. That's right, THE Marsha Norman - Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner. The release was picked up by great entities - Playbill.com broke the news, followed by Broadwayworld.com, Theatremania.com and indiewire.com to