Well, here we go.  We’re a week away from the pay-what-you-can preview in Lethbridge.  Whatever this tour is, for me it’s somewhat surreal.

We’ve worked so hard to bring this story to tour.  When I say we, there’s many to name, but I certainly speak of the team at Burnt Thicket that includes the indispensable Alida Lowe and Artistic Director James Popoff.  And also the incredible creative team led by director Stephen Waldschmidt.  And of course the team of actors, whose talents I have to pinch myself above the elbow to believe.

What a thrill to have such people – wonderful souls – engage with incredible commitment and energy some of the words I’ve written down on the page. Bring them to life.

I was really encouraged last night by the words of a friend who wrote to me from a far-away place.  ”Everything’s going to be alright.” Calming words amidst the momentum toward tour launch.  I don’t doubt them.  I just need to hear them. Absorb them.

(And if I need to hear those words in a creative, professional endeavour, how much more then do those precious lives caught in real stories like this imagined one need to hear those words and for those words to be not only said, but also brought to life in their circumstances.)

What things, words.   Churned through the lungs of this world like air.  Said and unsaid at all times.

It seemed appropriate to note the power and pull of words while at the computer I sat down. And to affirm that whatever this story is for others, for me it began when a word fell down.

By Lana Michelin – Red Deer Advocate
Published: May 15, 2012 8:46 AM

People in 12 Canadian cities can soon see a powerful play about human trafficking written by Red Deer playwright Andrew Kooman.

She has A Name opened to positive reviews and sold-out houses in Calgary and Red Deer in February 2011 and is now being prepped for a cross-country tour that starts on May 23 in Lethbridge.

The drama about an abducted young woman who is forced into the sex trade in Bangkok, Thailand, is also slated to run in Saskatoon, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax, Winnipeg, Calgary, Victoria, Vancouver, Kelowna and Edmonton, before ending with Oct. 2 to 6 performances at the Scott Block in downtown Red Deer.

 

The Burnt Thicket Theatre production is Kooman’s first full-length play, and he’s overwhelmed by its success.

Audience reaction was so positive after the initial run that Kooman said a tour was organized to allow more people to see it. “We sold out every show and at some we were turning away 20 to 30 people at the door, so we thought, something is happening here . . . we’ve got to bring this to more communities.”

The cross-Canada tour, made possible after nearly $100,000 was raised from business sponsors, church groups and private donors, is exciting and is “definitely going to be an adventure,” predicted Kooman, who’s planning panel discussions involving experts on human trafficking.

He will participate in an Ottawa panel with Kildonan-St. Paul MP Joy Smith, who presented a private member’s bill that was unanimously passed by the House of Commons in 2007. It called on Parliament to condemn the trafficking of women and children across international borders for the purposes of sexual exploitation and to adopt a comprehensive strategy to combat human trafficking worldwide.

Kooman was volunteering overseas with a non-profit agency when he attended a conference of sex trafficking that deeply shocked him.

“It caught me by surprise that five-year-olds were forced to service johns up to 20 times a day. . . . It really rattled me, and I had to either do something about it or I had to turn the other way.”

Kooman said he chose to write a play to draw more public awareness. But the drama that’s headed out on tour is significantly different than the one that premiered in Alberta last year.

The play still concerns a Western human rights lawyer named Jason, who tries to save a teenage girl held captive in a Bangkok bordello by getting her to testify against her abductors. The teenager, who is forced to service clients, has lost everything — her freedom, family, home — and even her name. Known only as No. 18, she initially doubts and then desperately wants to believe Jason’s promises of rescue.

The action is narrated, or “haunted” by four voices — the spirits of female victims who did not survive the sex trade. The voices obsess Jason’s dreams and consume the mind of No. 18.

Kooman said he made changes, particularly to the exchanges between Jason and his employer, saying, “scenes with his boss are more dynamic and exciting.”

But he believes She Has A Name retains the emotional quality that resonated with audiences. Despite harrowing subject matter, the play is “palatable,” in that it shocks, without being so disturbing that no one wants to recommend it to others.

“It brings you to the edge without pushing you over,” added the playwright, who had to walk a fine line in what he could depict on stage.

The lead roles will be played by Vancouver actors Evelyn Chew and Carl Kennedy, and the play will be directed by Calgary’s Stephen Waldschmidt.

Audience members who want to take personal action will be directed to the websites of several non-profit organizations through the playbill. One of them will be Kooman’s group, Raise Their Voice, which recently partnered with Lacombe charity A Better World to offer programs to help former sex workers in Thailand find a new life.

For more information about the tour schedule or tickets, go to the shehasaname.net website.

lmichelin@reddeeradvocate.com

Grateful to see this article in the Calgary Sun about the play:

Actor makes Name in trafficking play

FIRST POSTED: FRIDAY, MAY 04, 2012 01:44 PM MDT | UPDATED: FRIDAY, MAY 04, 2012 02:19 PM MDT

Carl Kennedy is quickly making a name for himself in Canadian theatre.

Morris Ertman, the artistic director of Rosebud Theatre, caught the The North Carolina native in Vancouver in The Last Days of Judas Iscariot.

Ertman knew that Stephen Waldschmidt was looking for someone to replace Aaron Krogman in the national tour of Burnt Thicket Theatre’s harrowing drama She Has A Name.

“Stephen got hold of me and allowed me to skype my audition with him,” says Kennedy, a graduate of the University of Washington in Seattle.

In She Has A Name , Kennedy plays both Jason, a young Canadian lawyer trying to expose the sex trade in Thailand and a notorious pimp who controls Jason’s key witness.

“It’s incredible. I get to play both Jason and the man he hates the most in Thailand.

“This dual role is important to one of the themes in the play.

“We all have the propensity for evil in us. It’s just a matter of giving in to those urges or denying them.

“Jason could be the pimp just as the pimp could be Jason, given a different set of circumstances in their lives.”

When Kennedy learned he had been cast he immediately began researching human trafficking.

“We live in a digital world so there was so much I could read on the Internet. Also, Andrew Kooman’s play is so thorough, insightful and revealing.”

One of the things Kennedy learned early on in rehearsals for She Has a Name is “this is not a problem of Third World countries. It is a universal problem.

“Any town or city in Canada that has a major truck stop has been a portal for human trafficking.”

Kennedy will be spending the next five months in Canada ada touring with She Has a Name.

The national tour begins on May 23 in Lethbridge and visits Edmonton, Red Deer and Calgary, before heading to Saskatoon, Ottawa, Halifax, Victoria and Vancouver.

“I’m getting to sweep through Canada. I feel truly blessed.

“I have an incredible role and a magnificent play and I get to see Canada. Things bigger and beyond me have made this all possible.”

There will be a fundraiser for She Has a Name on Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at the Foothills Alliance Church at 333 Edgepark Blvd. N.W.

The $10 admission includes gourmet desserts and hors d’oeuvres and an art auction of local painters.

Kennedy and his co-star Evelyn Chew will perform a scene from She Has A Name.

View the original article here: http://www.calgarysun.com/2012/05/04/actor-makes-name-in-trafficking-play

It was a privilege to be a guest for an hour tonight on Glendene Grant’s blog talk radio show to talk about the tour and her missing daughter Jessie Foster.  I first connected with Glendene when she left a comment on a post on this site and we’ve since become friends.

Glendene spoke at an event Raise Their Voice put on in Red Deer last April and has become a strong and compassionate advocate for parents with missing children.

We covered a lot of ground, survived some technical difficulties, and it was a pleasure to be her guest.

You can listen to our conversation here: Andrew Kooman talks on Blog Talk Radio with Glendene Grant.

I blab at the following minute marks (if you want to listen to what I have to say and can only do byte-sizes:
13:19; 16:05; 27:25; 37:10; 39:32; 43:20; 47:12; 49:19; 52:23; 54:00; 55:25; 61:29; 66:49; 73:03

website | twitter

Andrew Kooman: What drew you into politics and what motivated you to offer your name as a candidate?

Michael Dawe: I first became involved in local politics in 1983. I was four years into my career and thought it was time to start becoming more involved in community affairs.

The issue at the time was two tiered health care and user fees for health services.

I ran on a platform of “Equal Access To Quality Health Care”.

To many people’s surprise (and to be honest, to mine as well), I won.

I became very active in a number of different health areas – particularly patient care and seniors health. I served on the Home Care Management Committee and the Alberta Health Care Association’s Long Term Care Committee.

Eventually I became chair of the Red Deer Regional Hospital Board.

I was also one of the founders of the Red Deer Regional Hospital (now David Thompson Healthcare) Foundation.

In 1995, the locally elected boards were replaced by appointed regional health authorities. I was not one of the appointees.

However, in 2001, the Provincial Government briefly allowed partial elections to the health authority boards and I was acclaimed to the David Thompson Health Region Board.

In 2008, the regional health authority boards were suddenly abolished and replaced with an appointed province wide Super Board.

I have found that subsequently, Alberta Health Services have become over-centralized and very detached from the communities they serve and the front lines of health care providers.

Health Care across the province has since deteriorated.

I became a candidate to see if I could help reverse this trend and make Health Care in Alberta more community, patient and front line staff orientated.

There also needs to be an open and frank acknowledgement of what is wrong in Health Care so we can start a proper fixing of the system.

AK: Why did you choose the party you belong to and what does it have to uniquely offer to Red Deerians?

MD: Dr. Raj Sherman, the new Alberta Liberal Party leader, was an emergency room physician and an M.L.A. who became alarmed by the crisis in our province’s hospitals. He decided to speak out. For opening talking about the problems he witnessed, he was thrown out of Government. Attempts were made to try and punish him for what he had done.

Fortunately, he stuck to his guns as he believed it was more important to stand up for what was right, than to quietly acquiesce and appear “a team player”.

I am proud to stand in this election with such a principled, open and honest leader, who is more interested in doing what is right, than what is expedient.

AK: How do you plan to serve the people in your riding if elected their representative?

MD: When I was making my final decision about running, I asked Dr. Sherman what would happen if I disagreed with him. He said he would sit down with me and see if we could work the disagreement out. I then asked what would happen if we still disagreed and I felt I had to vote differently as an M.L.A. than he did.

He said he would be a hypocrite if he punished me for sticking to what I truly thought was right.

He told me that I would be free to vote for what I thought was right and what was best for my constituents.

On that promise, I made my final decision to run, to be the best representative for the community that I can and to do what is right, rather than what might be politically expedient, ethically and/or morally wrong.

AK: Why are you suited, at this time, to represent Red Deer in the legislature?

MD: I have very deep roots in our community. I have been involved extensively for 30 years in all kinds of volunteer and community organizations, projects and charitable causes.

I will carry that commitment for positive change for the community to Edmonton, if I should be fortunate enough to be selected as the M.L.A., for Red Deer North.

My resume and list of community involvements can be found on my website www.dawe4rdnorth.com

AK: What do you think are the greatest challenges Albertans face at this point in history?

MD: Political cynicism and public disengagement have become endemic. Turn out at the polls in the last provincial election was a record breaking low.

We need to start building trust and integrity in public affairs, not by making promises at election time, but by walking the talk, living up to our commitments, apologizing and fixing our mistakes, and being truly accountable.

That way we can start turning around the profound malaise in our provincial democracy and create a much better and healthier society.

AK: What is your connection to the city?  How did you end up in Red Deer?

MD: Red Deer is my home. It is the home of my family, friends, neighbours, colleagues etc.

Through my work as an historian and my various community involvements, I feel I have gotten to know my community extremely well, both past and present.

Nevertheless, there is so much more to learn and if I should fortunate enough to earn a spot as a provincial representative for our community, I will work even harder to know and understand the community – its viewpoints, issues, concerns, progress and problems.

AK: What do you do for fun?

MD: I love to garden, as there is a lot of joy in nurturing living things. I am particularly proud of my orchard which includes two dozen apple and fruit trees and shrubs. I also enjoy growing roses each summer.

For relaxation, I enjoy time at the family cabin at Sylvan Lake, reading a good book or just watching the world go by.

AK: What clubs, groups, or organizations are you a member of (or connected to) and why are you engaged with them?

MD: I am involved in many different community organizations and projects.

I am a village councilor for the Summer Village of Norglenwold.

I am a library trustee.

I am a member of the regional water commission.

I am an executive member of the Central Alberta Historical Society.

I am a member of the Volunteer and Membership Committee of the Westerner Exposition Association.

I am a member of the Festival of Lights Committee, which plans the opening nights festivities for the annual Festival of Trees charitable fund raiser.

I am an active member of the Red Deer East Rotary Club.

I am a new member of the Twilight Homes Foundation which does excellent work in the community for seniors, hospice and such charitable projects as Ronald MacDonald House.

AK: Who inspires you and who would you like to emulate?

MD: I am very proud of my father, G. Harold Dawe. He lived in Red Deer all of his life, except for the time spent in the Royal Canadian Air Force during the Second World War. He was a man of great integrity, who worked hard to make our community a better place to live. I hope to live up to his example.

AK: What idea are you excited about that you think should compel Red Deerians to get out and vote on April 23?

MD: This election offers Albertans a unique opportunity to commence fundamental positive change, for the first time in a great many years. In order to channel that change in the directions with which we wish to take, we need to become full participants in the debates on the issues and in the presentations of positive alternatives and choices.

This is an election when each and every vote will count.

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For more interviews and the how and why of this series, go here.

Shannon LeClair

website | twitter

Andrew Kooman: What drew you into politics and what motivated you to offer your name as a candidate?

Danielle Klooster: I ran municipally in 2007 because I wanted social issues to be a priority for community leadership. When I became a munipol I quickly discerned that there is a bigger issue: communities can best thrive when provincial leadership listens attentively/respectfully & works WITH people to come up with innovative solutions. Through getting involved in provincial politics behind the scenes, I came to realize how badly we need to establish leaders who care and are committed to integrity, transparency and accountability. Now is the time for that change.

 AK:  Why did you choose the party you belong to and what does it have to uniquely offer to your constituents?

DK: Partisan politics has far too much influence on the legislative process. The Alberta Party came into existence two years ago because Albertans had come to a point of frustration with public disengagement, partisan game-play and lack of accountability in leadership. By the time I started hearing about the Alberta Party I had disentangled myself from the party I’d been involved with, and I was very disillusioned. I despaired to think that there may not be any political party that upheld principled leadership, and really walked the talk. I spent the better part of 2010 checking out this new party, and I came to believe that the Alberta Party offered me a place to stand for my region and lead with the values by which I endeavour to live.

What sets the Alberta Party  apart is the process by which we created policy, which is also the process by which we will govern: listening and engagement. Our policy is moderate and common sense-based, and we got to that place because we worked with Albertans of every political stripe to develop our policy.

AK: How do you plan to serve the people in your riding if elected their representative?

DK: We are mandated to listen to and engage with our constituents to make decisions, required to prove that we bring our free vote to the legislative table based on the input and consensus of our constituents. The notion that one should represent their constituents to government rather than the government to the constituents ought not to be considered a novel concept, but  we’ve reached a point where it is; I hope to change that by modelling that kind of representation.

 AK:  Why are you suited, at this time, to represent Your constituents in the legislature?

DK: Through my work in community development and volunteer work in the non profit world I have advocated to government on behalf of people’s social needs. Through my work as a munipol I have advocated to government on behalf of communities. Through my work at the Red Deer Chamber of Commerce I have advocated to government on behalf of business. I’d like to bring all of that advocacy experience to bear on behalf of my region. My full resume is available for review at www.danielleklooster.ca/resume

 AK: What do you think are the greatest challenges Albertans face at this point in history?

DK: A) I think we have a lot of work to do to get politics out of the ditch and back onto the leadership road for which it was intended. Restoring “service above self” and fair, sound leadership will take courage and strength. B) Also requiring great fortitude will be the will to take the reins of our economy in hand and practice responsible leadership, bringing in measures to ensure economic stability, a culture of savings and responsible spending. C)  The aging population, the growing labour shortage and responsible planning with our water are critical issues facing our province today and in the coming days.

 AK: What is your connection to your riding?  How did you end up in Penhold?

DK: I came to Penhold in 2001 to live next door to my parents, who are now getting elderly. I quickly fell in love with this delightful little community and was privileged to go to work for the Town shortly after my arrival, doing community development. My love for and commitment to this community has continued to grow over time. Through my time in community development and as a municipal councillor I have gotten to know the other communities in the riding and see so much strength, resilience and potential in all of the communities in this riding. It’s a really great rural/urban mix and the people who live here are so down to earth.

 AK: What do you do for fun?

DK: I love writing, travelling, gardening and camping. I get most of my fun from connecting with people.

 AK: What clubs, groups, or organizations are you a member of (or connected to) and why are you engaged with them?

DK: A) I’m a rotarian. I love that this service club believes in “service above self” and seeks to live by the four-way test: “Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build good will and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned?” B) Through my work with Town Council, I’m privileged to participate in so many worthy endeavours, such as trails development, economic development, and our local schools. C) I have attended an area church for over 12 years and am honoured to be part of this active, committed group of people.

AK:  Who inspires you and who would you like to emulate?

DK: Anyone who has through great courage and determination overcome great obstacles while maintaining solid character and joyful attitude inspires me. These are rarely famous people. My father’s strength of character, commitment to love and willingness to serve people has been the number one model of my life.

 AK: What idea are you excited about that you think should compel voters to get out and vote on April 23?

DK: I’m excited that the “upstart” Alberta Party is going to become an established presence in Alberta by electing MLAs. I’m excited that we’ll have the opportunity to model doing politics differently over the next four years. I’m also excited that if the PCs or WRP form a minority government, the Alberta Party could become the most important group in the legislature, holding that “swing vote” position. But, most importantly, I’m excited about offering all people in this region the opportunity to have a voice and an a representative who’s a passionate advocate and willing to be held accountable.

##

Disclaimer (should you need one): Andrew  is a personal friend of Danielle, and admires her savvy tweeting and the work she does in service to her community.  He actually spoke at the first ever TEDx event in Red Deer where Danielle shared some of her ideas. As a friend, Andrew wanted to feature her on his website in his tradition of interviewing people that challenge and interest him, to help spread her message in her run for MLA.

Andrew lives and votes in Red Deer.  He occasionally eats ice cream in Sylvan Lake.

For Andrew’s ongoing feature of the election,  go here where you can get familiar with the candidates who responded to Andrew’s question-asking.

website | twitter

Andrew Kooman: What drew you into politics and what motivated you to offer your name as a candidate?

Brent Chalmers: I believe you need to get involved to effect change in a system, you can’t change something from the outside.

AK:  Why did you choose the party you belong to and what does it have to uniquely offer to Red Deerians?

BC: The Guidelines for MLA’s and Candidates  found on the Alberta Party website outlines a code of conduct for AB Party representatives. I believe this is how people in Politics should behave.

AK:  How do you plan to serve the people in your riding if elected their representative?

BC: With the integrity a gentleman brings to any situation; exactly as described in the aforementioned Code of Conduct

AK: Why are you suited, at this time, to represent Red Deer in the legislature?

BC: I am well educated, well travelled, and have accumulated the skills necessary to engage my electorate in the required processes.

AK: What do you think are the greatest challenges Albertans face at this point in history?

BC: Democratic reform

AK: What is your connection to the city?  How did you end up in Red Deer?

BC: Like many Albertans I moved to Central Alberta to work and enjoy the opportunities this province has to offer.

AK:  What do you do for fun?

BC: I sail with the Sylvan Lake and Central Alberta Sailing Clubs, I restore Antique vehicles, I ride horseback / train horses and I belong to a fraternal men’s organization.

AK: What clubs, groups, or organizations are you a member of (or connected to) and why are you engaged with them?

BC: I am engaged with some groups for the sports recreation and others for the promotion of moral and social virtues.

AK:  Who inspires you and who would you like to emulate?

BC: There was a famous prairie politican named Tommy Douglas.  He was fair and dealt with everyone in a fair and diplomatic manner. I admire his integrity.

AK: What idea are you excited about that you think should compel Red Deerians to get out and vote on April 23?

BC: The idea of Democratic reform is the most important plank in the ALBERTA PARTY platform. Albertans want government to be conducted in a different way. they want to regain the pride they used to have in their elected officials. The Alberta Party will effect Democratic reform.
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For more interviews and the how and why of this series, go here.

website | twitter

Andrew Kooman: What drew you into politics and what motivated you to offer your name as a candidate?

Serge Gingras: My combined passion for community service, democracy and the political process. The need for change, the desire to make a difference and to be an active part of the change needed in what government does and how it does it, particularly when it comes to public institutions such as education, health care, services to seniors, and municipalities.

AK: Why did you choose the party you belong to and what does it have to uniquely offer to Red Deerians?

SG: The Alberta Party is the party that best fits where I stand politically. None of the other parties ever completely met my views and stand on issues that matter to me and to Albertans. I particularly like that it is a grass-root movement, that the Party engaged in a province-wide consultation with Albertans of all walks of life and used their ideas to formulate the Party’s position and policies. Very people-oriented while committed to fiscal responsibility, accountability, transparency and ideas rather than ideology.

AK: How do you plan to serve the people in your riding if elected their representative?

SG: Maintain an open relationship with the citizens of Red Deer and always do my best to: represent the best interests of our constituency; maintain an open conversation with our citizens by hosting town hall meetings, “Big Listen” meetings to consult with our constituents; engage our citizens in an annual review of my role and how I represent them, hear from them how I can represent them even better; bring their issues and concerns to government rather than bring government to them

AK: Why are you suited, at this time, to represent Red Deer in the legislature?

SG: I have worked in the public sector for 27 years, I have been involved in many areas of community service, I am a leader, a solution-seeker and problem-solver. I have had a keen interest in government, how government works, what government does well and not so well. I know and have a great passion for my community.

AK: What do you think are the greatest challenges Albertans face at this point in history?

SG:
a. How to respond to the current needs of Albertans, particularly in the public sector (education, health, wellness, seniors, etc.) in a fiscally responsible and meaningful way.
b. Take a hard look at and rectify the deficiencies and inefficiencies of the systems. I don’t think that it is necessary to re-invent the systems in place but many small steps can be taken to make those systems better, more efficient and economically sound.
c. training for Albertans for meaningful jobs and careers. Keep Albertans working in Alberta.
d. Articulate a vision, develop and implement a plan to address the needs of the ageing population without being a burden on the younger generation that will be sandwiched between caring for their parents and providing for their children. Those need include health, primary care, prevention, wellness, education, access to services, housing, to name a few.

AK: What is your connection to the city?  How did you end up in Red Deer?

SG: A genuine love for our city and our community. Volunteered with many community groups, agencies, non-profit, cultural, sport organizations. Involved in swimming as an athlete, coach, official.Came to Alberta in 1981. Graduate studies at the University of Calgary (Master’s degree). Came to Red Deer in 1985, 27-year career at Red Deer College, including teaching, program development, work on countless committees, presentations and workshops at conferences in Alberta, Canada and the United States.

AK: What do you do for fun?

SG: Arts and culture, attend concerts and live theatre, cinema, literature, reading and writing, friends and family, travel, discover new places, meet new people, new experiences. I find cooking, gardening and home improvement therapeutic.

AK: What clubs, groups, or organizations are you a member of (or connected to) and why are you engaged with them?

SG: L’Association canadienne-française de l’Alberta, groups and committees at RDC (e.g. Faculty Advisor for Pride on Campus, Member-at-large of the Faculty Association of RDC) and my role at RDC allows me to connect with community groups and organizations such as the Central Alberta Refugee Effort and the Central Alberta Diversity Association; volunteer for Special Olympics, swim clubs (officiate), volunteer and contribute to fundraising activities for CAWES, CAANS, École LaPrairie.

I am engaged with various organizations because in my youth and teen years, I had the privilege to belong to swim clubs, the Air Cadets, and music groups among others and those experiences helped shape my life in incredibly positive ways. I like to be involved and give back to my community and believe that every little contribution makes a big difference. I feel privileged to live in a community such as Red Deer and am grateful for the many opportunities for involvement.

AK: Who inspires you and who would you like to emulate?

SG: People around me and with whom I work, interact, meet, etc. I believe that we have something to learn from everyone we meet and I like to get to know something about everyone I meet. People energize me. I admire great leaders and people who give themselves to make a difference. I go through life trying to be the best person I can be and help and support those around me to be the best they can be.

AK: What idea are you excited about that you think should compel Red Deerians to get out and vote on April 23?

SG: Engage people in conversations about what matters to them and see them exercise their right to cast their vote. I think Red Deerians are ready for a change. I am particularly excited about the idea that voters will consider choosing me to represent their ideas and needs in the Legislature and bring about positive change in how government meets their current needs while working towards a prosperous and bright future. I am grateful to live in a part of the world where I can express my ideas and values and contribute to the democratic process as candidate in this provincial election.

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For more interviews and the how and why of this series, go here.