Mildred's Umbrella Highlights The Issue Of Human Trafficking With U.s. Premiere Reading Of By Sam Hall

In honor of Human Trafficking Awareness Month, Mildred's Umbrella Theater Company (MU) is presenting the U.S. premiere reading of Sam Hall's MY MIND IS FREE, a play created out of the testimonies of traffickers and the trafficked. The reading series is presented in collaboration with 14 Pews, A 2nd Cup and the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Department at University of Houston with proceeds benefiting United Against Human Trafficking (UAHT).

Originally commissioned by Merton Against Trafficking for a 2015 fundraiser, MY MIND IS FREE is inspired by the true stories of trafficking as collected by Hall from various anti-trafficking charities in the UK. "Sam has been incredibly gracious in allowing us the rights to the play for the readings and making location edits so Houston audiences can better relate to the material," said Managing Director, Rebecca Ayres. "Not many people know that Houston is a major hub for human trafficking, but with our proximity to the border and easy access to ports and major transportation lines, we're kind of a prime location for traffickers, so it was important to us to highlight this issue through storytelling for our second event in our new Partners for ART outreach program."

UAHT and the Houston Rescue Restore Coalition will be in attendance to provide patrons with further information about trafficking and ways to get involved to combat it. "We are grateful to Mildred's Umbrella Theater Company for tackling the atrocities of human trafficking in an engaging and relevant manner," said Timeka Walker, Executive Director. "We hope that many more community members will walk away understanding how trafficking plagues our city and concrete ways they can make a difference."

MY MIND IS FREE runs January 18 at 14 Pews, January 19 at A 2 nd Cup and January 22 at University of Houston's Rockwell Pavilion in the M.D. Anderson Library. Each performance will be followed by a discussion with the cast, director, and community leaders. Tickets are pay-what-you-can with all proceeds benefiting UAHT. Tickets may be purchased online at www.mildredsumbrella.com. For more information, call 832-463-0409 or e-mail info@mildredsumbrella.com.

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