Firehouse And Daily Planet Announce Partnership For SONGS FROM BEDLAM

Firehouse Theatre and Daily Planet Health Services (DPHS) are partnering to raise awareness about mental health during the run of the Firehouse Theatre production of Douglas Jones' play SONGS FROM BEDLAM.

Jones wrote his play to give voice to the private thoughts and secrets of those among us who are deemed to be different or "troubled." The play's title SONGS FROM BEDLAM refers to London's 17th century Hospital of St. Mary of Bethlehem - also known as Bedlam -- that was an asylum for the treatment/imprisonment of the mentally ill and served as one of the inspirations for Jones' play.

During the run of SONGS FROM BEDLAM from October 18 thru November 4, 2018 Firehouse will host a PhotoVoice exhibit created by DPHS behavioral health participants. The PhotoVoice exhibit is part of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council (HCH) project. The idea behind PhotoVoice is to empower participants to document their lived experiences through photographs and journal entries that are displayed in local and national exhibits with the goal of increasing awareness about the experience of homelessness.

The DPHS PhotoVoice exhibit premiered at VCU Arts Depot in March 2018. Since then the work has been exhibited in the DPHS behavioral health department at West Grace Health Center. Maureen Neal, Chief Operating Officer of Advancement for DPHS said, "Daily Planet Health Services PhotoVoice participants are eager to share their poignant photos and messages of what it's like to experience homelessness with the broader community as a part of the Firehouse Theatre's production of SONGS FROM BEDLAM." Firehouse Producing Artistic Director Joel Bassin is "honored to host this important exhibit and partner with the great team at DPHS. These kinds of partnerships advance our mission to be an artistic home and a center for community engagement."

As another part of the Firehouse/DPHS partnership there will be a special benefit performance of SONGS FROM BEDLAM on Sunday October 28 at 4pm. The performance will include a post-show reception and talkback with the cast and creative team of the production and some of the artists and people responsible for the Daily Planet PhotoVoice exhibit.

SONGS FROM BEDLAM Performance Schedule:
Thu, Oct 18 @ 7:30pm
Fri, Oct 19 @ 7:30pm
Sat, Oct 20 @ 7:30pm
Thu, Oct 25 @ 7:30pm
Fri, Oct 26 @ 7:30pm
Sat, Oct 27 @ 7:30pm
Sun, Oct 28 @ 4pm (DPHS BENEFIT)
Fri, Nov 2 @ 7:30pm
Sat, Nov 3 @ 7:30pm
Sun, Nov 4 @ 4pm

Tickets:
$15-$30 / group rates available
www.firehousetheatre.org / 804.355.2001
1609 W. Broad Street, Richmond, VA 23220

ABOUT FIREHOUSE THEATRE: Firehouse is an artistic home, a thriving hub of creative activity, and a center for community engagement where new work is created and performed. Firehouse celebrates its 25th anniversary by dedicating its season to new plays, ensemble developed work, and reconsiderations of classic plays.

ABOUT DAILY PLANET HEALTH SERVICES: Daily Planet Health Services mission is to provide accessible, comprehensive, and integrated quality health services to anyone regardless of their housing, financial or insurance status. Founded in 1969, the first participants were asked to name the organization that helped transform their lives. They chose Daily Planet because like Clark Kent entering a telephone booth to transform into Superman, they were transformed through the program and chose the name to pay homage to the newspaper where Clark Kent worked.