Hailey Henderson Presents BLACKOUT A One-Woman Show

Cheers! Grab a cold beer and a sunflower and settle in for a story. This autobiographical solo play by Hailey Henderson explores the destructive nature of sexual and emotional abuse and the cost of blending in to survive. Henderson embodies her mother, her ex-boyfriend, her abuser and herself in a funny, edgy, radical reclaiming of her true story.

This Summer, Blackout is going on tour for a series of intimate Porch Performances, hosted in private residences (and a few theatres too!) in all the cities Henderson has called "home." Blackout: A One-Woman Show is a journey out of hiding and into the light.

Originally written to be live-streamed from Henderson's porch at her Seattle home, the play is going on tour throughout the West Coast in Summer 2021. The selected venues honor the performance's intimate roots--in most cities, friends and family will host Henderson on porches of their private residences. The reasoning behind this tour structure was two-fold:

"Theatres have been dark, life has been dark, and I believe it is my job as an Artist to bring communities together. The Porch Tour is a COVID-safe way to do that. And I think the places we gather and tell the truth, even hard truths, are really sacred and special. I decided to tour the places I've called home because I want my communities to meet the real me."

The tour kicks off in Seattle on July 8th, and will visit Portland, Eugene, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City and conclude in Henderson's hometown of Moab, Utah.

Hailey Henderson is a Seattle-based actor, teaching artist and singer. Self described as a small town girl by way of the magical red rock country of Moab, Utah-her love for performing began with howling at the moon and story-telling around the campfire. With a bit of red dirt ground into her small-town soul, she left Moab to study theater in Salt Lake City, graduating from Westminster College with her BFA in Acting. Hailey has performed with theatres in Buenos Aires, Eugene and Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington, where she earned her MFA in Acting from the Professional Actor Training Program at the University of Washington. Hailey's solo show, Blackout, has been in development since 2019 and received its debut at the Salt Lake Fringe Festival in 2020.

The country as part of the Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival. The performance was shared live with an audience of strangers, friends, family and colleagues--many of whom witnessed her abuse for years, but were hearing her story--the real story--for the first time.

• The West Coast Porch Tour will visit all the cities that Henderson has called home or has a significant community of family and friends. Part of the impetus behind the tour is a reclaiming of her identity by sharing the truth of her abuse with her community. The tour will culminate with performances at Star Hall, in the actor's hometown of Moab, Utah.

• Safe shows, dangerous material. Porch Performances are structured with COVID-safety in mind, allowing audiences to gather comfortably in community and share a powerful story about survival and healing that is so relevant to this moment.

• The play is directed by Valerie Curtis-Newton, head of Directing at the University of Washington School of Drama and Founding Artistic Director of the Hansberry Project. Curtis-Newton and Henderson collaborated on several productions through the UW School of Drama, and have continued their friendship after Henderson's graduation.

More information about Hailey Henderson and the Blackout Tour can be found at www.haileyhenderson.com.

To post a comment, you must register and login.