In this episode, I talk with Mara Richards Bim, the founder of the youth theatre company, Cry Havoc Theater. Cry Havoc is located in Dallas, Texas. Mara speaks about the power youth have to observe and enter deeply traumatic conversations about current events happening in this world, and what happens when youth ask the questions and create meaning from their work (in the form of award-winning theatre). Under Mara's direction, Cry Havoc Theater has developed several award-winning plays written from first-person interviews including Babel about gun violence and Crossing the Line about the immigration crisis. In 2019, Cry Havoc was named “Best Thing to Happen to Local Theater” by D Magazine and the company’s production of Crossing the Line received three D-FW Theater Critics Forum Awards including Best New Play or Musical, Best Performance by an Ensemble, and Best Directors (Mara Richards Bim and Tim Johnson). In 2018, Cry Havoc received three Forum Awards including Best New Play or Musical (Babel), and a special citation to Mara for “conducting thorough research and creating compelling verbatim drama. 

You can learn more about the life-changing work these teens and Mara are doing by visiting their website: https://www.cryhavoctheater.org/