Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) - 1883

Tonight's special guest is Alex Oleksij (aka: Roman Alexander) from Nutley, New Jersey, director of  David Harrower's acclaimed and award-winning play 'Blackbird,' which is now headed for Off-Broadway and has been extended for a three week run. The cast will be joining us, too. The two person drama deals with a 27 year old woman, abused as a child (played by Gina Sarno), confronting her predator (played by Nick Pascarella). The complex experiences of sexual abuse are seen from multiple points of view. Through the darkness of conversation, one is forced into uneasy emotions. But, unlike sexual abuse victims, the audience gets to walk away thinking, but unscathed. Alex says, while he is not a survivor himself, it was through his work with ‘Blackbird' that he became aware of how widespread the horrendous phenomenon of child sexual abuse is. He now is using his work in theater to advocate in hopes of keeping the conversation going and to help spread awareness of the damage caused by sexual abuse. To do so, the Rockland County Welcome Committee Charitable Organization, a (501(c)(3), is now sponsoring the special Off-Broadway limited three week run of ‘Blackbird.' The production is a means of bringing the conversation of sexual abuse into the spotlight and public donations are being requested to help support the enormous costs of this production to spread the message. Please join in that discussion with us tonight for an opportunity to hear from the director and cast of ‘Blackbird' and hear more about this project and ways you can be involved!