Staged Reading of Eve Ensler's New Play 'Avocado'

FAU's Center for Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies (WGSS) presents the fifth annual evening of cocktails, dinner, theater and discussion on Wednesday, Oct. 26 at 6 p.m. The event will take place at Theatre Lab in Parliament Hall, 777 Glades Road, Boca Raton campus, and will feature a reading of Eve Ensler's new play, "Avocado."  The reading will be performed by Leah Sessa and directed by Louis Tyrrell, Theatre Lab artistic director and Dorothy F. Schmidt visiting eminent scholar in the arts.

"Avocado" represents the horror of human trafficking in the most harrowing terms. Performed in near-total darkness, an unnamed young woman describes a cycle of poverty, corruption and sexual abuse that has led her to her present situation, secreted in a shipping container full of rotting avocados. Ensler also wrote "The Vagina Monologues" and is the founder of the mass action movement "One Billion Rising."

A panel discussion will follow the performance with State Attorney David Aronberg; State Sen. Maria Sachs; and Laura Finley, Ph.D., advocate against female violence; and will be moderated by Josephine Beoku-Betts, Ph.D., professor of sociology and women's studies at FAU.

The evening will include drinks and lite bites from 6 to 7:15 p.m.; and the play will take place from 7:15 to 8 p.m., with the panel discussion to follow.

Reservations are required, and tickets cost $75 for reserved seating or $50 for general seating. To purchase tickets, call 561-297-3865 or email smithv2014@fau.edu.

This event is underwritten by Edith Stein. All proceeds of this event will support WGSS student scholarships. Housed in FAU's Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, WGSS provides an interdisciplinary program that offers a master's degree, graduate certificate and undergraduate certificate. Courses are taught by nationally and internationally known faculty from a variety of disciplines. For more information about the event, call Skeets Friedkin at 561-750-4662. For more information about WGSS, call 561-297-3865 or visit www.fau.edu/WomensStudies.