(Minneapolis/St. Paul) — The Guthrie Theater (Joseph Haj, artistic director) announced that it will present The Art of Surviving, the final Happening of the 2018–2019 Season, which is dedicated to diverse and personal stories of survival. The event will take place on Monday, August 19 from 7 to 9:30 p.m. on the Wurtele Thrust Stage and is free to the public, but general admission ticket reservations are required through the Box Office at 612.377.2224, 1.877.44.STAGE (toll-free) or online at guthrietheater.org.

Guthrie Director of Community Engagement Rebecca Noon said, “The Twin Cities theater community — like so many other communities in our region and throughout our country — is reeling from simultaneous revelations of trauma and abuse. In an effort to add to the community dialogue and coalition-building that many are offering, the Guthrie is presenting an evening that will lift up voices in our community who embody survivorship.”

The Art of Surviving will be hosted by H. Adam Harris and feature four speakers: Sharon Day, Ifrah Mansour, Laura Stearns and Saymoukda Vongsay. Each speaker is a survivor, and the discussion will encompass themes relating to generational trauma, war, sexual abuse and immigration. After the speakers share their personal stories of resiliency, audience members will be invited to reflect and process through small group discussions facilitated by local experts and fellow survivors. There will also be space for solitary or written reflection and non-facilitated group discussions.

Facilitators will include Robert O. Fisch, doctor, author and Holocaust survivor; Gary Green, United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities; Seena Hodges, The Woke Coach; Robin Phillips, The Advocates for Human Rights; and Michel Rousseau, Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Minneapolis; among others.