Tickets Still Available for 'Night Out With NAMI'

Editor's Note: The following is a news release issued by the National Alliance on Mental Illness Mercer.

Playwright Danai Gurira recently met with representatives of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Mercer to discuss her new play, The Convert, which premiered at McCarter Theater in Princeton on Jan. 12.

This year’s Night Out with NAMI benefit on Saturday, Jan. 21, will include the matinee performance of The Convert, followed by an exclusive after-party in the Berlind Rehearsal Hall.

Gurira’s play, set during the colonial upheavals in southern Africa in 1895, tells the story of a young Shona girl who escapes a forced marriage by converting to Christianity. In The Convert, as in her two earlier plays, Gurira focuses on African women, giving expression to a historically powerless group rarely heard or understood.

“I am trying to bring voice to this group with the craft that I possess, which is dramatic writing,” explains Gurira.

Likewise, NAMI’s mission is to give voice to those affected by mental illness through programs such as "In Our Own Voice," where people in recovery go out into the community to tell their story. Unfortunately, many with mental illness suffer in silence, and less than one-third of adults and one-half of children with a diagnosable mental disorder receive mental health services in a given year.

According to Gurira, “You humanize people when you give them a voice. You allow them to be included in the global discussion…You shine light on people who have been ignored.”

“For fundraisers in the past, we've chosen entertainment aligned to our mission,” said Karen Marquis, NAMI Mercer board member and co-chair of the upcoming event.

Since 2002, Night Out has featured the music of world-famous composers affected by mental illness including Beethoven, Mozart, Schumann, and Tchaikovsky. Choosing a theatrical performance represents a departure from the musical format. 

“Drama is an artistic medium well suited to raising awareness about mental illness and combating stigma,” commented NAMI Mercer Executive Director Sally Osmer. “Since mental illness impacts one in four families, we all have stories to tell.” Gurira spoke about a member of her own family presumably affected by mental illness. She lost her life in the 70's at a time when such topics were discussed even less so than today.

“I'm writing a play about family now, and I'm figuring out whether or not she will come into the story. So we'll see how she enters into the narrative. I do think it's important. Mental illness strikes a lot of people. I've come across a lot of friends of late that deal with it in their own families.”

A limited number of seats for the Jan. 21 matinee remain. Tickets to the Night Out with NAMI theater performance and after-party ($99 per person) are available by calling NAMI Mercer at (609) 799-8994.

Season ticket holders can attend by calling NAMI Mercer to exchange their seats for the Jan. 21 performance.

NAMI Mercer, based in Lawrence Township, is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and families affected by mental illness through education, mutual support, and advocacy.