FORMER FOSTER YOUTH TELLS HER STORY IN PLAY THAT SEEKS TO SPUR AUDIENCES TO ACTION

Media Invited to Attend Preview Performance

Overview:
Throughout June, a one-woman play will shine a spotlight on the unique and life-limiting struggles that foster youth face when transitioning out of foster care. And who better to tell the story than someone who has lived it and now advocates for these young adults. Shari Walker is the writer, producer and actress of SugarFree: Foster Care Cognitive Dissonance, which will be performed on five dates in June. Walker overcame homelessness, domestic violence and lack of guidance and support to beat the staggering odds that work against youth when leaving the system.

Walker, who is now 28, now holds her Bachelor’s in Pan African American Social Science and is pursuing her Master’s of Social Work. She is active in a number of non-profit initiatives focused on improving foster care, including Foster Nation and The National Foster Youth Institute led by U.S. Rep. Karen Bass, and received the 2019 Hollywood Fringe Diversity Scholarship.

“SugarFree: Foster Care Cognitive Dissonance combines the difficult journey of foster youth through my perspective as both a social worker and former foster child. I interspersed poetry, personal narrative, humor, and real-life experiences for a theater experience that tugs at the heartstrings of our greatest human need to connect in the midst of the social welfare system’s inadequacies,” explained Walker.

Tickets are $10 and go on sale May 1. They are available at SugarFreeFosterCare.com. For more information, go to: @SugarFreeCare on Twitter or @SugarFreeFosterCare on Facebook and Instagram.

Media is invited to attend the Preview as guests of Ms. Walker. She is available for interviews.

Who:
Shari Walker is the writer, producer and actress of SugarFree: Foster Care Cognitive Dissonance that recounts her experiences navigating foster care as an African American woman. She grew up in the Watts, CA projects, was placed in foster care at age 14 and emancipated at 18 unprepared for adulthood. Through the solo show she shares her journey in an effort to inform as well as motivate the audience to get involved with foster youth between ages 14-26 to support their successful transition through adulthood.

When:
Preview: 5-6 p.m., Sunday, June 9
3-4 p.m., Saturday, June 15
7-8 p.m., Thursday, June 20
9-10 p.m., Saturday, June 22
8:30 – 9:30 p.m., Friday, June 28

Where: Studio/Stage Hollywood, 520 N Western Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90004

To schedule an interview with Shari or to get tickets to the preview night, please contact:
Shari Walker, 323.548.1040 or [email protected]