May 9, 2014

 

Contacts:

Dr. Sarah Keller, Communications & Theatre, at skeller@msubillings.edu or 896-5824
Samantha Vernon, Global Health Equity Foundation, at Samantha.vernon@ghef.org or 896-5884
MSU Billings University Relations, 657-2266

 

MSU BILLINGS NEWS SERVICES — Peaks to Plains Park will be a gathering place for Let’s Talk Billings teens, parents and proud supporters celebrating their achievements as the school year comes to an end at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, May 14.

 

The celebration on the MSU Billings university campus will include honoring the achievements that have been made by teenagers from Billings’ high schools. A group of 10 teenagers from West, Skyview and Senior high schools spent the year scripting and performing original theater performances to raise awareness about suicide.

 

The project, entitled “Let’s Talk Billings,” is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health General Medical Sciences Division and the Global Health Equity Foundation (GHEF), non-profit philanthropic organization dedicated to making tangible improvements in healthcare and health education, based in Miles City and Geneva, Switzerland.

 

Today, Let’s Talk staff will honor the teenagers with gifts, and express special thanks to the incredible teen actors and directors. Let’s Talk Billings, a suicide prevention program that uses theatre to address the epidemic of suicide in our community, has presented two short plays by students followed by a talk-back session to answer questions about how to get help for those in the throes of suicidal thoughts.

 

The teens have performed this past year at Nova Theatre twice, once for a sold out audience and the second as part of the Billings Fringe Festival, as well as in Miles City for Custer County District High School, and additionally participating in workshops, rehearsals, and performances previously at other area high schools.

 

Let’s Talk Billings would like to honor our teen’s achievements in working to end the stigma that often surrounds mental health and for raising awareness of suicide resources in our community.

 

For more information about the project, visit www.letstalkbillings.com or contact MSU Billings Theatre and Communications chair, Dr. Sarah Keller at 406-896-5824.

 

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