<html><body><p><img style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src="https://assets.littlegreenlight.com/media/W1siZiIsIjIwMjEvMDMvMzAvNG95a3Q3cWMxdF9lbXBvd2VyTVRfbGV0dGVyaGVhZC5wbmciXV0?sha=9de12d9b1353a6a3" alt="Letterhead" width="518" height="168" /></p>
<p><strong>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE </strong></p>
<p><strong>Contact:</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Kelsie Severson, EmpowerMT </span></p>
<p><strong>Phone:</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"> (406)-541-6891 </span></p>
<p><strong>Email: </strong><a href="mailto:kelsie@empowermt.org"><span style="font-weight: 400;">kelsie@empowermt.org</span></a></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><strong>[Verbatim: Celebrating Resilience]</strong></p>
<p><strong>Missoula, MT- </strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">To celebrate and honor the month of October as LGBTQ+ History Month, EmpowerMT in partnership with playwright Gregory Hinton, and the University of Montana School of Theater and Dance: Social Justice Theater Class is hosting </span><strong><em>Verbatim: Celebrating Resilience</em></strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"> to recognize the resilience of Montana’s LGBTQ+ community. This historical and contemporary LGBTQ+ storytelling project will be held at the </span><strong>Zootown Arts Community Center (ZACC)</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"> on </span><strong>Sunday, October 17th from 6pm-8pm</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">. The event is free and open to the public but there is a </span><strong>$20 suggested donation</strong><span style="font-weight: 400;"> that will go directly to local LGBTQ+ organizations. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The first part of the program will be a reading of </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Diversity Day: The Play</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;"> which</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is a staged reenactment of public testimony adapted from the actual Missoula City Council Journal of Proceedings from the historic 2010 Missoula City Council hearing </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">when Missoula voted on the first Non-Discrimination Ordinance in Montana to include protections based on gender and sexual identity.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Footage of the original hearing will be screened as testimony is read. </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">The play was written by playwright and LGBTQ+ historian, Gregory Hinton, and he will be directing and attending the reading. Gregory Hinton was born in Wolf Point, Montana, </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">and has made his career compiling LGBTQ+ historical and contemporary narratives of the rural Rocky Mountain West.</span><span style="font-weight: 400;"> </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">After the Diversity Day reading, UM's Theatre for Social Justice will be performing verbatim reflections of where we are now, over 10 years later, in regard to LGBTQ+ equity, safety, and policy as well as a current perspective on our Montana communities</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">EmpowerMT is a local non-profit organization that provides leadership development, communication, and cultural competency skill-building, implicit bias awareness training to youth and adults across the state of Montana. EmpowerMT’s mission is to create a more just and inclusive society by developing youth and adult leaders who work to end mistreatment, correct systemic inequalities, and strengthen communities across Montana.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">If you would like more information about this topic, please call Kelsie Severson at (406)-541-6891 or email </span><a href="mailto:kelsie@empowermt.org"><span style="font-weight: 400;">kelsie@empowermt.org</span></a></p><img width="1px" height="1px" alt="" src="https://email.mg2.lglcrm.net/o/eJxdjk0OgyAYRE8juxI-BMQFC63xGgZBKSlg4k8ab19q001XM5lkXp5Vk2azoMgrSigAAQqSE1ZjwPem63pCupL1rG2YKBiJjuLgglkjTtOOch2i9sEnN3hb8LbgnfoEpZzJEqpc8oRWFf22LUfQN7PEeCS_n7c0vbaMHL3bnmem4WV1aFfamOVI-wCcSoEeauLlyMbaaGENl6bSEoQtSW0NaNBiviR-pz-Ji_F1eAP-vUTC"></body></html>