Cheryl Strayed Headlines Portland Benefit for PlayWrite

On Wednesday, May 27, Cheryl Strayed, author of "Wild," the number one New York Times best-selling memoir, will be the featured speaker at a benefit for PlayWrite, Inc. Strayed will be interviewed on-stage by PlayWrite founder Bruce Livingston. A Q & A with Strayed and the audience will follow the lively interview.

"Big-hearted, keen-eyed, lyrical, precise... Cheryl Strayed reminds us in every line that if defeat and despair are part of human experience, so are kindness, patience, and transcendence," writes George Saunders.

The film adaptation of "Wild" stars Reese Witherspoon as Strayed and Laura Dern as her mother. Strayed's daughter, Bobbi, plays Cheryl as a young girl. Dern and Witherspoon were nominated for Academy Awards for their performances in "Wild." Strayed's books, including the novel "Torch" and the essay collection "Tiny Beautiful Things," have been translated into more than 30 languages. Strayed and her husband, filmmaker Brian Lindstrom, live in Portland with their children Bobbi and Carver.

All proceeds from Cheryl Strayed: A Benefit for PlayWrite will support PlayWrite, Inc. PlayWrite workshops connect youth 'at the edge' with PlayWrite-trained writing coaches. Working one-on-one with a coach, writers create unique plays based on their own emotional experiences and ultimately direct actors in a live performance.

Ian, a PlayWrite graduate, describes his experience: "With every detail you add to a character, the coach asks you 'why?' over and over again. You get down into this raw emotion, until you're at a loss for words. I probably learned more about myself than anything else. We explored our pasts, and how different situations we had been in made us feel. It was scary, sad, exasperating, and most of all, fun."

Founded in 2003, PlayWrite uses the power of performance in art to transform the lives of youth at the edge, partnering with alternative schools and community organizations throughout the Portland Metropolitan Area.