The characters the student actors portray in "Traffic Jam" are about their age and that just
makes the danger the characters face all the more real.
The one-act play about human trafficking will be staged by actors from Bowling Green High School Monday
at 8 p.m. in the lobby of the Dorothy Uber Bryan Gallery in the Fine Art Center on the Bowling Green
State University campus. The performance in conjunction with the Identity Project will conclude an
evening’s worth of activities beginning at 6 p.m. with a discussion in the School of Art’s Arttalk
series by Ruby Onyintechi Amanzi.
Amanzi’s work is on display along with work by Noel Palomo-Lovinski in Telling Truths/Speaking Secrets in
the Bryan Gallery. Following her talk a reception will be held. The play will follow.
"Traffic Jam" is a product of the high school’s Social Issues Theatre troupe taught by Jo Beth
Gonzalez.
Each year members of the class explore social issues, and decide on one to explore. They research the
issue, and through small group improvisations, write dramatic scenes.
Human trafficking was the topic two years ago. Looking into it was an eye-opening experience for members.
"It was not familiar to a lot of us," said senior Brandon Willinger.
"I didn’t know how prominent it is, especially in this area," said Marissa Ramos.
Gonzalez said she serves as a guide. Though Gonzalez will put together a composite of the students’ work
they retain the right to edit what she does. "I learn as much as the students, even if I think I
know something. We go really deep."
The scene is left open-ended to provide more stimulus for discussion.
This topic proved to have enough relevance that’s kept it live for three years. The troupe, with some
replacements for students who have graduated have presented it twice at conferences in Toledo on human
trafficking, and they presented it at a state drama event a well as in other venues.
The actors hope the play helps cut through attitudes some of their peers have about the issue.
Mira Kokomoor said there’s a certain media glamorization of human trafficking and even a light-hearted
attitude exhibited in Halloween costumes for pimps and prostitutes.
Nathan Maynard said he as well as his friends may have joked about this. "Now through what I’ve
learned I know it isn’t something to joke about."
For Ramos the message hits closer to home. She has a 13-year-old sister, the same age as a central
character who is put in danger in the play. That’s a typical age who girls to be entrapped. Now Ramos
said she’s more cognizant of what her sister does, and has talked to her about the dangers.
Gonzalez was instrumental in having the scene performed in the Bryan Lobby. The shrouded silhouettes
created by Palomo-Lovinski provide "a powerful backdrop."
Those figures "who have lost their identities" echo the experience of those "who through
oppressive conditions have had their identities taken away from them."
