Emotional trauma of youths bared in ‘Trigger’ play [SacBee.com]

Standing at center stage Saturday in Oak Park’s Guild Theater, Sacramento teen Alex Cuevas pulled out a piece of paper and, with a full, booming voice, recited a poem he had written.

The rosary that hung from his neck bounced back and forth against his blue hoodie as his character told the audience the struggles that he had faced in his short life.

“So what if my mother didn’t want me?” he asked. “My grandma didn’t have to die.”

Playing a teen named Christian who had been abandoned by his parents at a young age, Cuevas gave the spoken word-style performance in “Trigger,” a play illustrating the emotional and mental trauma experienced by the country’s youths.