ENOUGH! Plays to End Gun Violence

Overview

Please Be Advised: Subject matter includes discussions – but not graphic depictions – of many forms of gun violence, including school shootings, officer-involved shootings, suicide, and violence against the LGBTQIA+ community.

ENOUGH! calls on teens to confront gun violence by creating new works of theatre that will spark critical conversations and inspire meaningful action in communities across the country. They received 244 submissions from 36 states this past spring when it called on teens to write 10-minute plays on gun violence. This year’s plays were selected by nationally recognized dramatists Idris Goodwin, Lauren Gunderson, Zora Howard, Samuel D. Hunter, David Henry Hwang, Octavio Solis, and Lloyd Suh.

The Orlando Family Stage reading is part of a series of readings happening simultaneously across the country. More than fifty communities across the country are staging readings on November 6th, including a cornerstone reading at The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.

In addition to the staged reading, Orlando Family Stage will host student-led discussions with the audience between each play and end with a panel discussion and talk back with a group of mental health professionals. On display during the evening audience will see a quilt panel generously provided by Faces Not Forgotten, an inspiring visual artivism initiative related to gun violence, that uses quilts as the medium. While the evening is designed around discussion, audience members are able to contribute as much or as little as they are comfortable.

The Plays

A Call for Help by Pepper Fox

The Smiles Behind by Niarra C. Bell

The Matter at Hand by Valentine Wulf

No Prospering Weapons by Justin Cameron Washington

Lightning Strike by Amanda Fagan

A Disorderly House by Sam Lee Victor