Theatre and Activism: Enough! Plays to End Gun Violence 2023

10/6/2023

A theatrical conversation by teens, with teens, for our community.

Orlando Family Stage is proud to announce its participation in the Nationwide Reading of ENOUGH! Plays to End Gun Violence on November 6, 2023 at 7pm. Orlando Family Stage will join more than 50 other communities around the United States to perform this year’s winning play selections as art, activism, and teen voices unite on stage in a vital evening of theater addressing gun violence in our community. Admission is free.

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.

“These plays provide powerful insight into the perspective of a generation where the threat of gun violence has become ubiquitous with going to school growing up,” says ENOUGH! creator Michael Cotey, “Performing them across the country exactly a year from the next presidential election is an urgent reminder that gun violence remains a vital issue for many young voters coming of age next November.”

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.

“This is our third year participating in Enough! and we are inspired to see the growth in art and activism from our young people. Theatre is meant to create conversation and our young people hope to add their voices to the conversation around gun violence and its effects on our community,” says Senior Director of Education Jennifer Adams-Carrasquillo. She adds, “These plays are so powerful and beautifully written. When you hear these words written and performed by teens and with discussions led by teens, you really get a chance to see what our future holds in how we think about creating change.”

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.

All are welcome to attend. The program consists of six bold short plays by six remarkable young writers who were selected by a committee of America’s most lauded professional playwrights. These plays address the many angles and lenses through which we see gun violence at work in America: in classrooms, in neighborhoods, and in families. Patrons are advised that the 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.

Tickets are free but reserve your seats here.