THEATER FOR THE NEW CITY
Executive Director, Crystal Field
Presents
Enough! Plays to End Gun Violence
Directed by Sarah Germain Lilly
November 6, 2023, Monday at 7:30 PM
Tickets: $18 General, $15 Seniors and Students
Run Time: 2 hours with 10 minute intermission
There will be a half hour talk back after the show
CINO THEATER
Theater for the New City
155 First Avenue (between 9th and 10th Street)
Enough Plays to End Gun Violence at Theater for the New City:
Dedicated to the memory of Deandre Matthews, 19 years old, killed February 6, 2023.
What if young people everywhere in the US cried out on stages large and small across America, begging for peace and an end to the epidemic of gun violence they live in? Would we listen? Would we finally change the bloody status quo?
Out of 244 plays by High School and Middle School students, these six were chosen to be performed in communities everywhere across the nation, on November 6th, 2023The writers, who represent our youth, hope their work will inspire us all to end gun violence as a growing threat to all Americans.
The actors: Nia Weeks, Danielle Hauser, Yesenia Ortiz, T Scott Lilly, Dan Kelly, Eddie Moore, Carlos Rodriguez, Ismail Loney and Assistant Director Sean Stefanic bring their activism and experience to this project, and their artistry as well.
Director Sarah Germain Lilly is happy to be back with the Theater for the New City tribe and uplifted by this opportunity to spread peace and end gun violence.
The plays are The Smiles Behind by Niarra C. Bell (Virginia), A Call for Help by Pepper Fox (Kentucky), Lightning Strike by HJ Kennedy (North Carolina), A Disorderly House by Sam Lee Victor (New Jersey), No Prospering Weapons by Justin Cameron Washington (Michigan), and The Matter at Hand by Valentine Wulf (Washington). Led by its creator Michael Cotey and Joaquin Oliver Artistic Producer, the ENOUGH! initiative 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.
There will be a talk back after the show with local gun violence prevention activists and Gays Against Guns President Jay W. Walker.
In addition to Theater for the New City, these six plays will be performed on November 6, 2023, across the country and in Washington, D.C., at The Kennedy Center’s Theater Lab as the cornerstone event to a larger series of readings staged coast-to-coast on the same evening.
“Great art allows us to see the human condition in new and unique ways, and these young theater makers are an inspiration for using their distinctive voices to shine a light on the gun violence epidemic,” said Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Kennedy Center Vice President and Artistic Director of Social Impact.
Director Sarah Germain Lilly thanks Crystal Field and the Theater for the New City community for making this reading possible, and Gays Against Guns NY for supporting the readings and community talk back.
Deandre Matthews, age 19, of East Flatbush, Brooklyn , was killed February 6 2023. His suspected killers have been arrested and are awaiting trial. Deandre’s family grieve this Beautiful, out, gay young man who was employed, enrolled in college, and an encouragement and positive role model for his friends.
ENOUGH! is making the plays available for free as part of its Nationwide Reading on November 6. Schools, theaters, and community organizations of all sizes are invited to stage a reading of the plays locally. Producers of these regional readings are encouraged to use the event as an opportunity to seek out meaningful partnerships and pair the plays with a community engagement component that addresses the realities of gun violence specific to their area.
“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.”
“Produced by special arrangement with Enough! Plays to End Gun Violence, Michael Cotey, Joaquin Oliver Artistic Producer An anthology of the plays may be purchased from Playscripts at Playscripts.com”.
COVID Protocol:
As of September 26th, 2022, we are no longer requiring proof of COVID-19 vaccination for our audience upon entry.
Wearing of masks is suggested in the lobby, restrooms and performance spaces at Theater for the New City, but they are not required.