Highlighting a variety of perspectives on religion, race, sexual orientation, ability and identity, these plays explore our differences and guide us toward greater understanding and compassion.
Middle School | High School | College | Community | Professional | TYA
6 any gender.
Livestream and Record & Stream Rights Available
30 min.
Lift Every Voice, which is based on a true story, explores the impact of racism in an urban high school. When the class president of an elite inner-city high school posts a racially inflammatory message on social media, tensions explode, loyalties are tested and long-simmering resentments boil over as the six members of the student council grapple with the fallout and how to move forward. Learn More
Middle School | High School | College | Community | Professional | TYA
6 either gender.
Livestream and Record & Stream Rights Available
30 min.
Lift Every Voice, which is based on a true story, explores the impact of racism in an urban high school. When the class president of an elite inner-city high school posts a racially inflammatory message on social media, tensions explode, loyalties are tested and long-simmering resentments boil over as the six members of the student council grapple with the fallout and how to move forward. Learn More
Shedrick, a Liberian refugee living in Australia, explains his journey from his war-torn home to refugee camps, where he survived squalor, hunger and disease. He was rescued by his Uncle John and assumed the identity of John’s dead son. Now safe in Australia, Shedrick wants to reclaim his identity. Rob, a white attorney, believes it can happen with a simple legal procedure, but John is ferociously against it, forcing Shedrick to choose between reclaiming his identity and his loyalty to the man who saved his life. Learn More
Meet Abdul Samee: his father is Iraqi, and his mother is Puerto Rican—but if you ask him, he’ll say he’s Italian. Longing to shed his cultural identity, he changes his name to Sam, marries an American and does everything in his power to turn his back on his heritage. But when Sam meets Yasmina, a beautiful woman from his father’s homeland, he begins to learn that a tree without roots cannot stand for long. Learn More
14 was inspired by the true-life event in May 2001 in which a smuggler abandoned 30 Mexicans crossing the desert, resulting in 14 deaths from dehydration. It is a starting point for exploration to investigate the complexities of people living on the border, not giving answers but raising difficult questions. The mosaic of flawed and struggling people included emphasize the importance of investigating this topic in a way that calls not only for action and conversation but, ultimately, for a collective solution.
Defamation is a riveting courtroom drama that illuminates our common perceptions about race, religion and class. In this case, the plaintiff is Ms. Wade, a professional black woman from the South Side of Chicago. The defendant is Mr. Golden, a successful North Shore businessman who is Jewish. Following testimony from each side, the judge reveals that the audience will be the jury. Defamation challenges our preconceived notions about race, class, religion and even the law.
Created by Michael Bigelow Dixon and Brooke Jennett. Conceived by Jon Jory. Written by Janet Allard, Joseph Michael Bahena, Erica Beimesche, Brayden Bergman, Katie Brewer-Calvert, Mattie Bruton, Sophia Burke, Kamilah Bush, Justin Yu-Young Chien錢裕揚, Adam Denoyer, Briana Garcia, Kathryn R. Gillespie, Kaitlin Haggard, Maya Hamer, Michael A. Huelsman, Hannah Jacky, Brooke Jennett, Trevor Kassis, Mollie LaFavers, Olivia Luken, Philana Omorotionmwan, Isabel Peña, Stephanie Robinson, Theodora Zora Salazar, Natasha Renee Smith, Charlotte Stephens, Emy Stevens, Jessica Wilson, Elizabeth Wong and Justin Wright.
Product Code: MQ6000
Comedy | Drama | Satire
College
3 to 5m., 3 to 5w., 2 to 10 either gender.
Livestream and Record & Stream Rights Available
70 min.
What’s in the minds and hearts of college students today? In 40 monologues and a few dialogues, this multicultural ensemble questions everything they encounter: social justice and gender identity, self-awareness and relationship boundaries, future prospects and roommate etiquette. What emerges is a humorous and heartbreaking portrait of a new generation struggling with higher education’s promise of “personal transformation.” Learn More
Elementary School | Middle School | High School | Community
11 to 16m., 11 to 20w., 5 to 9 either gender.
Limited Streaming Rights Available
55 min.
In 1960, 6-year-old Ruby became the first black child to attend an all-white elementary school in New Orleans. When the white families learned of Ruby’s enrollment, they pulled their children from her class, leaving Ruby and her teacher the only ones in the classroom for the school year. Her family watched helplessly as federal marshals escorted Ruby to school each day past protesters jeering and threatening her life. This musical explores a little girl’s unbeatable courage in the face of adversity. Learn More
This play combines stories of men and women of the Underground Railroad who were active in the fight against slavery. Famous participants like Harriet Tubman and Harriet Beecher Stowe and other lesser-known heroes are included in this tale that celebrates a time when Americans were at their courageous best, supporting one another, regardless of background, ethnicity or gender. Learn More
At the height of what TIME magazine dubbed "AIDS hysteria" in 1983, college student David invites his boyfriend home to his parents' house in Maryland where nothing has changed since the 1800s—including the slave quarters. This play confronts hypocrisy and oppression with exhilarating wit.