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.
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
Every milestone in life has a story. But there is one milestone story we seldom tell—the story of our experience of being present for the death of a loved one. Stay With Me Awhile is a compilation of vigil stories from across cultures, religions, political views and socio-economic circumstances that were collected over a seven-year period. Each story was entirely unique, and many of the scenes described were snapshots of lifelong relationships played out as the end of life approached. 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
A group of actors gather to tell the little-known story of the first genocide of the 20th century. The play descends from collaborative to absurd as a group of idealistic actors attempt to recreate the extinction of the Herero tribe at the hands of their German colonizers. Eventually the full force of a horrific past crashes into the good intentions of the present, and what seemed a faraway place and time comes all too close to home. Learn More
At a time of rising Islamophobia and cultural misunderstanding, this play about a typical American high-school teen who happens to be Muslim is a great tool for tolerance. When Amal decides to wear her hijab to school, it's a learning experience for all ... including herself. By the end of this play, audiences will understand three things better: Islam, America and themselves. Learn More
This play with music chronicles the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. It begins with the Montgomery bus boycott when, after the arrest of Rosa Parks, people stopped using the buses crying out "Walk, Don't Ride! Learn More
Middle School | High School | College | Community | Professional | TYA
5m., 7w.
Livestream and Record & Stream Rights Available
55 min.
In Caught Between Two Worlds, 15-year-old Andrea is half Latinx and half white. Not speaking Spanish, she is shunned by those who are Latinx, and since her skin is brown, she’s shunned by those who are white. The play focuses on the need of those who are of mixed race to discover where they belong, not only in our society but in their own home, and brings insight to the young people who may have dealt with them cruelly. Learn More
Jewish pathologist Dr. Isaac Jonah is interred at Auschwitz concentration camp in 1944. Jonah searches for strength when he is asked to help in the escape of Lena. He must weigh the safety of his own family against the life of this innocent girl. Learn More
This play chronicles the life of Sojourner Truth from the day she is sold away from her family as a girl, through her struggle to free herself and her son, to her emergence as a respected figure advocating abolition and women's rights. Throughout her life, she came upon injustice and fought it with uncommon clear-sightedness, courage and wit. This title combines her actual words with authentic slave songs, spirituals and folk songs of the period.
