Arts Integrity Initiative Publishes Warren Leight's UNION SQUARE INCIDENT Online

Union Square Incident, a short play by Warren Leight that premiered on November 14 as part of 'The 24 Hour Plays on Broadway,' was published online today at the website of the Arts Integrity Initiative, a program of The New School of Drama at The New School College of Performing Arts.

Union Square Incident depicts five strangers being shuttled in and out of an unidentified detention center at an undisclosed location, in the aftermath of post-election protests in New York City. In keeping with the spontaneous template originated by The 24 Hour Plays, Leight's play was cast in the late evening of November 13, written in the early hours of November 14, rehearsed beginning at 9 am that morning and performed that evening at the American Airlines Theatre. It was directed by Elena Araoz and the cast featured Ashlie Atkinson, Jason Biggs, Michael Cerveris, Russell G. Jones, Olivia Washington and Julie White. It was one of six pieces presented that evening.

Warren Leight's plays include Side Man (Tony Award), No Foreigners Beyond This Point (Drama Desk nomination), Glimmer, Glimmer and Shine (ATCA nomination). In TV, he's been the Showrunner and Executive Producer of Law and Order: SVU (Imagen, NAACP, and Prism Awards), In Treatment (Peabody Award), Lights Out, and the Edgar-winning Law and Order: Criminal Intent.

The play can be read here: http://www.artsintegrity.org/short-play-by-warren-leight-union-square-incident/

Regarding the publication, Arts Integrity director Howard Sherman said, "While the arrangements to make the script of Union Square Incident available were all made last week, it is perhaps even more pertinent in the wake of this weekend's national debate about the role of political commentary through theatre and in theatres. It is not safe theatre, but it is about the safety of Americans."

Founded in 2015, the Arts Integrity Initiative (www.artsintegrity.org) explores and advocates on a range of issues in the performing arts, including anti-censorship efforts, the rights of artists, and ethical practices in the field. It is based at The New School of Drama (Pippin Parker, director), a division of The New School College of Performing Arts (Richard Kessler, executive dean).