Alleyway Theatre to Present National Reading of ENOUGH! PLAYS TO END GUN VIOLENCE
This free one-night-only event is open to the public, featuring readings of six brand new short plays about gun violence, written by high schoolers throughout the US.
By: Blair Ingenthron Oct. 31, 2023
For the second year, Alleyway Theatre will join theatres across the country to produce ENOUGH! PLAYS TO END GUN VIOLENCE on Monday, November 6, 2023 at 7:00pm. This free one night only event is open to the public, featuring readings of six brand new short plays about gun violence, written by high schoolers throughout the United States. Donations at the theatre will benefit Most Valuable Parents of Buffalo). The event is supported by generous assistance from the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Legacy Funds at the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo.
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. Alleyway Education Director Tracie Lane Thomason explains, “Gun violence is now a leading cause of death for the youngest people in our country. Impassioned, young theatre makers from our community and beyond have something to say about it, and it is time we listen.”
“It's devastating that this sort of programming is needed,” says Alleyway Artistic Director Chris J Handley. “Our first year participating came just weeks before the massacre in East Buffalo, and this year is just weeks following the tragedy in Maine. Alleyway is proud to give space to these students and their stories.”
Representatives from the Buffalo chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America will facilitate a conversation after the performance.
Students from Frederick Law Olmsted, Cheektowaga Central and Frontier districts lead the cast including Juelz Colton, Mckenna Czeladzinski, Felicia Dorman, Taryn Fleming, Grace Gordon, Jocelynn Munoz, Amirah Proctor.
With the support of the Wilson Legacy Funds, Alleyway's programming will include spring 2024 playwriting sessions, designed to support local high school playwrights create short plays to submit for inclusion in the national event next year. The funding also allows Alleyway to pay these participants for their time and artistry.
ENOUGH! 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. Each winning playwright receives a $500 stipend sponsored by gun violence prevention organization Change the Ref, has their play published and licensed through Playscripts, Inc., and receives a Guild membership and craft training through The Dramatists Guild.
“The quality of this year's submissions was truly impressive, in terms of artistic quality as well as the diversity of stories and communities represented.” says returning panelist judge David Henry Hwang, whose work includes the Tony Award-winning M. Butterfly and the 2020 Pulitzer Prize finalist musical Soft Power. “These exciting and inspiring young dramatists show us once again that our nation needs their voices to say ENOUGH! to the plague of gun violence.”
The winning plays are: The Smiles Behind by Niarra C. Bell (Virginia), A Call for Help by Pepper Fox (Kentucky), Lightning Strike by Amanda Fagan (Montana), 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).
“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.”
DETAILS
Monday, November 6, 2023 at 7:00pm
Alleyway Theatre Mainstage
Free. Reservations suggested at Alleyway.com
Donations at the door will support Buffalo's Most Valuable Parents organization
Post-performance discussion facilitated by Moms Demand Action
ABOUT MVP
Most Valuable Parents (MVP) is an organized body of concerned Citizens (parents) and organizations who stand in unity to make Buffalo a better and safer place to live. We are Concerned Citizens who stand in solidarity to address issues that affect our City and communities. Our Target Area is wherever our services is needed the most, starting with Buffalo's East Side where crime and violence is most pervasive and where Programs, Intervention, Representation and Awareness is required. Visit joinmvp.org for more information.
ABOUT MOMS DEMAND ACTION
Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America is a grassroots movement of Americans fighting for public safety measures that can protect people from gun violence. Moms Demand Action has established a chapter in every state of the country, and, along with Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Students Demand Action, and the Everytown Survivor Network, it is part of Everytown for Gun Safety, the largest gun violence prevention organization in the country with more than 5 million supporters and more than 350,000 donors. For more information or to get involved visit momsdemandaction.org
ABOUT ENOUGH!
Founded in 2019, ENOUGH! Plays to End Gun Violence 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. Our mission is to promote playwriting as a tool for self-expression and social change, harnessing this generation's spirit of activism and providing a platform for America's playwrights of tomorrow to discover and develop their voices today. Now in its third year, ENOUGH! has received more than 500 short plays by teen writers tackling gun violence. More than 100 organizations have participated in ENOUGH!'s two previous Nationwide Readings in 2020 and 2022, involving nearly 2,000 artists and reaching more than 10,000 people. ENOUGH! has been covered by international press outlets PBS NewsHour, NPR, and BBC. ENOUGH! is the recent recipient of the Goldin Foundation Exemplary Project Award. enoughplays.com
ABOUT ALLEYWAY
Alleyway Theatre, Buffalo's home for new plays since 1980, is a professional theatre company and collaborative incubator for bold, visceral new theatre. Education & development programs foster the talents of emergent artists from Western New York and beyond ... embracing fearlessness, theatricality, humanity, and authenticity. The company was founded by Neal Radice and is now led by Executive Artistic Director Chris J Handley. Alleyway Theatre is located at 1 Curtain Up Alley, Buffalo NY 14202 – right in the heart of Buffalo's Theatre District.
Now in its 44th year, the company was featured last fall on NPR's Morning Edition and received thirteen Artie nominations for its work last season. The season continues: A CHRISTMAS CAROL adapted and directed by Neal Radice (December 9 – 24, 2023); BLUE XMAS: THE CHARMAGNE CHI CHRISTMAS SPECIAL (December 14 – 30, 2023); THE FOLKS AT HOME by R. Eric Thomas (February 9 – March 2, 2024); BUFFALO QUICKIES (March 15 – 30, 2024); PARTICLE A NEW MUSICAL by Selda Sahin, Derek Gregor & Autumn Reeser (April 26 – May 18, 2024).
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