Third Rail Presents 2022 #ENOUGH: Plays To End Gun Violence Reading

THIRD RAIL REPERTORY THEATRE has announced its participation in the Nationwide Reading of #ENOUGH: Plays to End Gun Violence on Wednesday, April 20, 2022 at 7:00pm in-person at Congregation Beth Israel's Pollin Chapel and streaming live on Youtube. Third Rail will join more than 50 other communities around the United States to perform this year's winning play selections and hold conversations with the audience about how gun violence affects our community. Admission is free, but in-person seating is limited. Reservations are required.

#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 meaningful action in communities across the country. This year, eight plays were selected by a committee of award-winning playwrights including Pulitzer Prize finalist Rajiv Joseph and Drama Critics Circle Award winner Lydia R. Diamond, as well as Manuel Oliver, whose son Joaquin was murdered in the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, FL. The plays, all written by high school students, address gun violence through a variety of lenses and experiences.

"These eight plays not only shed light on the complexity of the issue of gun violence, but they also reveal that gun violence is a symptom of much larger root issues, like racial and economic inequality, that our country has failed to deal with," says Michael Cotey, #ENOUGH's Artistic Producer. "Their perspectives are not only wise but bold, provocative, and vital to the urgent moment we find ourselves in."

This year's Nationwide Reading is scheduled to mark the twenty-third anniversary of the mass shooting at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999. The cornerstone performance will be held at Lincoln Center in New York City.

"We're excited to be presenting this year's #ENOUGH: Plays to End Gun Violence Reading and to be collaborating with many of Portland's gun violence prevention organizations. After participating in last year's #ENOUGH reading, we found that our audiences were eager to hear more from teens on this issue and wanted to know how they could get more involved. By sharing these teens' voices, we hope to spark a deeper conversation about how theatre, and the arts, can be an important tool for social change and further prevention of gun violence in our city." - Kelsea Ashenbrenner, Third Rail's Lead Artist for #ENOUGH

Third Rail will host a talkback and panel discussion after the reading that will be led by Kelsea Ashenbrenner & Portland's Office of Violence Prevention. There will also be a display of Soul Boxes from The Soul Box Project. All are welcome to attend. Patrons are advised that the subject matter includes discussions - but not graphic depictions - of many forms of gun violence, including school shootings and officer-involved shootings.

To reserve a FREE TICKET to Third Rail's presentation (either in-person or streaming), visit https://thirdrailrep.secure.force.com/ticket/#/events/a0S3l00000Gz9hsEAB

For more information about #ENOUGH and the Nationwide Reading visit https://www.enoughplays.com/reading.

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