ENOUGH! PLAYS TO END GUN VIOLENCE to be Presented at The Kennedy Center in November

On November 6, teens are speaking out against gun violence in nearly 60 communities, including our nation's capital, as art, activism, and teen voices unite on stage in a vital evening of theater. Award-winning short plays by teen writers confronting gun violence will be staged on the same day coast-to-coast by theaters, high schools, and community organizations as part of ENOUGH! Plays to End Gun Violence is a grassroots performing arts and gun violence prevention initiative, with the cornerstone event to be held at 7 p.m. ET at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Studio K at the REACH. 

The program consists of six bold short plays by six remarkable young writers selected by a committee of America's most lauded professional playwrights. They are The Smiles Behind by Niarra C. Bell (Virginia), Lightning Strike by Amanda Fagan (Montana), A Call for Help by Pepper Fox (Kentucky), 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 address the many angles and lenses through which we see gun violence at work in America: school shootings, officer-involved shootings, suicide, unintentional shootings, and violence against the LGBTQIA+ community. Profiles on the playwrights can be found here.

These award-winning young playwrights will attend the Washington, D.C. debut of their plays. The Kennedy Center reading led by Event Producer Shanara Gabrielle is a collaborative effort between Kennedy Center Social Impact and Kennedy Center Education, featuring a coalition of professional theaters, including Signature Theatre, Arena Stage, Round House Theatre, Imagination Stage, Olney Theatre Center, 1st Stage, and The Theatre Lab, with a cast that includes Christopher Bloch, Jasmine Brooks, Tameika Chavis, Natascia Diaz, Caro Dubberly, Kari Ginsberg, Camilo Linares, Ethan Miller, and Matthew Sparacino, along with D.C.-area teens. Tickets for the event are free and can be reserved here.

During the event, Faces Not Forgotten quilts will be on display outside of Studio K. Faces Not Forgotten is a social justice visual art project that honors the children in America—eight per day, disproportionately Black—who are killed by gun violence. Each quilt consists of eight painted portraits of young gun violence victims. Quilts will also be displayed at additional ENOUGH! readings, including The Goodman Theatre in Chicago, the Baruch Performing Arts Center in NYC, and the Orlando Family Stage in Florida.

The performance will be followed by a post-show reflection with the playwrights and gun violence prevention activists from Change the Ref, Brady's Team ENOUGH, and DC's Office of Gun Violence Prevention.

Earlier in the day, ENOUGH!'s playwrights will visit Washington, D.C.'s Duke Ellington School of the Arts, where students have studied and prepared an in-house presentation of the plays, followed by a conversation and call to action for local youth. The Kennedy Center is a managing partner of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts through a public-private partnership of Washington, DC's public visual and performing arts high school.

The Kennedy Center serves as the cornerstone event to a larger series of readings staged coast-to-coast on the same evening in more than 30 states. Participating organizations range from community to professional theaters, high schools to universities, faith-based groups, and gun safety organizations in rural and urban settings—each pairing their performances with a community engagement component that addresses the realities of gun violence specific to their area. A complete list and map of nationwide readings can be found here.

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 membership to The Dramatists Guild.

“Art and activism go hand in hand to change culture. The powerful work of ENOUGH! and these young playwrights bring those who haven't experienced the tragedy of gun violence firsthand closer to the issue, grabbing their attention and demanding they take action now.”

 Manuel Oliver - father of Joaquin Oliver, who was shot and killed in the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas school shooting, and co-founder of Change the Ref.

“Children and teens should be focused on school, friends, and all the hallmarks of childhood and adolescence, yet they're forced to grapple with gun violence every single day. Whether they're seeing it in their homes, communities, or in the headlines, America's youth are feeling the trauma of this crisis. ENOUGH! Plays offer a rare opportunity for teens to find healing, community, and purpose in the face of this terrifying epidemic. Brady is proud to be a national action partner and help guide participants to meaningful, actionable steps they can take to end gun violence for their generation and the next to come.” 

Mia Tretta - gun violence survivor and executive council member of Brady's Team ENOUGH

“Through our mini-grants and the work of grantees in our communities, we have seen the transformative and healing power that art has in groups plagued by gun violence. Gun violence is everyone's issue! The answer to ending gun violence is in the community, and we applaud the youth, playwrights, and artists for using their talents and their voices to amplify the need to end gun violence.”

Kevin Donahue - City Administrator referring to Washington DC's Office of Gun Violence Prevention.

Ticketing

Tickets for ENOUGH! on Monday, November 6 at 7 p.m. at the Kennedy Center are available via the Kennedy Center website or by calling 202-467-4600.

About ENOUGH! Plays to End Gun Violence

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 nearly 600 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 The Kennedy Center

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is America's living memorial to President John F. Kennedy, attracting millions of visitors each year to more than 2,000 performances, events, and exhibits. With its artistic affiliates, the National Symphony Orchestra and Washington National Opera, the Center is one of the nation's busiest performing arts centers dedicated to providing world-class art, powerful education, and outstanding memorial experiences to the broadest possible constituency. Across all its offerings, the Kennedy Center is committed to increasing accessible, inclusive opportunities for all people to participate in and learn through the arts, including more than 400 free performances each year and a variety of Specially Priced Ticket programs for students, seniors, persons with disabilities, and others. On September 7, 2019, the Kennedy Center inaugurated the REACH, its first-ever major expansion. Designed by Steven Holl Associates, the REACH provides visitors with new opportunities to interact and engage with the Center as the nation's premier nexus of arts, learning, and culture. On September 8, 2022, the Kennedy Center unveiled Art and Ideals: President John F. Kennedy, a new 7,500-square-foot permanent exhibit exploring Kennedy's presidency and his commitment to the arts. To learn more about the Kennedy Center, please visit www.kennedy-center.org.

About Faces Not Forgotten

Since 2010, Faces Not Forgotten and its network of artists have painted more than 300 portraits of gun violence victims 20 and under. Its 35 quilts travel nationwide and most recently were displayed at the 10th Annual National Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence at St. Mark's Cathedral in Washington D.C., attended by President Biden. A portrait of a child lost to gun violence can be requested at www.facesnotforgotten.org.

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