Penumbra Theatre Launches 'Precinct 8 Pride' Campaign to Amp Up Voter Participation

As Penumbra Theatre kicks off its fortieth anniversary season and looks towards the future, it is thinking deeply about what theatre can be for a community.

Under the leadership of Co-Artistic Director Sarah Bellamy, Penumbra is developing new ways to fully activate the mission and the spirit out of which it was born. At the heart of Bellamy's vision is a question: how can Penumbra best serve its community and leverage the art it produces to mobilize forces for good?

This fall Penumbra will pilot a civic engagement campaign called "Precinct 8 Pride" to support voter participation in this year's election process. Penumbra's home in the Hallie Q. Brown/Martin Luther King Center serves as the polling station for Precinct 8, one of the most economically and racially diverse neighborhoods in Saint Paul. In partnership with local businesses, Penumbra will roll out the campaign to encourage neighbors to exercise their right to vote on November 8, 2016. The goal is to increase voter turnout and eliminate barriers in Penumbra's local community through a three-pronged engagement campaign.

"As part of our 40th anniversary season, we welcome brave artists, activists, and audiences to face the most pressing issues of our day, to pose tough questions, and to uncover strategies for solutions," says Bellamy. "We're celebrating a new era for our company and our community-it is an exciting time!"

Raising Awareness

The 1965 Voting Rights Act was a watershed moment in American history, coming after a long struggle to protect the rights of the poor, the disenfranchised, and people of color. In 2016 we see major blows to this critical piece of legislation including restrictive voter registration requirements, redistricting plans that dilute minority voting strength, discriminatory annexations, and inaccessible polling places for minority voters. On October 24, in partnership with MPR News, Penumbra will host a Let's Talk focusing on voting rights. Guests include: Ari Berman, contributing writer with The Nation and author of Give Us The Ballot; Lecia Brooks, outreach director for Southern Poverty Law Center; Dr. Josie Johnson, pioneering educator and activist; and Dameun Strange, artist, activist and organizer.

Minnesota's preeminent African American theatre and the state's leading source of trusted news are drawing from their areas of expertise to expand and amplify the Let's Talk voting rights discussion. By working together to broadcast and widely distribute the conversation as well as solicit community input through MPR News' feedback channels, the October Let's Talk will reach an unprecedented number of Minnesotans and help create future discussions that are informed by-and informing-populations throughout the state. MPR News Executive Director of News and Programming Nancy Cassutt says "MPR News is really excited to partner with Penumbra Theatre to shed light on the historical context of current events and to amplify perspectives that have gone unheard."

Penumbra's Let's Talk Series creates space for compassionate and challenging conversations around issues of social justice, equity, and the arts. Hosted by Sarah Bellamy, the event begins at 6:00pm with refreshments and light bites, followed by a 90-minute presentation and discussion. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at penumbratheatre.org.

Increasing Access to the Polls

This fall Penumbra presents Jitney by Penumbra Theatre company member and two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner August Wilson. The play focuses on the lives of jitney car drivers who serve the black community in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, where Wilson grew up. Penumbra is activating Wilson's play by helping voters get to the polling station at the Martin Luther King Center, where the theater makes its home. Starting on September 26, patrons can donate $20 to ensure that those who need a ride to the polls can depend on transportation. In partnership with local taxi services, Penumbra will distribute vouchers to residents of Precinct 8 to provide fully subsidized, round trip cab fare to the polls to help eliminate barriers to voting.

Registering Voters

There are approximately 600 unregistered voters in Precinct 8. On October 15 and November 8, Penumbra will lead volunteer teams of staff, artists, and audiences on two door-knocking events to register voters in its neighborhood. In addition to its Election Day door-knocking campaign, Penumbra will staff a booth outside the polling station at the Martin Luther King Center to provide complimentary treats for voters, ending the day with a shared meal to celebrate this hard won right.

"It is so critical that we work to get people to the polls," says Southern Poverty Law Center's Lecia Brooks. "Penumbra is doing a great service."

To learn more about Penumbra's voter registration campaign or to find out how you can participate, visit penumbratheatre.org/vote.

Penumbra Theatre creates professional productions that are artistically excellent, thought provoking, and relevant and illuminates the human condition through the prism of the African American experience.

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