CALL ME IZZY Launches 'Izzys Project' Social Impact Campaign

Call Me Izzy will launch Izzy’s Project, a social impact campaign designed to extend the conversation beyond the stage and offer real-time resources and opportunities to spark reflection, dialogue, and action.

“For us, Call Me Izzy is about more than one woman’s story — it’s about starting a conversation,” say producers Rob Ahrens, Ben Holtzman, Sammy Lopez, and Fiona Howe Rudin. “Through Izzy’s Project, we’re honored to partner with organizations doing vital work at the intersection of literature, justice, and empowerment. This collection of talkbacks creates space to reflect on the strength it takes to overcome adversity, how to recognize the warning signs of abuse, and why access to education must be protected. Our hope is that audiences leave the theater not only moved, but motivated to engage more deeply with the world around them.”

Last night, Tuesday, June 17th, Izzy’s Project hosted its inaugural event in collaboration with PEN America – a non-profit organization that stands at the intersection of literature and human rights. The evening featured a powerful conversation with PEN America’s Jonathan Friedman, an expert on free expression and book bans, along with Call Me Izzy’s director Sarna Lapine and playwright Jamie Wax.

Jamie spoke passionately about the essential role literature has played in his life, calling it “a survival tool.” “Every single human culture does it – just like we seek water, we seek shelter, we seek food – we tell each other stories,” he said. “Sharing stories and telling your own story, telling the stories that come up and come out of you when you deeply empathize with others, is a need.” Sarna echoed the importance of literature as a pathway to imagination, intellect, and identity. Together, the panel addressed the alarming rise in book bans across the country. Photos from the event are available HERE.

Izzy’s Project has partnered with PEN America, Zibby Media, No Book Bans, Women’s Community Justice Association, One Love, Joyful Heart Foundation, and V-DAY. Each organization will host a weekly post-show talkback, delving into powerful themes from the play—such as resilience, the transformative power of literature, and the journey of finding a way out of abusive relationships and domestic violence.

The schedule of talkbacks is as follows:
Thursday, June 26th – Hosted by No Book Bans
Thursday, July 10th – Hosted by Women’s Community Justice Association
Thursday, July 17th – ASL Performance and Talkback (Host TBD)
Thursday, July 24th – Hosted by One Love
Thursday, July 31st – Hosted by Joyful Heart
Thursday, August 7th – Hosted by V-DAY

As part of Izzy’s Project, a Little Free Library has been installed in the lobby of Studio 54. Audience members are encouraged to take a book or leave one, creating an ongoing exchange of stories and ideas that reflects the heart of the play. The initiative promotes access to books and celebrates the power of reading as a tool for empathy, education, and community connection. Throughout the run, favorite books from VIP guests will be added. The first one is The Brothers Karamazov, recommended by Hillary Rodham Clinton!