WOMEN+ ON THE EDGE OF DEMOCRACY to be Presented at The Flynn

The Flynn Center for the Performing Arts in Vermont, will present an all-day world premiere performance of Women+ on the Edge of Democracy next month.

On Saturday, October 24 beginning at 11AM, the Flynn’s Main Stage will present back-to-back performances of all 36 monologues and short plays commissioned from Pulitzer, Tony and Emmy Award winners to Olivier and Oscar nominees as a reflection on the state of democracy in America during the country’s semiquincentennial year. In partnership with The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize (Leslie Swackhamer, Executive Director), each play or monologue responds to the questions: What is the current state of democracy in America? What can history, global context, or futurism offer us in this pivotal moment?

Spanning an entire day of dialogue and conversation around these plays, the Flynn’s performances will feature a company of actors to be announced soon. The event marks the first time these plays and monologues will be performed together. Throughout the day, the Flynn lobby will remain open as a place for connection and reflection.

Free tickets are available to Flynn members beginning Thursday, September 10 at 10am ET and to the general public beginning Thursday, September 17 at 10am ET, and can be reserved at www.flynnvt.org. In a celebration of free speech and accessibility, performance rights to the Women+ collection of plays will be waived for all nonprofit organizations across the country who stage any of the plays free of charge to the public between October 23–November 3, ahead of the U.S. Midterm Elections.

All theaters and organizations nationwide invited to be part of the Women+ movement:

STEP 1 – Sign up to participate, or to receive more information, at www.democracy.flynnvt.org.

STEP 2 – The plays will be published in anthology form by Theatre Communications Group on November 3, with pre-orders available in September and advance digital copies provided to anyone presenting a reading or performance between October 23 and November 3, 2026. Theaters and organizations can choose one play, several, or all 36.

STEP 3 – Between October 23 and November 3, bring people together to read or hear the plays and talk about the questions they raise. Gatherings can be a few friends around a table, a classroom discussion, a community reading, or a fully-staged theater performance.

With 50 days to go before the elections, theaters and organizations from half of the United States, coast to coast, have signed on to present the Women+ anthology so far: