Photos: WOMEN+ ON THE EDGE OF DEMOCRACY to Present 130+ Free Performances Across 46 States

Women+ on the Edge of Democracy, the groundbreaking cultural and civic initiative which commissioned more than 30 women+ playwrights to respond to urgent questions about American democracy with brand-new short plays, culminates beginning this week in more than 130 completely free events, readings, and performances stretching across the country and beyond. See photos of the event below.

Initiated and commissioned in July 2026 by the Flynn Center for the Performing Arts (Jay Wahl, Executive Director), in partnership with The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize (Leslie Swackhamer, Executive Director), the project has united an ever-expanding list of organizations including professional theaters and community theater troupes, university drama departments and history classes, libraries and book clubs, retirement and church communities, dinner party-style readings hosted by independent artists, and more.

Over the next week, 134 different events across 46 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., and as far away as the Isle of Eigg (Scotland) and Tasmania (Australia) will host a reading or performance of these ten-minute plays or monologues, commissioned from Pulitzer, Tony, Emmy, and Obie Award winners and Olivier and Oscar nominees, in response 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?

With the aim of bringing people together and sparking conversation ahead of the midterm elections on November 3, each event is completely free to attend. Some events will feature one or two plays, while others will present the entire anthology.

An interactive map of events is available online - find an event near you!

This weekend's historic world premiere event, held over eight hours at The Flynn for almost 800 ticketholders throughout the day, included back-to-back performances of every play in the project performed by a cast of 19 actors including Whitney Andrews, Krista Apple, Leslie Ayvazian, Jeffrey Bean, Madeline Brennan, Christiana Clark, Gibson Frazier, Edward Hoke, Stanley Andrew Jackson, Elizabeth Jarrett, Ellen McLaughlin, Liz Mikel, Bi Jean Ngo, Rad Pereira, Fran Tapia, MK Tuomanen, Kyra Wegman, Olivia Weinshank, Tarek Ziad. Five directors - Zeina Salame, Hana S. Sharif, Leslie Swackhamer, Sharifa Yazmeen, Blanka Zizka - put their stamp on the various plays presented throughout the day.

The Flynn lobby remained open as a place for connection and reflection, and notable speakers included throughout the event included Emma Mulvaney-Stanak, Mayor of Burlington and the first woman and openly LGBTQ+ person elected to lead the city; Marlene Tromp, President of the University of Vermont and a nationally recognized scholar and higher education leader; Sara Byers, President of Leonardo's Pizza, published poet, and Chair of Champlain College's Board of Trustees; Michelle Moore Hernandez, Flynn Board member and founder and CEO of Leading Elephants, a leadership and organizational consulting firm; Sarah Mantell, award-winning playwright and contributor to Women+ on the Edge of Democracy; and Myra Flynn, acclaimed Vermont singer-songwriter, journalist, and former host and executive producer of Homegoings, the nationally syndicated podcast exploring race, identity, and belonging through candid conversations.

Theatre Communications Group will publish the full anthology of Women+ on the Edge of Democracy plays, available from November 4.

Women+ on the Edge of Democracy sets out to form a collective portrait of a nation in doubt and transformation - seen through the eyes of women+ playwrights from around the world who have long chronicled America's contradictions and dreams. The commission welcomes work from across the political spectrum. Through comedy and tragedy, rage and tenderness, hope and fear, these writers will map a picture of America today - revealing how democracy feels to those who have spent their lives giving voice to the unseen and unheard.

Approaching fifty years, the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize is the largest and oldest international playwriting prize recognizing and celebrating women+ playwrights writing for the English-speaking theater. The commissioned playwrights include Jane Anderson, Leslie Ayvazian, Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti, Lucy Caldwell, Bridget Carpenter, Paula Cizmar, Migdalia Cruz, Elizabeth Diggs, Hannah Doran, Stella Feehily, Lauren M. Gunderson, Zinnie Harris, Justice Hehir, Beth Henley, Elizabeth Kuti, Haruna Lee, Kimber Lee, Rebecca Lenkiewicz, Lisa Loomer, Sarah Mantell, Deb Margolin, Ellen McLaughlin, Susan Miller, Rona Munro, Lynn Nottage, Ife Olujobi, Dael Orlandersmith, a.k. payne, Heather Raffo, Sarah Ruhl, Heidi Schreck, Jenny Schwartz, Judith Thompson, and Else Went.

Dramaturgs for the project include Martine Kei Green-Rogers, Sarah Mantell, Amrita Ramanan, Zeina Salame, and Jenny Worton.

This project is accompanied by original artwork created by Paula Scher/Pentagram.

Photo Credit: Daria Bishop Photography