Berkeley Repertory Theatre Joins #Enough Plays To End Gun Violence

Berkeley Rep announces its participation in the Digital Premiere of the seven winning plays of #ENOUGH: Plays to End Gun Violence, a national short play competition for middle and high school students, in-collaboration with fellow partner theatres including Alliance Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company,Goodman Theatre, Orlando Repertory Theatre, and South Coast Repertory. Starting on December 14, 2020 -- the 8-year remembrance of the shootings at Sandy Hook -- the winning titles will be available on the streaming platform Broadway on Demand.

A panel of nationally-recognized dramatists - Lauren Gunderson, Academy Award winner Tarell Alvin McCraney, Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Schenkkan, Tony Award winner David Henry Hwang, and Karen Zacarías selected the plays out of 184 submissions from twenty-three states and three countries in #ENOUGH's call for teens to write 10-minute plays that confront the issue of gun violence.

Berkeley Rep will produce the winning play Hullabaloo by Sarah Schecter for the Digital Premiere. The six other winners and their producing theatre partner include:

• Ms. Martin's Malaise by Adelaide Fisher, produced by Orlando Repertory Theatre.
• Guns in Dragonland by Eislinn Gracen, produced by Orlando Repertory Theatre.
• Togetha by Azya Lyons, produced by Alliance Theatre.
• Malcolm by Debkanya Mitra, produced by Arizona Theatre Company.
• Ghost Gun by Olivia Ridley, produced by Goodman Theatre
• Loaded Language by Elizabeth Shannon, produced by South Coast Repertory.

From Dec. 14-20, all seven plays will be viewable for free on Broadway on Demand. Each theatre will pre-record their short play and they will be presented together in a single program, bringing youth voices from four different time zones together to speak out about gun violence to a national audience.

"Berkeley Rep and the School of Theatre are happy to be part of the digital premier of #ENOUGH and we're thrilled that Sarah's work was selected to be showcased," said School of Theatre Associate Director Anthony Jackson. "Sarah is a gifted and imaginative storyteller who in this play explores and deconstructs the tragic stain gun violence has left on society. This project also allows the School of Theatre to continue giving students the opportunity to work with professional artists even while social distancing."

In tandem with the Digital Premiere of the seven winning plays, all of the Theatre Partners have committed to creating space for community dialogue on the issue of gun violence by hosting a post-show discussion and committing to an action item that impacts their community.

More details on all seven winning playwrights and their plays, can be found online here.