Last month, The Department of Justice deemed Portland, Seattle, and New York City to be anarchist jurisdictions, in the wake of protests and civil unrest, because "they have permitted violence and destruction of property to persist and have refused to undertake reasonable measures to counteract criminal activities," according to their official memo. This attempt to delegitimize, criminalize, and defund perceived sanctuary cities that are politically opposed to the current administration, during an election season, has caused a ripple-out effect across our entire country. NYC, Seattle, and Portland, along with many of our US cities, are major hubs for American culture. While not a perfect analogy, culture is the opposite of anarchy in many ways: one is creative, one is destructive. One is about creating value, community, understanding, and appreciation, and the other is about devaluing, dividing, and erasing. The narrative that the Justice Department is framing does not match the day to day reality of what is going on in our country. We are within a month of an election, and we have a critical opportunity to reshape, reimagine, and redesign the future that we want to live in, through the power of our votes, our voices, and our actions. In that spirit, we wanted to create a rapid-response project that is an entry-point to that conversation about this moment of civil unrest, divisions of ideas and values, and deep cultural shifts.
What:
"Live From The Anarchist Jurisdiction" is a micro-play project created in the style of The One-Minute Play Festival (#1MPF) playmaking process. It is designed to be a rapid-response meditation on this current cultural and political moment in our country. The work we're asking you to generate must focus on current events, and not feel or be evergreen in nature.
Who:
There is room for up to 75 participants on a first come/served basis. Participants must be DG members in good standing. While we are particularly interested in hearing from Portland, Seattle, and New York dramatists, participation is open to any DG member from all geographical locations. We will NOT curate participation. We'll simply accept and work with the first 75 DG members who sign up.
How:
Please sign up via this official form here. If you sign up, and are granted a spot, we ask that you follow through on this commitment. Once all 75 slots are filled, The 1MPF team will email a writer's packet to the entire collective cohort. The specifics of this project, and its needs, will be included in the writers' packet email. Writers will be given 48 hours in which to write and submit their work. Playwrights must meet the deadline of Friday, October 23 in order to be included.
Submission Deadline:
Friday, October 23
CLAIM YOUR SPOT
Process:
Please do not plan out what you might write in advance. As this process will be in the 1MPF style of work, these microplays should be no more than 100 words, should fit on one single page, and should NOT have a cover page. Microplays should be conceived for exactly two actors, no more or less. Because this is a cold read, plays should be written so that any two actors could be able to pick up and read the work, regardless of gender, race, age, ethnicity, disability, culture, or sexual orientation. We want to be able to celebrate, and include any actor, who wants to participate in this project. This will be a prompt-driven process, and (again) we'll ask that you not preconceive what you might write about, or any details about the work, until you've read the directions. We will include all work that follows the directions. Work that does not follow the instructions will not be included. Once the works are collected, they will be cold-read on Zoom, on the night before the election, with a predetermined team of actors and directors. DG members are invited to write, and to submit, and to show up to watch the zoom. No other process or action is required for this project.
Date of Event:
Monday, November 2 at 6:30pm EDT via Zoom.
The link to access "Live From The Anarchist Jurisdiction" will be published by DG during the week prior to the event.
We believe in our DG members, and in the community we've been able to create this year via digital spaces. Projects like this can never be all things to all people, but what we can do is lead with the spirit of creation, art, generosity, inclusion, and collective action. We hope that this project serves as a creative outlet that, through your words and ideas, might plant seeds of conversation and change. Let's help to uplift and support each other through this challenging and turbulent moment.
Love, Respect, and Art,
Dominic D'Andrea, New York State Regional Rep
Jenna Chrisphonte, Director of Community Engagement
