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When the President seized control of the Kennedy Center and rolled back NEA funding for progressive arts organizations, he was not acting upon an inspired creative vision for the arts in America. These actions were attempts to control the institutions that shape culture, and thus public opinion. The performing arts are, and often have been, a critical component of political movements.
This work, and efforts to repress it, are not new. Stage Left exists within a long legacy of cultural work that seeks to drive a stake in the ground, reframe popular understandings, and catalyze action. From Waiting for Lefty to Refaat Alareer’s poem If I Must Die, written months before the author’s death in an Israeli military airstrike in Gaza, the arts have always been at the heart of resistance. From the Free Southern Theater and ACT UP’s SILENCE = DEATH to the Cuban radio broadcasts of Robert F. Williams, cultural organizing has shaped the trajectory and spirit of nearly every contemporary movement for justice. We – and these plays – make the argument that in order to grow powerful movements that transform society and shift material conditions, art and culture must be central.
Stage Left centers work by poor, incarcerated, and working-class artists about the issues facing workers, those kidnapped by the carceral system, and many others experiencing marginalization and disenfranchisement. These works place the transformative power of theater at the center of political resistance and community organizing: this is art that doesn’t just entertain, but that reveals concealed truths and entices us to be active participants in building the futures we dream of. In this festival, you will find works that do not shy away from difficult truths but instead confront them head-on, with boldness, creativity, and unapologetic urgency. Our program includes plays that reflect the complexities of our society and ask hard questions about power, identity, and resistance:
La Dureza by Ed Cardona Jr. explores the lives of delivery cyclists fighting for fair wages and dignity, in partnership with Los Deliveristas Unidos and the Workers Justice Project. Hit Machine by Jonathan Caren delves into the music industry’s exploitation of artists, in collaboration with United Musicians and Allied Workers. The Hero U Took by Pedro “Jungo Pete Roc” Rosario tells the story of a man seeking parole after decades in prison, supported by the Release Aging People in Prison Campaign and Rehabilitation Through the Arts. Foot Wears House by Laura Neill explores the struggles of strike action at a footwear retailer and the personal costs of organizing. The Garbologists by Lindsay Joelle offers a poignant look at sanitation workers and their overlooked labor. Date of Release by Andrea Ambam celebrates the restorative power and possibility of healing beyond the prison system.
We, the co-artistic leaders at Working Theater, Broadway Advocacy Coalition, and Leadership for Democracy and Social Justice (an institute of the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies and CUNY City College), are pleased to offer you Stage Left as part of a broader coalition of progressive arts and culture, academic, and advocacy organizations who are committed to using every tool available to build power during this latest moment of authoritarianism and repression.
We know this political moment has felt excruciatingly impossible. For so many of us, it feels like everything is just too much, and at the same time, that we must be doing more. As Grace Paley said, “the only recognizable feature of hope is action.” We believe these plays will allow you to step into a hopeful future vision shaped by collective power-building and working-class storytelling. Then, when you leave, we need you to act – in whatever way lets you move toward transforming the conditions of our society.
Thank you for joining us,
Colm Summers (Artistic Director of Working Theater), Leia Squillace ( BAC, Director of Artistic Impact), and Jake Levin (Social Justice Careers and Leadership Development at CUNY)