Teaching the Constitution Through Theater
StoryWorks in partnership with the U.S. Capitol Historical Society
Teaching the Constitution Through Theater develops inclusive and transformative educational theater experiences to foster a deeper understanding of the U.S. Constitution. We engage students in inquiry based and experiential learning and inspire them to ask complex questions about the historical underpinnings behind contemporary issues. The process creates pathways to civic engagement and the fundamental recognition that “We the people” includes us all.
Now’s The Time opens at the dawn of Reconstruction, the Civil War has just ended but the nation is plunged again into crisis with the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Andrew Johnson ascends to the Presidency determined to restore white supremacy in the South. Congressional radicals led by Thaddeus Stevens are fighting for a different vision. They intend to create a new society of full racial equality, where Black Americans will have real economic and political power, including ownership of land confiscated from the rebels, education, suffrage and election to public office. This titanic political battle between President and Congress culminates in the first impeachment and trial of a U.S. president, and to more than 150 years of continuing violence and discrimination against Black Americans.
Beautiful Agitators tells the story of Vera Mae Pigee, a hair stylist and business owner in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and one of the unsung heroes of the civil rights era. Using her beauty parlor as a hub for Delta-based organizing and resistance, Pigee operated her salon by day and then transformed it into a clandestine center for civil rights organization and education in the evenings. Known for her big hats and larger than life personality, Mrs. Pigee led the direct action that registered nearly 6,000 African Americans to vote in the region. Although Pigee was largely left out of the history books, along with many women of the movement, our play Beautiful Agitators revives her legacy, highlighting her methods and tactics.
Electionland
Electionland is the story of the violent, highly partisan, disputed presidential election of 1876 and its consequences. The election takes place in the waning days of Reconstruction, as efforts to ensure Black Americans a role in political and economic life after the Civil War were unraveling in the face of growing public opposition and the resurgence of white political power in the South. In some parts of the former Confederacy, horrific acts of intimidation and violence, even murder, against Black voters marred the casting of ballots for the Republican party. On election night, it appeared that the Democratic candidate had won the popular vote. But Congress and the electoral college faced a difficult dilemma: how to turn an unfair election, when thousands were thwarted from voting, into a fair result. After three months of political maneuvering, backroom bargaining, and a Congressional process never used before or since, the Republican Rutherford B. Hayes, became president by a single electoral vote.
Beneath an Unknown Sky
Beneath An Unknown Sky brings to life the voices of residents of the Mississippi Delta during the unprecedented times of the Reconstruction Era. From the Freedmen's Bureau to the emergence of Black political leaders and with the experiences of everyday people in between, Beneath An Unknown Sky intimately portrays the joys, fears and sorrows of the people who lived during these uncertain and exciting moments as the Mississippi sought to rebuild in the aftermath of years of conflict and war and with the end of slavery.