Dear U.S.: One-Acts to Bridge the Divide
Dear US: One-Acts to Bridge the Divide is a compilation of solicited plays, performed as staged readings near Tampa, FL, followed by a facilitated conversation with audience, actors, and any playwrights that may be present.
Why?
Theatre has the power to conjure new worlds out of thin air. What new paradigms and unimagined solutions might we collectively invoke by writing and then presenting and discussing these plays?
When?
The submission window will open on April 15, 2026 and close at 11:59pm on June 15, 2026.
On July 15, 2026 winners will be announced; staged reading(s) will be in October or November.
What's going on in America right now?
I’m looking for plays that answer that question. I’m seeking honest, compelling plays of any stripe, that lay out what writers see as the good, bad, and everything-in-between that’s happening in, to, and for this country.
My vision is twofold:
1) to produce this staged reading as a living example of varied viewpoints co-existing on the same stage, and
2) engage the audience in a talk-back after the performance to encourage open-hearted listening and dialogue.
Ultimately, my vision is to harness the inherent power of theatre to build bridges between and among individuals.
The basics:
Run times for all plays must be under 10 minutes; shorter pieces are welcome, as are monologues. How many plays are chosen will depend on the length and artistic merit of the offerings, as well as the overall mix of the options that show up, but I am shooting for 10-12 pieces.
The stage reading(s) will take place in the greater Tampa/St. Petersburg area with local actors. To that end, I am in conversation about this project with a number of professional theatres that range in seating capacity from 45 to 350.
What am I looking for?
I’m not looking for demoralizing screes, political grandstanding, or tired tropes…unless they’re done in an unexpectedly delightful way. Ditto for pollyanna cheerleading.
I’m partial to metaphor, to finding slivers of light in darkness, and to paving new paths through sheer, messy, human creative effort. I will not accept anything created by AI, and the entire submission process will be blind, to ensure fairness in selection.
Who am I?
I'm a playwright, poet, and essayist who also produces in-person theatre and other events; I also publish a Substack called The Art of Freedom. Basically, I'm someone who is tired of being divided along every possible faultline, and wants to do what I can to create community cohesion here and now.
The impetus:
In May of 2025, I discovered FAIR in the Arts. My story:
