American Carnage

“This American carnage stops right here and stops right now. We are one nation and their pain is our pain. Their dreams are our dreams. And their success will be our success. We share one heart, one home, and one glorious destiny. The oath of office I take today is an oath of allegiance to all Americans.”
— Donald Trump
Late spring, 1865. Kind of. A recently freed slave and the son of her owners...
“This American carnage stops right here and stops right now. We are one nation and their pain is our pain. Their dreams are our dreams. And their success will be our success. We share one heart, one home, and one glorious destiny. The oath of office I take today is an oath of allegiance to all Americans.”
— Donald Trump
Late spring, 1865. Kind of. A recently freed slave and the son of her owners want to get hitched, if you want to keep it simple. America the beautiful has always required the oppressed to double think. What happens when we haven’t made as much progress as we thought we had?The play follows Harper Freewoman - a newly freed slave on her journey to do what every white man in an Arthur Miller classic gets to- find herself. After being stolen by ‘runaway salve catchers’ (poor whites from Texas with no clue the war is over) she gets a tour of the south while it tries to rebuild itself. She realizes that ‘being freed’ means basically nothing when you are living in a white (male) dominated world.
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American Carnage

Recommended by

  • Cheryl Bear:
    13 Aug. 2021
    A revealing look at what it means to be free in a land where the power and control is still monopolized by a white male world. Well done.
  • Conor McShane:
    24 Mar. 2021
    A brisk, funny, subtly devastating Reconstruction play that makes terrific use of playful anachronisms to connect its confused historical era to our own turbulent times. The Trump connection works well to establish the lasting legacy of white supremacy and how its tendrils have worked their way into contemporary society. I can't wait for part 2!

Development History

  • Reading
    ,
    Chicago Dramatists
    ,
    2020
  • Workshop
    ,
    Women's Theatre Alliance of Chicago
    ,
    2019