Geoff Leatham

Geoff Leatham is a professor of Communication Studies at the University of Rhode Island. Geoff grew up and began performing in Eastern Washington and continued his theater involvement through his B.A. from the University of Washington and M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. Geoff will relocate to Savannah, GA upon his retirement in 2027 where he owns the boyhood home of Academy Award winning songwriter Johnny Mercer {www.atlasobscura.com/places/johnny-mercer-boyhood-home}

Geoff Leatham is a professor of Communication Studies at the University of Rhode Island. Geoff grew up and began performing in Eastern Washington and continued his theater involvement through his B.A. from the University of Washington and M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. Geoff will relocate to Savannah, GA upon his retirement in 2027 where he owns the boyhood home of Academy Award winning songwriter Johnny Mercer {www.atlasobscura.com/places/johnny-mercer-boyhood-home}

Scripts

Gun Show

by Geoff Leatham

Synopsis

Gun Show is an exploration of the competing demands of conscience and conservative orthodoxy in the contemporary American conservative movement. Rich Franklin is a commited gun owner and member of a local conservative militia, concerned about the impact of immigration and the movement to defund police forces. But when Rich's son Henry shoots and wounds himself while playing with his father's pistol, Kristen...

Gun Show is an exploration of the competing demands of conscience and conservative orthodoxy in the contemporary American conservative movement. Rich Franklin is a commited gun owner and member of a local conservative militia, concerned about the impact of immigration and the movement to defund police forces. But when Rich's son Henry shoots and wounds himself while playing with his father's pistol, Kristen demands that Rich get all of the guns out of the house. Which he does, causing him to feel unable to stand up for his family or his community and resulting in his expulsion from his militia group.
Pressure mounts on Rich as Kristen's demand puts a strain on their marriage. Then Rich is mistakenly included in a text thread that informs him about an upcoming militia action. To bring awareness to the safety issues that could potentially be caused by defunding the police, the militia group is going to stage an armed home invasion of Kaveh's residence, as Kaveh is both a person of color and an important business leader and advocate for defunding the police. Rich is placed in a position where he feels he must stand to protect Kaveh and his family and face his fellow conservative gun owners.