What started as the germ of an idea in December of 2016 has grown into two versions of a play being performed all over the country in 2026.
The Meeting was first inspired by my experiences at a theatre conference in Wroclaw, Poland followed by more than two weeks attending the Boska Comedia Theatre Festival in Krakow. Over the course of three weeks I began to imagine a piece of theatre that was immersive, removed any perceivable theatricality, and erased the 4th wall. At the time I thought the play would be a thought exercise demonstrating what theatre makers in the United States might do if government began exerting control over free speech and artistic expression, like it has in other countries like Belarus, Russia, and North Korea. I wondered what we might do in that circumstance. This was in the aftermath of the 2016 U.S. Presidential election. Cut to 2025 following the inauguration, when this circumstance began to feel more and more real every day.
Here is a description of the play:
When fascism arrives, how do the theatre-makers respond?
Five former theatre makers convene a meeting in a near-future, fascist America, when all forms of art (and even the utterance of any art-related words) have been banned. These artists discuss what a person is to do in a world when one's purpose in life has been eradicated. During the discussion both the artists and attendees of The Meeting begin to learn even the most fascist society can never stop people from being who they truly are.
I began sharing this play because I thought, even though it was not my original intention, it was meeting the moment we were living through. And the play began to connect with folks. In 2025 LA-based Theatre Unleashed presented the first draft of The Meeting in the Hollywood Fringe Festival. And from there more and more people and organizations began showing interest. It’s now becoming a little challenging to keep track so I created this page as a running list of times and places when The Meeting will be presented. This list will be updated if/when more performances are added. If you are interested in reading the full length (about 85 minutes) or fringe edit (about 55 minutes) of The Meeting, please reach out. I am happy to share it with anybody.
In January of 2026 Melancholics Anonymous, a Twin Cities-based theatre company, workshopped The Meeting and will be presenting the full length version in a public reading at The Black Forest Inn (1 E 26th St. in Minneapolis) on April 4 at 7pm. The reading is free to the public. Doors open at 6:30pm.
From April 1-6 LA-based Theatre Unleashed will be presenting the “fringe” edit of The Meeting as part of the Frigid NYC Fringe Festival. Performances at April 1, 2, 3, and 6 at 7:55pm and April 4 at 10:35pm. All performances will take place at The Chain Theatre studio space 312 W 36th St. in Manhattan. Tickets can be purchased in advanced at this link.
Shake Rag Alley Arts Center in Mineral Point, Wisconsin will present a reading of the full length version of The Meeting on April 26th at 4pm. Tickets are only $5 and can be purchased at this link.
In August of 2026 the official World Premiere of The Meeting will be presented by Space Pirates Theatre Collective in Los Angeles. The play is scheduled to run from August 28 through September 25. Location and ticketing to be announced later.
