Agitate Plays are family friendly pieces that can be performed at home. The goal is to use empathy and perspective to engage with conversations on diversity, social justice, finding your voice in the face of injustice, and ways for young activists to take a stand. The plays can serve as conversation sparks for households to understand topics that are often difficult to discuss. Enjoy these tales of brave young people making their communities better during the challenging times of a pandemic.
Check back here every other Saturday for a new Agitate Play!
Nous le Nord
Nous le Nord is an English play with a French title. If your French is not strong, it translates to “We The North” and the battle cry of the Toronto Raptors is central to the dramas that occur in the life of Bass. Often a great deal of complicated situations can come up at the playground. For young Bass, the basketball court becomes the site of racism and prejudice. Nous le Nord details how a group of young kids from the community confront this behaviour while celebrating their love of a team and coming together even during a time of social distancing. A great play for all young kids, whether they’re Raptors fans or not.
If you like the piece, please share your experience on social media using #AgitatePlays and #NousLeNord.
Quiet Streets
As protests, marches and other forms of agitation spur the world on today, I needed to create this #AgitatePlay. In looking to the lives of Marquis, Madz and Link, you’ll see a play that explores the tension between grown-ups and youth, especially when it comes to who has the “right” to protest.
On the 57th anniversary of Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, Toronto is stirring with multiple marches, and I know North America is rumbling today in many places. It rumbles in this play too. Don’t let the title of “Quiet Streets” fool you. These protests against police, seeking justice for Jacob Blake, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and so many more, are so vital. This play talks about the resonating messages of MLK’s speech and how 57 years later, it falls on deaf ears.
This play is about youthful ears, with a stronger capacity for active listening. It is a play best performed with 3 to 4 actors. A study guide to assist parents with these themes is also included.
If you like the piece, please share your experience on social media using #AgitatePlays and #QuietStreets.
Good Trouble
Good Trouble takes inspiration from the wisdom and action of John Lewis, while putting it into the context of the pressure we are putting on students, teachers, staff, administrators, and supply teachers right now. This piece continues the important discussions about Black Lives Matter and Native Lives Matter within the context of the school environment. Our characters Charlie and Morgan extend the discussion by looking at accessibility challenges for deaf students experiencing hearing loss.
This story channels the power of the arts and the capacity of youth to foster a positive community. It’s a powerful discussion spark, that challenges its audience to think about what is most important when we think about going back to school during a pandemic.
Share widely with parents, teachers, activists and school officials. It is a hard time for everyone, and Good Trouble focuses on the agency of our young people, especially when things need to change. John Lewis reminds us that we need to “…get in good trouble, necessary trouble…sometimes change calls for a little trouble.”
If you like the piece, please share your experience on social media using #AgitatePlays and #GoodTrouble.
Unprecedented
Unprecedented is the final Agitate Play that takes on the most overused word of the COVID-19 pandemic. It deals with art as a form of agitation and the power of documenting the truth of this time.
Two young filmmakers stumble into a project that allows them to not only listen to the stories of their community members but also gives them a vehicle for reflection.
This play also looks at our willingness to acknowledge what we know, what we can see coming and what is truly out of our control. We are living in a wild time where adults have a complicated relationship to the things we choose to share with young people and what we hide. This play delves into that world.
If you like the piece, please share your experience on social media using #AgitatePlays and #UnprecedentedPlay.
Brendon Allen 