Director's Notes

I first read "How Democracies Die" shortly after it was published in 2018. The book has stayed with me since that time. The authors' ability to so succinctly chart and make sense o the demise of democracies from several vantage points (historical, global, sociological, etc.) helped me make sense of how America had come to its own precarious cross-roads. When we started our play-selection process last year, I could not stop thinking about this book. Would it be possible to somehow transform this non-fiction, political science treatise into theatre? With the gracious permission of the authors, Daniel Ziblatt and Steven Levitsky, we were given the green light to try, and the Department of Theatre and Dance accepted the proposed project.

The production was cast last spring (a bit of a challenge considering no play existed, yet). The students were given summer assignments to read the book and take notes. The look for and read articles and essays related to the subject matter, and if willing, engage in a political conversation with someone they considered on the other side of the aisle from themselves.

We reconvened in mid-September and began to collectively dig into the contents of the book and other related materials. After a good deal of brainstorming, we engaged in various improvisations and other techniques to create the raw material that would eventually find its way into the performance.

It has been a challenging journey, made even more uncertain by the almost daily twists and turns our democracy has been taking along its current path. As is the case with so much of theatre, this performance may be better at posing questions than providing answers. Hopefully, we will have managed to bring at least some of the critical ideas of this book to life in a way that will engage and provoke you to wrestle with just how democracies die, and the crucial role we all play in keeping ours alive and healthy. 

--David Kaye