The Dream We Were Promised: The U.S. Constitution, and the Struggle Toward Belonging

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As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary, this conversation invites audiences into a public conversation reflecting on the ideas that have shaped the nation since its founding and how they continue to be interpreted today.

This event features a panel of artists, scholars, and public thinkers who will engage in dialogue about the U.S. Constitution, civic ideals, and the evolving meaning of belonging in American life. The conversation will explore how foundational principles such as liberty, rights, and participation have been understood across different historical periods and social contexts. Audience members are invited to listen, reflect, and consider how these ideas continue to shape contemporary experiences and future possibilities.

The evening is in conversation with Bill, a new theatrical work by Roger Q. Mason developed and presented as part of our 2026 New Play Development Conference (July 17 to August 2), that excavates U.S. Constitutional history and asks who was intentionally excluded from the founding vision of “We, the People.”

About the 2026 New Play Development Conference

PlayPenn’s nationally recognized New Play Development Conference brings together readings of new plays alongside a citywide series of civic gatherings, workshops, artist exchanges, and public conversations focusing on art, democracy, historical memory, belonging, and collective imagination. This community-focused approach to new play development reflects a broader vision of theatre in a shared civic life that illuminates what theatre can do, who participates in it, how it unfolds, and why it matters. 

The 19-event Conference brings together 22 playwrights participating across workshops, conversations, and five new work presentations while expanding its scope to include an interview with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Eboni Booth (Primary Trust), free playwriting workshops for adults, teens, and women over 50, and a public conversation examining constitutional history and civic identity.

Additional programming includes a community workshop for queer theatre makers; a convening on innovation in theatre-making with leaders from Philadelphia Fringe Festival, Cannonball Festival, Pig Iron Theatre Company, Lemonade Stand, and Tiny Dynamite; and an acting lab focused on approaches to new play development and cross-community exchanges among theatre artists.