The Dream We Were Promised: The U.S. Constitution, and the Struggle Toward Belonging
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, many of us are asking a fundamental question: What is lost when the histories of those excluded from the American promise are erased, even though their struggles for dignity, safety, and recognition have been central to expanding the meaning of rights for all people?
Join Mijuel K. Johnson of The Black Journey (The African-American History Walking Tour of Philadelphia), Dr. Melissa Benbow Flowers of 1838 Black Metropolis, Naiymah A. Sanchez of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, and playwright Roger Q. Mason on July 17 for a FREE conversation exploring the ideals, contradictions, and ongoing evolution of American democracy.
Gathering in Philadelphia, the city where the language of American freedom was drafted and debated, this conversation explores what it means to engage honestly with history and why preserving these stories matters to our collective understanding of who we are. Join us for an evening of reflection, dialogue, and collective inquiry about the unfinished work of democracy and the dreams that continue to drive us toward a more inclusive vision of freedom.
Inspired by Mason's provocative new play, "Bill", (performing July 25 and 27) this conversation invites audiences to examine the promises of America's founding documents and the generations of people who have expanded their meaning.
Bill excavates Constitutional history through the eyes of Taffeta, a brilliant Black queer femme who refuses to clean up the failures of a democracy that has repeatedly denied full freedom and belonging to people like her. Confronted by the ghosts of America’s founders, she must decide whether this nation is worth rebuilding or whether we need to imagine something entirely new.
This FREE panel is the opening event of our 2026 New Play Development Conference, running July 17 through August 2.
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.
PlayPenn's work is made possible by the generous support of The Wyncote Foundation; The Shubert Foundation; The Linda and David Glickstein Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation; The Greenberg Foundation; The Suzanne Roberts Cultural Development Fund; The Ryan Family Charitable Fund; The Charlotte Cushman Foundation; The Harvey Motulsky and Lisa Norton-Motulsky Fund; Ellamints Inc.; the continued support and leadership of Nancy Boykin and our Board of Directors; and the many individual donors who believe that new play development is a foundational cornerstone of the American Theatre.
PlayPenn is additionally supported, in part, by public funds from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the Philadelphia Cultural Fund.
Location
The Barnes, 2025 Benjamin Franklin Parkway Philadelphia, PA 19130