The Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, in partnership with the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, has announced Women+ on the Edge of Democracy, an ambitious international theatre initiative bringing together 36 acclaimed women+ playwrights to respond to one pressing question: what is the current state of democracy in America?
The project will see each playwright create a new 10-minute play, collectively forming a portrait of a nation in doubt and transformation. The commissioned works will be published as a free-to-perform anthology and presented through readings and performances in communities around the world between 23 October and 3 November 2026.
Theatres, organisations, schools and individuals are being invited to take part by signing up through the project website.
The initiative seeks to explore democracy through a wide range of perspectives, with participating writers examining America’s contradictions, challenges and aspirations. The commission welcomes work from across the political spectrum.
The playwrights currently attached to the project are Jane Anderson, Leslie Ayvazian, Gurpreet Kaur Bhatti, Moira Buffini, Lucy Caldwell, Bridget Carpenter, Paula Cizmar, Migdalia Cruz, Erika Dickerson-Despenza, Elizabeth Diggs, Hannah Doran, Stella Feehily, Lauren M. Gunderson, Zinnie Harris, Justice Hehir, Beth Henley, Elizabeth Kuti, Haruna Lee, Kimber Lee, Rebecca Lenkiewicz, Lisa Loomer, Sarah Mantell, Deb Margolin, Ellen McLaughlin, Susan Miller, Rona Munro, Lynn Nottage, Ife Olujobi, Dael Orlandersmith, a.k. payne, Heather Raffo, Sarah Ruhl, Heidi Schreck, Jenny Schwartz, Judith Thompson and Else Went.
Additional playwrights are expected to be announced in the coming months. Dramaturgs on the project include Martine Kei Green-Rogers, Sarah Mantell, Amrita Ramanan, Zeina Salame and Jenny Worton.
A marathon world premiere featuring all commissioned plays will take place at the Flynn in Burlington, Vermont, in October 2026. Further details, including dates and ticket information, will be announced at a later stage.
Jay Wahl, Executive Director of the Flynn, said, “We are living through a defining moment for American democracy which impact globally, and artists are essential in times like these, helping us make sense of history as we’re living through it. Women+ on the Edge of Democracy gathers some of the most insightful playwrights of our time to witness, question, and illuminate this pivotal chapter in American civic life. Democracy depends on shared public space: the places where we gather and the conversations we’re willing to have with one another. In the spirit of Vermont’s state motto, ‘Freedom and Unity,’ the Flynn is proud to make these plays available freely to communities across the world, creating opportunities for people to come together, reflect, and engage.”
Leslie Swackhamer, Executive Director of the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, added, “Susan Smith Blackburn believed that our society needed more influence from talented women – that our stages, our stories, and our civic life were poorer without their voices at the center. Theatre has always been one of the few places where democracy can actually happen: strangers gather in a room, sit with an idea together, and leave changed by it. The writers joining us for this project are being asked the most vital question of our time – what is the state of democracy in America? – and I have no doubt their answers will inspire all of us to sit with that question ourselves.”
Listings and ticket information can be found here.
