ENOUGH! Plays to End Gun Violence
A playwriting contest for teenagers to highlight gun violence stories
What if you had ten minutes to say whatever you wanted about gun violence?
That is the simple pitch from Michael Cotey, leader of the organization ENOUGH! Plays to End Gun Violence.
Gun violence is the leading cause of death for children and teenagers in America. Today’s teens are the first generation that has lived their entire grade school years with an exaggerated fear of possible firearm violence at their schools, and the dystopian outcomes of governmental inaction, including active shooter drills, metal detectors, and debates about arming teachers.
If you are a teenager who wants to add your voice to the gun violence discussion, ENOUGH! is holding a playwriting contest.
Write and submit a 10-minute play confronting gun violence, and you could be one of six chosen to have your voice heard nationwide. Selected playwrights receive a $500 stipend and will have their plays published and performed across the country.
Submissions are accepted now until April 1, 2025. Learn more and download resources for teen writers and educators here: enoughplays.com/writing.
Cotey came up with the idea of empowering young people to write about their feelings and experiences as a way to fight the fear and sadness that can build in the wake of exposure to gun violence.
As Cotey explains: “I launched ENOUGH! in 2019 shortly after the consecutive mass shootings in El Paso, TX and Dayton, OH. By then I had already witnessed a powerful youth movement emerge shortly after the senseless shooting in Parkland, FL the year prior. March for Our Lives, Students Demand Action, and other activist groups were organized, passionate, and rightfully angry. Young people took to the streets (and continue to do so) to manifest the change they wanted to see in the world while policymakers continuously failed to rise to the challenge. I was inspired. The purpose of ENOUGH! became clear: lend our stages to amplify this growing voice so that it continues to be heard.”
Cotey’s greatest success so far has been helping gun violence prevention activists Manuel and Patricia Oliver (of the GVP org Change the Ref) produce and tour their play, GUAC: My Son, My Hero, about the tragic 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL, where the couple lost their son, Joaquin Oliver.
“I founded ENOUGH! on the belief that young people can become powerful activists through the art they create,” says Cotey. “This generation has proven themselves to be the generation of empathy, justice, and equity — everything the theatre celebrates. Their voice and perspective are what we desperately need to be listening to, both in society and in the theatre. That's why ENOUGH! exists and that is our mission.”
https://thequillandmusket.substack.com/p/the-inherent-right-to-self-defense?r=4xypjp