‘Enough!’ Plays is a nationwide project to end gun violence with 10-minute plays written by teens in high school. The St. Croix Educational Complex and the Good Hope Country Day School drama students are writing a total of six plays, which will be performed on Monday, Oct. 6, at 6 p.m. at the SCEC auditorium.

“ENOUGH! Plays to End Gun Violence” creates space for teens to confront gun violence by creating new works of theater that will spark a critical conversation and inspire meaningful action in communities across the country. The Mission of ENOUGH! is to promote playwriting as a tool for self-expression and social change, harnessing this generation’s spirit of activism and providing a platform for America’s playwrights of tomorrow to discover and develop their voices today.

SCEC Drama Club teacher, founder and Executive Director of Act Out Ensemble Theatre of the Oppressed, Virgin Islands, Sayeeda Carter, and GHCDS Associate Director of Advancement, Drama and Musical Theatre Educator/Producer Kiomie Pedrini, have joined theatrical forces in their classrooms. The students will share their work onstage at SCEC as part of a nationwide project to end gun violence.

“This is a first for St. Croix and our drama students are committed to the inclusion of St. Thomas next year,” Carter said. “It’s the bold voices of high schoolers picking up art to do activism. They write these plays about the travesty of gun violence and how it has shown up in these fictional characters’ lives,” Carter continued.

“This year, one of the writers is a young man who was a part of a school shooting. Many of the kids range in age from 13 to 19 years and submit their plays in January. This coming January, we can get young people on St. Croix and St. Thomas to submit plays. Perhaps one of the six chosen plays will be by a Virgin Islands young playwright,” Carter said.

“We are endeavoring a performance to a staged reading of our six local plays to a packed audience at the Complex on October 6,” Carter mused.

“There is a suggested donation of $5, but there’s no barrier to entry. If one does not have the $5, please walk right in,” Carter said assuredly.

The donations will go to the SCEC Drama Club, the GHCDS Drama Club and the remainder will go to Blue Tarp Productions. “Their organization does films about gun violence. Whatever the percentage is that is earned after expenses, will go to the three groups,” Carter shared.

Carter spoke excitedly about the evening after the performances. ”We are going to use the style of John O’Neill called ‘Story Circle Process.’ Audience members can talk to one another about the effects of gun violence in our community.”

Carter is inviting and calling out all therapists and all mental health professionals to experience these performances. Invites have already gone out to our legislators, she said.

Carter’s main reason for doing this project comes from personal reasons. The daughter of one of Carter’s classmates was killed by gun violence five years ago. “I never knew what I could do about it. I was so sad. When I saw the information about ENOUGH! Plays, I knew this was the way I could give back to my classmate’s suffering. This project is the intersection of theater and this huge concern that we have. We’re such a murderous community for such a small place. I wondered … how many people would deal with ENOUGH! Plays? Would they come out? Would they talk about it? Could it generate conversation? And I realized that this is a program that, I think, should be happening in each and every community in America,” Carter reasoned.

“ENOUGH! Plays are happening in over 70 places on Oct. 6. If there is anyone who is stateside, please Google your county or city and find out where these plays are being performed and do your utmost to attend,” Carter said.

Anabeth Walter is one of Carter’s students:

Carter is happy to share the playwriting with GHCDS. Their kids will be writing two plays and my kids will write four. My kids are excited to work with GHCDS, Carter shared.

“Directing ENOUGH! has been an incredible journey of learning and growth, not only for our students, but for me, as well. Together, we discovered how powerful theater can be when it is used as a platform for truth-telling and change. Watching our students engage with these difficult themes, support one another and step into their roles with courage has been inspiring. This process reminded me that when young people raise their voices through art, communities listen – and change becomes possible,” Kiomie Pedrini, co-director, GHCDS, said.

Allegra Ferreras, GHCDS, Grade 12, shared, “Being part of ENOUGH! was one of the most powerful experiences I’ve had as a student. We didn’t just perform – we learned, we listened and we had real conversations about an issue that affects us all. The process taught me how theater can be a tool for change, and I’ll carry the lessons we discovered together far beyond the stage.”

George Cannon III, director of Blue Tarp Productions, shared that the company will cover ENOUGH! Plays Oct. 1.

Cannon spoke to the Source about Carter’s involvement in the community and asked that the Source print his observations:

“All the credit goes to Sayeeda Carter. She has always been championing my group [Blue Tarp Productions]. Sayeeda is a leader in art and doing art. Sayeeda has been the leader in social impact in this community and we have been following her. She has done a lot of the groundwork for ENOUGH! She has made this project possible for our community. It’s all Sayeeda. She’s the one! She’s a powerhouse. She makes it happen. I don’t think Sayeeda gets enough credit for what she’s doing.”

Participating Student Playwrights:

SCEC: “The Perfect Victim”

Meshach M. Price, Grade 9

Victoria Crawford, Grade 10

Alaire Davis, Grade 10

Knala Hendrickson, Grade 10

Keemar Crosskey, Grade 12

Jeffrey Fleming, Grade 10

Anabeth Walter, Grade 12

Leah-Joy Slocombe, Grade 11

Katelyn Jones, Grade 10

Soriyah Evans, Grade 11

E’leeya B. Richards, Grade 12

SCEC: “Nobody Cares About Death”

Zuma E. Nisbett, Grade 11

Bilal McFarlande, Grade 11

GHCDS: “We Didn’t Have To Meet Here”

Lena Kammerzelt, Grade 10

Harlen Konapitsky, Grade 9

Avery Adams, Grade 9

Anna Simon, Grade 12

Maya Prasad, Grade 12

GHCDS: “Oh Look, Another School Shooting”

Avery Adams, Grade 9

Anna Simon, Grade 12

Brooklyn Jean-Pierre, Grade 7

Allegra Ferreras, Grade 12

Lena Kammerzelt, Grade 12

Harlen Konapitsky, Grade 9

Maya Prasad, Grade 12

ENOUGH! Performances: Monday, Oct. 6, 6 p.m., Complex Auditorium

Please note: The AC is very cold. Please dress accordingly.

For more information:
SCEC: 340-778-2036
kpedrini@ghcds.org
Actoutensembletheatre@gmail.com
GHCDS: 340-778-1974 ext. 2114