Bill of Rights Defense Campaign

BILL OF RIGHTS Defense Committee - Working with communities to uphold the Bill of RightsWe the People
Working with communities to uphold the Bill of Rights
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Guantánamo Reading Project

Put on Readings

8 Steps |  The Script |  Director's Notes |  Publicity Materials |  Discussion Guide

8 Steps

By producing a public reading of Guantánamo: 'Honor Bound to Defend Freedom' in your community, you're inspiring community action and communication about U.S. detentions at Guantánamo Bay and elsewhere around the world. The U.S. signed on to the Geneva Conventions and the Convention Against Torture to join a world community that set standards for the most basic human rights, including humane treatment and the ability to challenge one’s detention in a court of law. Let's make our support of these most fundamental values loud and clear in 2005.

If there's already a reading scheduled for your city, either decide to produce your own, additional reading (the more, the merrier), or get in touch with the host group and unite your efforts.

Special thanks to the Lysistrata Project, from whose web site we have gratefully borrowed, with permission.

8 Steps to Host Your Local Reading

1. Get a location and choose a time. This reading can be on any scale:

  • Living room with friends
  • Community center, library, church hall
  • Local cafe
  • Steps of city hall or town hall
  • Theater (Mondays are often “dark night”)
  • Auditorium or gymnasium…

2. Pick a charity to benefit. Donations can fund a local group involved in this issue, the Center for Constitutional Rights, which is leading a team of 400 attorneys around the country representing detainees at Guantánamo and fighting the rendition, detention and torture policies of the U.S. government, the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, which leads a national grassroots campaign to restore civil liberties and the rule of law, or another charity of your choice.

3. Download the play. The playwrights Victoria Brittain and Gillian Slovo have generously given their permission for amateur readings royalty-free.

4. Cast the roles. Cast your friends. Cast local celebrities or elected officials. Cast people who would love the opportunity. Or maybe a national celebrity grew up in your home town -- invite them back to read a role. Or have them send a letter to be read at the event. If you have a willing director and time for a rehearsal or two, check out our director’s notes.

5. Get help! In addition to your cast, send an email around asking for volunteers to help you. Keep an email address book of everyone who writes you with interest. You'll be surprised by how many people want to do something, and have been feeling powerless and frustrated about the U.S. government’s wrongful detentions and torture at Guantánamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, and elsewhere. The Guantánamo Reading Project is a great way to form new relationships and work together for the common good. Remember to be inclusive: Find a way for everyone who offers to get involved.

6. Make the Project Visible. Send out press releases, post fliers, do radio interviews, wear sandwich boards... Get creative with your cast, friends, and volunteers to promote this benefit event so that your voice is heard. What will make the press show up? Even if your publicity efforts are minimal or non-existent, your participation in this event is vital to the project. We will include your reading in our press releases no matter how small.

7. Send us the details of your production so we can include it in our press releases. Before your reading, we would like to know your city, state, country, reading location & time, your name, and a contact number and email address. If it is a private reading, then let us know and don’t include the location and time. (See Contact page).

8. Include discussion and action. Set up a table with literature and action materials. End the evening with a discussion or invite the audience’s questions. Thank you for making a difference!

Always feel free to call us with any questions. We will provide what resources we can to assist you in your efforts. Let us know what else we can do to help you get your reading off the ground.

Also, make sure you follow all local ordinances and laws when organizing and holding your reading. The Guantánamo Reading Project does not endorse illegal activity of any kind.