What happens when some of the world’s most celebrated playwrights are asked to put American democracy onstage?
Jay Wahl, Executive Director of Vermont’s historic Flynn Center for the Performing Arts, joins Robert Bannon on The Roundtable to talk about Women+ on the Edge of Democracy, an ambitious new playwright commission bringing together 36 female-identifying writers from around the world — from Pulitzer, Tony and Emmy winners to Olivier and Oscar nominees — to explore democracy through original short plays and monologues.
Conceived by Wahl and led by the Flynn Center in partnership with the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, the project is about much more than creating new theater. The works will be collected in an anthology, with performance rights waived so theaters and communities across the country can present the pieces free to the public ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. The goal? To create spaces for conversation, disagreement, listening and connection at a moment when democracy can feel particularly messy.
Jay takes us behind the scenes of how the project came together, why women+ playwrights are at the center of the conversation, and why live theater remains such a powerful place to wrestle with the issues shaping our country. He also talks about his own journey in the arts, his leadership of the Flynn since 2021, and his belief in creating work that reaches beyond traditional theater walls and brings communities together.
In Jay’s words, a scrappy team is making the whole thing happen — and in many ways, the messiness of creating Women+ on the Edge of Democracy may be the perfect metaphor for democracy itself.
It’s theater. It’s politics. It’s community. And it’s a conversation about what happens when artists are given the space to ask big questions about who we are, where we are headed, and what democracy means right now.
For more info, go to RobertBannon.com and follow Robert on IG @RobertMBannon.
#TheRoundtable #RobertBannon #JayWahl #WomenOnTheEdgeOfDemocracy #FlynnCenter #TheFlynn #SusanSmithBlackburnPrize #Democracy #Theater #Theatre #Playwrights #WomenInTheatre #AmericanTheatre #NewPlays #PerformingArts #ArtsAndCulture #MidtermElections #CivicEngagement
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
