“If you wanna switch seats, we could”
Investigation
If You Wanna Switch Seats, We Could, is an arts-based investigation using an excerpt of the presidential debate that took place on September 29th, 2020, between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, moderated by Chris Wallace. VPL partnered with schools across the United States to explore what happened to an audience’s response when young actors performed the words and gestures of Trump, Biden, and Wallace verbatim, word for word and gesture for gesture.
The investigations were shared publicly with their school communities and beyond as part of a day-long virtual festival held on Saturday, April 17, 2021.
Highlights Video
Participating Schools
Appoquinimink High School
Bentley School
Central Academy of Technology and the Arts
Deerfield High School
Knox School
Lady Bird Johnson Middle School
Middletown High School
Ramapo High School
The Chapin School
The New York Institute for Collaborative Education
United Nations International School
Westtown School
Respondents
Maria Guadalupe, Professor of Economics at INSEAD and the Academic Director of the INSEAD Randomized Control Trials (RCT) Lab; Conceiver and co-creator of Her Opponent
Elisabeth King, Professor of International Education and Politics, NYU Steinhardt; Founding Director of NYU’s interdisciplinary minor in Peace and Conflict Studies
Fabienne Doucet, Associate Professor of Early Childhood Education and Urban Education, Department of Teaching and Learning, NYU Steinhardt
Nisha Sajnani, RDT-BCT, Associate Professor & Director of the Program in Drama Therapy & founder of the Theatre & Health Lab, NYU Steinhardt
Moderators
Rachel Tuggle Whorton, VPL Core Ensemble Member & original Off Broadway cast member of Her Opponent (Brenda King); adjunct faculty, NYU Program in Educational Theatre
Daryl Embry, VPL Core Ensemble Member & original Off Broadway cast member of Her Opponent (Jonathan Gordon); adjunct faculty, NYU Program in Educational Theatre
Andy Wagner, VPL Digital Editor & original Off Broadway cast member of Her Opponent (Moderator); Visual & Performing Arts Chair at The Knox School.
Joe Salvatore, Clinical Professor of Educational Theatre & Director of VPL, NYU Steinhardt; Co-creator of Her Opponent