The Democratic Field

Starting in June 2019 and continuing through February 2020 The Verbatim Performance Lab (VPL) collaborated with Artists’ Literacies Institute and the Centre for Social Innovation to produce six iterations of The Democratic Field (TDF) , a theatrical “table read,” social research project, and civic intervention. Using policy statements on particular election issues sourced from ten Democratic candidates, ten actors trained to read specially scored VPL verbatim transcripts table-read the policy statements in front of an audience. The statements had been randomized and anonymized so that neither the actors nor the audience knew who was reading who. Bodies, genders, races/ethnicities, and ages had been shuffled. The audience then listened to the readings and took in the messaging, while also gauging their reaction to the identities of the candidates. The performance causes new awareness about how perception and preference emerge, and these insights are captured through a vote and with a post-performance discussion.

TDF has been presented in New York in five different iterations, and once in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with local partners Legion Arts and Mirrorbox Theatre.
Sponsored in part by RAYGUN. The performance took place in an actual caucus site the day before the state’s caucus on February 3.

A truncated version of TDF was also created with students in an Honors Public Speaking course at Baruch College in December 2019.

Actor Participants in TDF