We Hold These Truths
Your Story is America’s Story.
What does America mean to you?
As America marks the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, We Hold These Truths invites reflection through art and conversation. Four playwrights are being commissioned to create original short plays, shaped by community listening sessions that ground the work in local stories and perspectives.
Each play becomes the spark for a shared meal and guided dialogue, offering multiple viewpoints on American identity. We Hold These Truths is rooted in listening to communities and reflecting their voices onstage and at the table.
Highlights
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A Meal.
Tables of about ten people share food together, building connection across differences and experiences.
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A Play.
A short performance created by leading playwrights, inspired by real stories gathered from community listening sessions.
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A Conversation.
Skilled facilitators guide dialogue that encourages reflection, listening, and new understanding.
Be Part of It
We Hold These Truths is a program of Out of Hand Theater, winner of The New York Times Best Theater of 2020, the Governor's Award for the Arts and Humanities, and the Bloomberg Public Art Challenge. Out of Hand works at the intersection of art, social impact, and civic engagement. We help create a more just world through programs that combine theater with information and conversation. Since 2001, Out of Hand has collaborated with dozens of community partners to produce programs that combine art to open hearts, information to open minds, and conversation to inspire action. Our other programs include Shows in Homes, Civic Collaborations, Creative Kids, and the Community Impact Lab. Over 15,000 people have participated in our Dinners, and over 90% leave feeling more connected to others and inspired to make a change. In fact, the top emotions reported at the end of the Dinners are "inspired," "connected," and "hopeful."