ETC’s Newest Play Brings Understanding and Entertainment to the Constitution

As a high school student with governmental aspirations, I attended a two-week program in Washington, D.C. to study constitutional law – one of the highlights on the syllabus was the promise to meet and hear one of the Supreme Court Justices speak. 

While Antonin Scalia may not have been my personal choice of who to meet (to put it diplomatically), his words have stuck with me for the past 20 years. “Read this document. Know it,” Scalia stated, wagging a pocket copy of the U.S. Constitution over the crowd of bright-eyed students. 

In Ensemble Theatre Company’s upcoming play, What the Constitution Means to Me, the audience has a chance to get to know this document better – and all without traveling to D.C. or meeting a less personally preferred Justice.

The play, written and originally performed by Heidi Schreck, explores the U.S. Constitution through the lens of four generations of women in Schreck’s family. It delves into topics such as women’s rights, reproductive rights, and who is protected by the Constitution.

The play would go on to get nominated for Best Play in the 73rd Tony Awards and a finalist spot for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It has since become not just a popular play, but also an esteemed film on streaming services with Schreck performing the role on screen.

The award-winning What the Constitution Means to Me is set to make its Santa Barbara debut at ETC’s New Vic Theatre from Aug. 15-18. The production, which has been touring the Midwest, arrives in California thanks to a connection between the producers and local theater enthusiasts.

This rendition of the play is produced by actress Stacy Stoltz and her husband Matt Hawkins – a professor, Director of Musical Theatre, and Acting Director of Theatre at the University of Notre Dame. Stoltz, who plays the lead role, was inspired to bring the play to Notre Dame after watching a production during the pandemic.

“I was so ignited and moved. I was thrilled to be hearing some of the ideas in the play. It seems to be starting a conversation that was really, really important to me at the time,” Stoltz explained.

The play is on a mini tour through the country with performances in various Midwest locations, including county libraries. Santa Barbara marks their fifth stop, with two more locations planned for September.

The show features three roles: Stoltz as the lead, a “Legionnaire” character played by Chicago actor Paul Fagen, and a student debater cast locally in each tour stop. In Santa Barbara, the student role will be shared by a high school student and a college student.

Both Hawkins and Stoltz bring decades of Chicago theater experience to this production. Stoltz noted, “Our production is going to be authentic and different from anything that may have toured before.” So even if one has seen the play before, Santa Barbara’s run offers something new. 

Working together as a married couple gives the meaning of the play an additional layer. In production, their familiarity has allowed them to move confidently and interact effectively – having that marital shorthand communication – but the meaning of the play has also brought unique insights. Hawkins reflected on how the play has affected his personal understanding of women’s plight. “It’s been a really hard but enlightening journey… once you start to look at it from a legal perspective and of what a woman has to go through, not just socially, but legally, textually and constitutionally, that’s where I see the facts.”

Despite tackling serious topics, Hawkins emphasizes the play’s entertainment value: “It’s so much fun. There’s so much energy and excitement. Stoltz basically plays a 16-year-old girl at the beginning… So you get to meet the Constitution through a 16-year-old, which is hilarious.”

The production aims to spark curiosity about civic engagement and the country’s founding documents. Hawkins hopes audiences will be inspired to learn more about the government and Constitution: “We talk politics all the time, but I’m not sure we really know what we’re talking about.” 

Stoltz and Hawkins have had to essentially “take a civics class” during the development of this play with both of them discovering unknown details in our country’s history and the Constitution along the way. Sometimes asking, “Is this really in there?” “Did the Supreme Court really do that?”

As Stoltz’s character grows, so does her understanding of the Constitution – with the audience getting to deepen their own understanding of this living document as the play progresses.

A unique feature of the show is a live debate that occurs near the end. “There’s a 20-minute live debate with a young student debater,” Stoltz explained. “The fact that we’re doing that at all, that we’re having this conversation, it is hopeful.”

After each performance, the producers host Q&A sessions with community leaders. Hawkins shared, “We’ve got constitutional law professors there to talk to us.” A former state senator, a current state representative, district attorneys and former district attorneys have all been or will be featured. (One may even see the MJ’s Gwyn Lurie during one of these Santa Barbara segments.)

The producers are also thrilled about the student debaters participating in Santa Barbara. “The college and the high school students that we have, Grace Wilson and Nicola Bailey, they’re so excited to share this. We really want to get young people excited,” Stoltz said.

The producers are particularly keen on engaging younger audiences. “We’re hoping to inspire young people to come see the play. The play is free for all students. Students of any age can come see this play for free,” Stoltz emphasized.

“What we want people to take away is to be curious about the things you don’t know about and approach those things with generosity,” Hawkins added. So whether a weathered history buff, inquisitive student, or just an American – everyone has something to learn about What the Constitution Means to Me.  

Visit https://etcsb.org for tickets and more information