FERGUSON Actors Quit Because of the Truth

An email from Phelim McAleer:

FERGUSON - The Play Well, it happened. They are trying to shut down the FERGUSON Play.

It's with great disappointment that I write to tell you that five actors quit this week because they didn't agree with the script. (The script is comprised entirely of Grand Jury testimony. No added lines. Just the truth.)

The Los Angeles Times covered the actors' leaving and my reaction. One actor, who said he didn't read the script before the first rehearsal and described himself as "very liberal, left-wing-leaning," said, "It felt like the purpose of the piece was to show, 'Of course [Darren Wilson] was not indicted — here's why.'"

The Los Angeles Times mentioned my "conservative" leanings three times in the short article, insinuating that I had an agenda.

But the play is Verbatim Theatre, word for word testimony heard by the Grand Jury. The only agenda is the truth. One actor had a problem with that:

"He claims that he wrote this to try to get to the truth of it, but everybody's truth is totally subjective," said Veralyn Jones. This is completely wrong. Veralyn Jones may not like it, but the truth is not subjective. It shines through the Grand Jury testimony.

I'm determined to fight this attempt at censorship by the theatre / Hollywood establishment. The show will go on. The truth about Ferguson will be told.

"The truth is the truth. If it doesn't fit in with their beliefs, they need to change their beliefs," I said to the Los Angeles Times. "There's got to be some actors in L.A. who aren't scared of controversy."

I won't lie to you. This is a crisis. It looks like I'm going to lose about half the cast a few days before the world premiere. I need to find and hire new actors right now. This will be time consuming and expensive.

Phelim's crowdfunding site is  here

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