AUDIENCES RAVE:

“I think everyone needs to see this” “Beautiful... relevant... engaging”

“It’s always the right time to fight for what’s worth saving, BANNED reminds us of why the saving is worth it.”

“BANNED is audacious and timely. A kaleidoscope of cheeky sketches and haunting scenes,

the show feels like a 75-minute spin through every shelf of your local library—from dystopian fiction, to noir, to memoir, and back again. After the show, I went home and memorized the first and last lines of some of my favorite books... just in case.”

“Fantastic, wondrous show. I laughed and cried and laughed again.”

“If you’ve ever read a book it’s for you.”

BANNED is an exploration of the banned book epidemic in this country and what the future may hold. Set in a dystopian future, a group of renegade "readers" meet in secret at the site of an abandoned library searching for the remnants of pages and books and joyfully share their findings. When they encounter a "burner" who works for the agency responsible for destroying all reading materials, they recount the events leading to all book bans. The burner is faced with an unknown history that awakens his own curiosity. Will he turn them in and destroy what little remains?

“I identified with these books and they made me feel a lot more safe in my community... I also gained confidence in myself through reading... having those books be challenged for removal from my library was almost like having myself be challenged ‘Do you belong here or not?’ Like should I be allowed to exist here?” -Interviewed Canby Student

BANNED is an investigation into the fear that prompts this desire for censorship and the people most affected by the loss of these stories. During the 2023-2024 school year, PEN America recorded 10,046 instances of book bans across the United States. In 2023, the both local Canby and West Linn-Wilsonville school districts headlined the news media for controversial book challenges and bans. This new work seeks to have a conversation about censorship in contemporary times happening not only in ‘far off’ conservative states like Florida and Texas but also in our own backyard. How did we get here? What happens in a world without books?

BANNED culminates Hand2Mouth's 2024/25 Season about censorship and banned books with this new devised work incorporating community interviews, personal stories, and research while looking through an irreverent lens. We laugh to keep from crying and take you on a journey for our love of words.

Remaining Performances: May 29 - June 7, 2025

Thursday-Saturdays at 7:30pm; Sunday at 5:00pm

Tickets:

General Admission Super Supporter $40 ; General Admission $25 ; Students/Seniors $15 ; Arts for All $5

Location: Shaking the Tree, 823 SE Grant Street, Portland, OR 97214
Created and performed by company members Pedro Dominguez, Emily Hogan and Jenni GreenMiller and guest artists Claire Aldridge and Dylan Hankins.

Directed by Michael Cavazos • Stage Manager Riley Lozano • Technical Director Abby Jacquin • Lighting Designer Sophina Flores • Set Designer Alex Meyer • Costume Designer Moth Noriega • Sound Designer Jared Jonas • Graphic Designer Emily Hogan

Hand2Mouth is a group of artists who make plays and places for people today. We celebrate the potential of the live encounter and investigate the passions of our hearts and times in order to build new windows that open to the world. Driven by connection and joy, we use evolving methods to create original performance events that are bold and accessible.

Described by The Seattle Times as having “the kind of promise, fearlessness and energy that the American theater needs, and should encourage,” Hand2Mouth has created over 25 productions since it’s founding in 2003 and has been presented at colleges, theaters, libraries, schools, prisons, and performance festivals internationally and across the nation.