Americans overwhelmingly agree that gun violence is a worsening problem. But instead of collectively addressing the problem itself, we argue about solutions: more guns or fewer guns? Framing the issue as “the gun debate” forces Americans onto opposing sides, each trying to win. In that fight, empathy suffers collateral damage.
Arms Around America (AAA) seeks to change the way Americans talk to each other about guns. As a socially engaged theater ensemble, Dan Froot & Company believes in the power of theatrical storytelling to transform the divisive gun debate into a civil dialogue, grounded in listening, complexity, and shared humanity.
The goals of Arms Around America live presentations are to:
The concept of dialogue—the respectful exchange of perspectives, ideas, and lived experiences—underpins all of our work. We believe meaningful dialogue begins with attentive, intentional listening.
AAA embodies this belief through every phase of its creation. We began by conducting book-length oral histories with six families across the U.S. whose lives have been shaped by guns. These are complex narratives, not scientific “case studies.” The families vary in race, region, ideology, and their relationships with firearms—from accidental shootings to navigating the underground gun economy, to the exhilaration of a first firearm lesson.
In collaboration with the families, our culturally diverse team of theater-makers adapted the interviews into six 10–15-minute plays. Staged as if the performers are a radio theater company, four actors navigate a forest of microphones, voicing dozens of characters in an immersive sound environment, accompanied by a live band and sound effects artist. This aesthetic places the audience “between the ears” of the characters, emphasizing the empathic power of deep listening.
Together in one 75-minute program, the plays form a constellation of survival, fear, hope, accountability, and love. Tiffany agonizes over whether to bulletproof her kids’ backpacks after a nearby school shooting. Gabriel loses a handgun on a road trip—reporting it could bring legal trouble; staying silent could lead to worse. Rich, age 12, is gifted a pistol, only to discover it comes with treacherous strings attached.
To ensure cultural relevance, AAA engages deeply with communities in each tour location. In the months leading up to performances, we conduct workshops and planning meetings with partners like Exchange for Change (Miami), Veteran Peer Access Network (L.A.), and the University of Utah’s Health Equity Division. At each site, we co-curate content with and for those most impacted by gun violence, including communities of color, economically marginalized folks, and incarcerated individuals.
Two signature components deepen the live experience:
1. The Kitchen Table
Each performance concludes with a dialogue among eight local residents reflecting on the plays they’ve just witnessed. One of these Kitchen Table participants characterized AAA as “a call to action…transforming our relationship just by rethinking and rewiring and setting a new narrative socially about guns.”
2. The Community Ambassadors Program
To lower attendance barriers, we hire trusted community members from underrepresented groups to invite and accompany ten guests to the show for free. In Miami, Ambassadors brought over 50 first-time theatergoers across two nights, addressing our goal of increasing access and inclusion.
We have also created a companion AAA podcast, featuring audio dramas based on the same families and paired with roundtable discussions. The podcast serves as a standalone humanities experience, an accessible entry point for potential in-person audiences, and an extension of the stage piece’s civic reach beyond the walls of the theater. AAA also partners with TourScout, a digital platform for public feedback, discovery, and reviews.
AAA invites communities – through multiple access points – into an inclusive, civic conversation that emphasizes empathy and the shared challenge of thriving together across difference.
Having premiered in Los Angeles, Miami, and Ivins UT, and with upcoming performances in New York, Salt Lake City, and Granville OH, AAA is catalyzing conversations nationwide.
Key outcomes include:
Over 1,000 people have attended to date. Across cities, post-show reflections reveal deep shifts in perception and understanding. One participant realized: “As soon as you touch the gun—even if you don’t want to—it changes you.”
While survey response rates are modest, audience and partner feedback affirm the project’s resonance and civic value.
TourScout responses echo this impact:
AAA’s cross-sector success is reflected in partnerships including Exchange for Change, PATH to Hip Hop, US Vets, the L.A. County Department of Mental Health, the University of Utah, and UCLA. At Miami Dade College, AAA was featured in Changemaker’s Week and was added to their campus-wide LibGuide learning resource on gun violence. In Utah, a partner is providing free gun locks to our audience members. In Florida, our Performing Creative Nonfiction workshop at a men’s prison left an indelible mark. The director of Exchange for Change reflected: “The impact was as powerful as if the incarcerated students were performing on Broadway. Not only did they feel seen and heard, but appreciated as human beings.”
