I CREATED A WORK OF ART -- LEFTISTS KILLED IT. LET'S BRING IT BACK TO LIFE.

I am a playwright in Portland, Oregon. With a partner, I created and was self-producing THE MACBETHS, a reconsideration of Shakespeare's original, curated and re-composed to focus on Macbeth and Lady Macbeth's ambitious, doomed love. The play is 100% Shakespeare, yet 100% new, a swift and powerful extended one-act, geared to captivate long-time fans of the bard, and to introduce him to newcomers as well.

I was also to play Lady Macbeth -- the role of a lifetime -- and my partner was to play Macbeth.

But because I have publicly spoken out against the forced use of pronouns and for the protection and defense of girls and women in school, sports, crisis centers and all private spaces, Portland leftists mounted a boycott against THE MACBETHS. They threatened me on social media with physical, emotional and financial violence, and terrorized the theater space into cancelling the show two weeks from opening. 

My partner abandoned me and required me to post a public declaration stating that I was asked to resign from the company we founded; that he supported "every aspect and facet" of trans activism; and that I should be the sole focus of any outrage caused by my opinions.

The show was cancelled; I lost all my investment in the project and my onstage role; my reputation was damaged; all the artists working on it lost 50% of their pay; the theater lost its rental revenue; and my partnership was destroyed.

Note, the leftists didn't care about the content of THE MACBETHS: They just wanted to banish me from making art due solely to my belief in freedom of speech and biological reality.

Nevertheless, I am undaunted. There are brave, free-thinking artistic directors who want to mount THE MACBETHS, and I vow this play will be produced. We must show those who seek to silence us that their attempts at censorship will only make us louder!

Your donations will bring THE MACBETHS back to life. Here are my goals:

• $7500 total will allow me to re-coup my investment.

• $10,000 total will allow me to do this and market to Shakespeare companies and other theaters nationwide for their 25-26 season.

• $20,000 total will allow me do all this and to self-produce the show anywhere in the USA.

I hope you agree that no artist should be forced to state loyalty oaths in order to make their art. No artist should be frightened into silence for his or her beliefs. And that all artists should enjoy the freedom of speech guaranteed in our Constitution.

I hope you believe that diversity of thought as expressed in art is a cornerstone of a thriving culture. And that the protection and defense of art and artists is central to the health of America's soul.

Because this crowdfunding effort isn't just about mounting a play. It's about using art to amplify a rising national chorus speaking up, and out, in defense of us all.

THE MACBETHS: WITH YOUR HELP, SOMETHING POWERFUL THIS WAY COMES.