WE RISE! is a participatory documentary musical theatre project built from the testimony, chants, songs, and stories of people with firsthand experience of the 2025–2026 ICE/CBP/DHS “Operation Metro Surge” in Bdé Óta Othuŋwe, “The City of Many Lakes” (the Dakota term for Minneapolis, Minnesota). The script incorporates firsthand accounts of ICE and CBP “occupation” during “Operation Metro Surge”; stories of protest, resistance, and collective struggle; and efforts to provide mutual aid and support to those most affected by the operation. The script is designed to be used for Staged Readings, and, along with a packet of links, trainings, and additional historical context, will be made available online for anyone wishing to download it and organize readings in their community. The script and packet will be made available at a sliding scale, including for zero dollars, “no one turned away for lack of funds.” Any and all funds accrued from the download of the material will be donated to mutual aid efforts.

WE RISE! invites audience members to become active participants in the performance. Community members read, speak, and sing the words of those interviewed, creating a collective act of witnessing, reflection, learning, singing, and solidarity. Through this process, participants engage directly with the lived experiences of people affected by immigration enforcement and learn strategies of resistance, while also exploring their own relationship to civic action and community responsibility.

The performance is guided by a Facilitator who also serves as a character. The Facilitator introduces and supports the reading process. After each reading, the Facilitator leads conversations about justice, power, and the challenges facing local communities. Together, participants move among storytelling, dialogue, song, and collective reflection, transforming the performance into a space for learning, connection, and action.

Images from WE RISE! at Bechdel Project in June 2026.

CREDITS

WE RISE!

created by aaron moore ellis

produced by Docbloc

dramaturgy by Jess Applebaum

For more information about WE RISE! and to bring this project to your community, connect with Docbloc here.