Perpich Students Perform and Direct in 2025 ENOUGH! Plays to End Gun Violence Nationwide Reading

October 7, 2025

On Monday, October 6, 2025, Perpich Arts High School students joined Applause Community Theatre, Protect Minnesota, The Landmark Center, and Save Our Sons in the nationwide reading of ENOUGH! — a movement of teens using theater to demand change on gun violence.

The Perpich students performed in and directed in three of the readings. Natalie Campbell (Musical Theater 2026) directed “Under Wraps” by Olivia Stanley; Elsie Erickson (Musical Theater 2026) directed “Nobody Cares About Death” by Ian Hodges; and Gwyn Devillers directed “Guns in Dragonland” by Eislinn Gracen. They performed the pieces twice; once at Perpich in the afternoon and again that evening at The Landmark Center in St. Paul.

Audrey Tuite (Musical Theater 2026) played “Woman” in “Under Wraps”. It was “not only my first experience playing a lead role, but also probably the hardest role I’ve played, emotionally,” said Tuite. “Rehearsing and running lines is a constant reminder that this story doesn’t have a happy end. And that’s accurate to many women’s lives which are ended because they are killed by their partner. I think it’s safe to say that many/most women at least know another woman who has been in an abusive relationship at some point, whether that’s emotional or physical abuse, or both.”

Audrey Tuite (Musical Theater 2026) played “Woman” in “Under Wraps”

Tuite felt pressure to portray her character as more than just a naive victim but someone who, in the end, stands up for herself in an unsafe situation. “All in all, I want this role to be dedicated to any person who has experienced intimate partner violence. Whether they lost their lives because of it or they escaped and survived, I hope that my performance is a portrayal of the strength that survivors have, and how abuse can take over so subtly, yet quickly.”

Tory Peterson, Theater Instructor, has participated in the ENOUGH! event in previous years. He hopes they will spark discussion and positive change. “There is a very famous quote by German playwright Bertolt Brecht: ‘Most people upon entering the theater hang up their brains with their hats in the cloakroom.’ These plays, ‘ENOUGH! Plays to End Gun Violence’, while entertaining, carry a lot of weight and hopefully most people will leave the theater and feel it necessary to discuss the themes and social impact these dramas carry,” said Peterson.

Audrey Tuite was so pleased with how the group performed at the Landmark Center. “It was probably our best run yet. The cast was very supportive and I was proud of us all that the show came together well in the end,” she said.

On October 6, 2025, six of the plays submitted through the nationwide call in Spring 2025 were presented in an evening of readings staged simultaneously by theaters, schools, and community groups across the country. Nearly 3,000 artists in more than 150 communities have participated across the three previous Nationwide Readings. Many have used ENOUGH! to forge meaningful community partnerships and create space for the youth of their area to be seen and heard.

Applause Community Theatre shared a special thanks to Perpich Arts High School and Theater Instructor Tory Peterson for joining them again in this project. “Perpich’s student directors and performers are remarkable, and their thoughtful, disciplined work helps bring these stories vividly to life.”

All proceeds of the evening performance at Landmark Center were dedicated to Save Our Sons and Protect Minnesota.

ENOUGH! Plays to End Gun Violence creates space for teens to confront gun violence by creating new works of theatre that will spark critical conversations and inspire meaningful action in communities across the country. Their mission is to promote playwriting as a tool for self-expression and social change, harnessing this generation’s spirit of activism and providing a platform for America’s playwrights of tomorrow to discover and develop their voices today.