this is government

Full Length - 2W, 1M, 1NB

After a bomb threat places all congressional buildings on lockdown, three summer interns find themselves stuck in the one place no one has ever wanted to work overtime: the U.S. government. As the crisis unfolds and their snack supply runs out, they question what power, if any, they have in this increasingly unstable system. Nina Kissinger's dark comedy, THIS IS GOVERNMENT, grapples with the real-time consequences of political disarray.

Development

  • Stanley Drama Award, Winner – Staten Island, NY (2025)

  • ScreenCraft Stage Play Competition, Quarterfinalist (2025)

  • The Whale Watch Reading Series, Reading – New York, NY (2025)

  • B Street Theatre, New Comedies Festival, Workshop & Reading – Sacramento, CA (2024)

  • Valdez Theatre Conference, Workshop & Reading – Valdez, AK (2024)

  • O’Neill National Playwrights Conference, Semi-Finalist (2023)

  • Ashland New Plays Festival, Semi-Finalist (2023)

  • Morgan-Wixson Theatre New Works Festival, Semi-Finalist (2023)

  • Shake Rag Alley Center for the Arts, Alley Stage Reading Series – Mineral Point, WI (2023)

  • National High School Institute Theatre Division @ Northwestern University, Reading Series – Evanston, IL (2023)

  • Agnes Nixon Playwriting Festival, Workshop & Reading – Evanston, IL (2022)

Photos by Justin Barbin (2022)
Agnes Nixon Playwriting Festival
Northwestern University