About

The Proclamation Play, written and directed by Abigail Schumann, presents a series of fictionalized first-person interactions exploring the decisions that led to Dunmore's Proclamation and the consequences in the wake of it.

In November of 1775, Virginia's last Royal Governor, Lord Dunmore, proclaimed that he would grant freedom to enslaved and indentured servants belonging to patriots, if they joined him to take up arms against the American rebels. Using personal stories based on historical sources, this hour-long play explores how Dunmore's Proclamation offered an unprecedented, and very dangerous, path to freedom.

Immerse yourself in this period of history and consider, "What would you have done?"

Join us after the play for a 30-minute discussion of the historic events surrounding Dunmore's Proclamation and their legacies today. Abigail Schumann, playwright and director, and Harvey Bakari, Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation curator of Black History and Culture, will lead the conversation.