A Conversation With The Playwright and Cast of “One Empire Under God”

In a time when political divides are higher than they’ve ever been, theatre remains an essential part of how we have the kinds of tough and important conversations that are necessary for us to move forward. With this in mind, playwright Anthony Piccione is set to premiere the first in-person full performance of his political epic “One Empire Under God.” The play takes us through a fictional (though very plausible) version of America where evangelical fascism has taken over and the characters are confronted with seemingly insurmountable obstacles to try and take it down and take the country back.

Despite having written the first drafts of this play prior to 2020, it seems to have a frightening relevance. I had the opportunity to ask Anthony about the process of creating such a powerful story and how he sees it taking shape in a post-2020 era.

BERRY: What was the research process for this play like?

PICCIONE:  I actually first came up with a general concept – along with two or three scenes that have survived into the final draft – for the play all the way back in 2013, around the time I first started taking playwriting seriously. But I don’t think it was until 2017 or 2018 when I started writing a proper first draft of the play as it exists today. Needless to say, the play’s undergone various revisions since that time, and I’d be lying if current events didn’t play some role in what I felt the play needed to be, while I was still in the middle of writing and developing it.

But really, I’d say the core message which I want to send hasn’t changed, which is that we’ve been on a 40-year trend of American politics becoming more and more tainted by religious extremists in the form of evangelical Christians who are against free expression, separation of church and state, reject basic science on the environment and public health, and have become increasingly against the basic belief in democracy.

I was born in 1992 and grew up in the 2000s, and so my politics and worldview were highly shaped by that time period, when I came to realize the dangers and the inherent bigotry of organized religion and the need for strong advocacy for secular values and keeping religion out of the public sphere.

That when George W. Bush first started what’s come to be known as “the forever wars” in Muslim countries, and was simultaneously campaigning to enact a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and allowing oil companies to pollute the planet and ignore climate science, all while using religion to justify each and every one of his actions. Whenever someone comes up to me and says Donald Trump made Bush look “good” by comparison, I don’t know if I’d go that far, because they were both terrible. But it does kinda prove the point of my play, which is that if we aren’t careful, conditions can always get worse, even when you think they’re already as bad as it gets. I mean, I still remember growing up and people saying Bush was the worst, and that any future president who’s worse would be the last!

BERRY: You started writing this play before a lot of the current situations in the world started happening. How has your perspective on the piece changed

PICCIONE: It’s crazy, isn’t it? I mean, I came up with the general concept before 2016, when maybe more people thought the idea of America becoming a fascist dictatorship was far-fetched than they would assume now. So at this point, the past year or so has only increased my motivation to finally get this out there for people to see.

To be honest, a part of me was worried, at first, since I realized that this would be my first play to premiere during the Biden administration. Right after the election, I worried whether people would still care about issues like climate change, police brutality, or more broadly, the increasingly fascistic movement that enables the worst of humanity? Or would people just “go back to brunch”, so to speak, as they wanted to do had Hillary Clinton been elected president?

But then, January 6th happened, and since then, I think more people have caught on to the reality of what we’re dealing with right now, and the threat that this movement represents to the survival of democracy and free expression. I will say, for me personally, I’m more worried now after what happened that day, and I was already worried enough to write this play, before then!

BERRY: What was the process of putting this show on virtually and what new things are you hoping to get out of this live production?

PICCIONE: It’s been two entirely different experiences. It’s pretty early so far in the live production process, but as much as I appreciate the new medium that is virtual theatre, there are so many things you can do on a live stage that you simply can’t do with a Zoom screen. I don’t want to say what some of the ideas Andres has planned are, but I think it’s going to be a very unique theatrical experience.

And it’s been kinda weird, at this point, going back to live theatre. Don’t get me wrong, I’m excited to finally go back, but keep in mind, I’d been producing non-stop from when I moved to New York in September 2016 up until COVID shut everything down. I never really had a break from producing live theatre – whether it was a shorter thing or my last big full-length thing, which ran a crazy long time – until March of 2020. Now, after a year and a half, I’ve been kinda having to get back into the rhythm, so to speak, that comes with producing your own work on a live stage.

Oh, and we’re also live streaming it in November, so people can still watch this production online, by the way!

I also had the opportunity to hear from some of the actors about their experiences with the show and their thoughts on it’s importance.

BERRY: This project has been in development for a while. How long have you been with the project and how has it changed since you started working on it to now?

MARC VERZATT (Ian MacDougal): I have been playing Reverend Macdougal since the first Zoom streaming. If anything has changed, it’s a deeper understanding of how committed the “right” is to its selfish, nihilistic ideas, and how greed motivates those in power to maintain power and increase it, at the expense of the planet and the humanity that inhabits it.

SABRINA LOPEZ (Ensemble):  I think I was one of the very last people to jump onto this project so I think I saw the majesty of the work that had been done but when I noticed how everyone on this project was so eloquent in their understanding of each character and how their circumstances affected every relationship. The context of this play feels all too familiar for every American so when I actually got to jump into my first rehearsal it was like being thrown into an all too familiar yet unsettling flashback from about 5 years ago.

BERRY: This play is such a massive undertaking with a lot of big ideas. What is the rehearsal process like? What is your personal preparation like?

VERZATT: The rehearsal process has always been a delight because Andrés Gallardo Bustillo is an actor’s dream - prepared yet spontaneous, one eye on the actor and the other eye on the material, always encouraging but lets no detail escape his attention.
My personal preparation is precisely that: working on memory, bringing the author’s words to life, reflecting on the prismatic relationships my character has with others.
Then largely letting myself ‘go with God’ when it’s showtime.

CLARA TAN (Vice President Zaine Thompson): I’d say the rehearsal process for me really involves getting into the headspace of the character, and understanding how I influence the way the character is played and vice versa. I try my best to see them as a fully fleshed-out person, whom I can just step into and become.

LOPEZ: I had a blast on this show. working with a full cast again with a fully-fledged production was such a huge relief to me even though it was literally inside my bedroom. The whole team was so kind and supportive, of course, I was incredibly nervous when the whole cast and crew got together. It made me really excited to actually get to meet with this cast in person and add in all the wonderful physical elements. 

BERRY: Why do you think a play like this is important in this particular moment in time?

VERZATT: Because this moment in time is a dual moment: a life-saving vaccine countered by anti-vaxxers preference for disease and death; the growing success of the #MeToo Movement in bringing down powerful men’s exploitation of women countered by abortion prohibitions and vigilante laws allowing people to destroy women’s lives; massive voter turn-out versus gerrymandering and voter suppression. We are at a crossroads.  The world my students and nephews will inherit will be irrevocably impacted by what’s happening in the country at the present moment.

TAN: As the subtitle says, the play is a cautionary tale. I think there’s a certain power that comes with visualizing a potential future and telling people, “You can be the one to change this.”

LOPEZ: I feel like we have stepped into this new genre, or new era of modern history. I, myself call it the post-Trumpian era, and it allows us to actually look back and interpret how close we actually were to an even bigger worst-case scenario. This play beautifully holds up a mirror to how our society feels watching everything come together and in a split second moment, it slips into this alternate universe where this new evangelical government turns into a terrifying dystopia.

BERRY:  What do you hope audiences will walk away from?

VERZATT: Awareness. Anxiety that motivates them to overturn restrictions and oppressive laws. A groundswell in new voters.

TAN: I hope audiences will recognize that sometimes, we must be willing to fight fire with fire. If our opponents on the other side are willing to push the envelope in what they’re willing to do, our representatives must step up to meet that challenge.

LOPEZ: What I love about this play is that it doesn't preach politics to an audience. It approaches the concept as a cause and effect. What I hope audiences take away from this production is energy and further willingness to support causes like those in the revolution. To want to be more active in politics whether it be on a grand scale in DC or in smaller communities. I hope audiences can see how close we were to a scenario like this and want to do everything they can to prevent that from happening. 

“One Empire Under God” will be premiering at The Tank in NYC with performances on November 11, 12, 13, 18, 19 & 20 at 7pm & November 13, 14, 20 & 21 at 2pm. The production will be directed by Andres Gallardo Bustillo, who has been with the show since it’s beginning.  So be sure to check it out next month! When asked for one final thought, Piccione said:

“Some people will love this play. Some people might hate it. If they’re a certain kind of person, I actually hope they hate it. But regardless of whether or not they liked it, as I always say before my premieres, I hope it gets them thinking, and that it sparks conversation that will lead to serious action.”