What can we build together in this immense time of culture shift? And who are the leaders we need to call on to trailblaze a rapidly changing world? 

“The Race 2020” is an interactive, livestreamed workshop theatre performance that combines spectacle and collaborative conversation to investigate the state of our democracy. The production blends performance, call and response, question and answer, dance and karaoke into a participatory, highly choreographed, and at times improvised exploration. In this era of increased partisanship and division, “The Race 2020” examines how theatre can promote an active conversation about leadership and campaigns — a race to discover what binds us together and what tears us apart.

The performances are:

Friday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 31 at 2 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 1 at 2 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 2 at 7 p.m.


Click here to register for the free performances; please note that online ticket reservations will end one hour before the performance start time.

“The Race 2020” is developed in collaboration with The Civility Project, a hub for inquiry, skills sharing, and experimentation in civil dialogue and community trust building. The productions are presented across the nation in 2020 as part of a festival of performances leading up to the U.S. presidential election. To learn more, see “‘The Race 2020’: How the arts can help illuminate politics.”

The script and score were created by Michael Rohd. This adaptation of "The Race 2020" was developed in collaboration with TeAsya Hudson, Keith Patrick McCoyCourtney Surmanek, and Taylor Wood, in conjunction with a creative team composed of Virginia Tech students and faculty, as well as New River Valley community members.

“The Race 2020” is produced by the Virginia Tech School of Performing Arts as part of its Fall 2020 Online Season and supported in part by the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology’s Major SEAD Grant.

If you are an individual with a disability and desire an accommodation, please contact Susan Sanders at least 10 business days prior to the event.