ABSTRACT
Marty Pottenger’s home land security (hls), a contemporary play precipitated by the attack on the World Trade Center and subsequent passage of the US Patriot Act, features performances by people impacted by the January 2004 “border raids” targeting immigrants and refugees in Portland, Maine. It is in the tradition of firstvoice artmaking, e.g., professional artists using their craft to amplify the voices of people seldom heard in public. Radical theatre in the 1960s/early 1970s, while seen as a viable form of political activism, typically entailed middle class actors speaking for the poor and oppressed. In contrast, Pottenger and other grassroots artists draw on storytelling traditions to facilitate people speaking publicly for themselves. Self-articulation of their own concerns is a step toward resolving them.
