"Dear George" Follow Up

October 24, 2004

Dear President George W. Bush:

Over the last five months, I have collected open letters addressed to you through a website, www.DearGeorgeLetters.com with the intent of forming them into a dramatic presentation in October 2004.

I had hoped that the letters would shed light on our national situation, on what some call a divided nation – a notion that implies a binary split, either-or, black or white. Human stories to explain why half of the nation vociferously supports you at the same time the other half vehemently hates you. I believe a much richer, more complex portrait of "we the people" has revealed itself in these letters.

The response to our call for letters has been truly overwhelming. We had initially hoped to receive a hundred letters. By the time this final letter has been added to the collection, over 1500 letters have been received from Americans in every state, and from a wide array of political viewpoints.

I have received invaluable help and support from my co-producers, friends, family as well as complete strangers. The actors performing in New York have graciously donated their time and talents, and for that I am most grateful.

I have also seen this project grow in scale beyond my wildest imagination. By the time I read this letter on stage in New York, 40 other public presentations of this work have opened across this country, from professional theatre companies to office workers staging this production on a makeshift stage in their spare time. So many people coming on board, believing in this project and dedicating themselves to giving these letters a public platform.

Our voices matter. We will be heard. That was always the central idea of this project.

I believe that these letters form part of your legacy. Good and bad, they are all yours, and I hope that you will honor them all.

Sincerely,

Marcus Woollen
New York City