What The Constitution Means to Me

ACK Theatre Presents

July 3–July 17

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by Heidi Schreck
directed by Amanda Charlton
featuring Nina Hellman & Jeremy Shamos

Playwright Heidi Schreck’s boundary-breaking play breathes new life into our Constitution and imagines how it will shape the next generation of Americans. Fifteen-year-old Heidi earned her college tuition by winning Constitutional debate competitions across the United States. In this hilarious, hopeful and achingly human new play, she resurrects her teenage self in order to trace the profound relationship between four generations of women and the founding document that shaped their lives.

Approximate Running Time: 1 hour and 40 minutes with no intermission
Recommended Age: 12+

This production contains mentions of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and discussions of abortion and its stigmatization.

“Endearingly funny and deeply affecting... It would be hard to identify a work for the theater with its finger more on the pulse of America right now.”
— Peter Marks, The Washington Post

Cast

  • is an Obie-winning actress best known for her work off Broadway in productions like “Greater Clements” at Lincoln Center Theater and “Trouble in Paradise,” for which she received an Obie Award. She also received a Lortel nomination for “The Internationalist” at the Vineyard Theatre. Nina is the 2025 winner of The New Dramatists Charles Bowden Award for Acting. Her television credits include roles on “The Blacklist,” “New Amsterdam,” and “Nurse Jackie”.  She appeared in both the film and Netflix series “Wet Hot American Summer.”  Nina is an associate artist with The Civilians and serves on the board of Clubbed Thumb. Nina has performed in many productions on Nantucket and she and her husband, Jeremy Shamos, along with their two teenagers, are summer residents in Sconset. BFA, NYU, Experimental Theatre Wing.

  • was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance in the Pulitzer Prize winning play CLYBOURNE PARK, for which he also received Lucille Lortel Award and Drama League Award nominations. His other stage appearances include 8 Broadway productions including Steve Martin’s METEOR SHOWER, Michael Frayn’s NOISES OFF, Richard Greenberg’s THE ASSEMBLED PARTIES, and David Mamet’s GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS, as well as the off-Broadway productions of the original GUTENBERG! THE MUSICAL, IF I FORGET (Drama Desk Award nomination), ANIMALS OUT OF PAPER (Drama Desk Award nomination), THE QUALMS, THE COMPLETE WORKS OF SHAKESPEARE (ABRIDGED), DINNER WITH FRIENDS (Lucille Lortel Award), and ENGAGED, for which he received the Obie Award. He appeared most recently on stage in the world premiere  of Stephen Sondheim’s final musical HERE WE ARE at The Shed in NYC. 

    His work on film and television has provided the opportunity to collaborate on many acclaimed features, including MA RAINEY’S BLACK BOTTOM, BAD EDUCATION, THE BIG SICK, and BIRDMAN, and many prestigious series including BETTER CALL SAUL,THE HANDMAID’S TALE, SUCCESSION, DEAD RINGERS, NURSE JACKIE, and FOSSE/VERDON. For his recurring roles as part of the ensembles of both THE GILDED AGE and ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING, he earned SAG Award nominations for his work in the ensemble of both award winning series.

    He is a proud resident of both Brooklyn and ‘Sconset.

  • Heidi Schreck is a writer and performer living in Brooklyn. Her critically-acclaimed play What the Constitution Means to Me played an extended, sold-out run on Broadway in 2019 and was nominated for two Tony Awards. A filmed version of the play premiered on Amazon Prime Video and was nominated for a Critics Choice Award, a PGA Award and DGA Award. What the Constitution Means to Me was named Best of the Year by the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, Time Magazine, The Hollywood Reporter, The New Yorker and more. Schreck’s other plays Grand Concourse, Creature and There Are No More Big Secrets have also been produced in NYC and all over the country. Most recently, she created a new translation of Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya for the Broadway production at Lincoln Center. Screenwriting credits include I Love Dick, Billions, Nurse Jackie and Dispatches from Elsewhere. She is the recipient of three Obie Awards, a Drama Desk Award and a Theatre World Award, as well as the Horton Foote Playwriting Award and the Hull-Warriner Award from the Dramatists Guild. Schreck was awarded Smithsonian Magazine’s 2019 American Ingenuity Award for her work in the Performing Arts.

Creative Team

  • Amanda Charlton is a freelance theatre director in New York City.  She has focused her career on developing new work as a director and artistic producer.  Amanda worked at Williamstown Theatre Festival as the Artistic Associate and Artistic Director of The Professional Training Program from 2001-2011.  Amanda has directed and workshopped plays at several theaters in New York City and regionally, some include: Williamstown Theater Festival, Atlantic Theatre Company, Manhattan Theater Club, Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre, Naked Angels, EST, Juilliard, NYU Grad, The Kennedy Center, The Geffen Theatre, Geva Theatre, Cape Cod Playhouse and Merrimack Rep.  Some of the writers and directors she has worked with as a director iand producer include: Molly Smith Metzler, Elizabeth Meriwether, Anne Washburn, Amy Herzog, Alex Timbers and Tommy Kail.  Amneds, a short film she wrote and directed, was part of the Soho International film Festival and Big Apple Film Festival.  Amanda advocated and supported writers and artists and was a board member of SPACE on Ryder Farm for five years, an artist residency on an organic farm.  Amanda is a SDC member and a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University.

Scenic Design: Timothy Mackabee
Costume Design: Sarah Thea
Lighting Design: Alex Fetchko
Sound Design: Tony Wagner
Stage Manager: Freda Mattea

What the Constitution Means to Me is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com