Get to Know the Declaration of Independence
by Ben Gunter
July 4, 2026, was a great day for Theater with a Mission (TWAM). We got to read the Declaration of Independence out loud, two times, dressed like Floridians from 250 years ago. We made discoveries we’d like to share with you, encouraging you to get to know the Declaration along with us.
First, we found out how personal the Declaration is. Our first Independence Day reading took place in the American Legion Hall at Lake Ella in Tallahassee – a historic structure that was packed with people ranging from babes in arms to veterans who bore arms during the war in Vietnam. The whole room, which had been noisily festive with live music, line dancing, and high-spirited conversation right before we read, fell intently silent as TWAM actor Malcolm T. Pearson delivered the sweeping statement of human rights that launches the idea of American independence:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The Declaration still speaks to every person in the United States, affirming our equality, guaranteeing our liberty, guarding our personal pursuit of happiness.
Next, we discovered how pertinent the Declaration is. Our second Independence Day performance moved outdoors, to the Capital City’s 300-acre Tom Brown Park. TWAM kicked off a 4-hour celebration that concluded with fireworks set to music by the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra. Because 2026 is an election year, and because campaigning for City Commission seats has already gotten hotter than the fourth of July, no elected officials spoke during this event.
Instead, citizens walked closer to the stage to watch – huge speakers on cranes made sure that people a mile away could hear – as TWAM’s nine costumed actors declaimed this pertinent reminder from the Declaration about the purpose and powers of representative government: “That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
Finally, we finished the day admiring how passionate the Declaration is. After the prologue about rights and before the proclamation of Independence, the heart of this founding document presents 27 grievances against the government of King George III – grievances that convince once-loyal colonists to “acquiesce in the necessity, which denounces our Separation.”
Dramatically stated and disturbingly up-to-date, these grievances make actors and audiences gasp and listen more closely, as Way Back When comes face to face with Now. The Declaration passionately addresses 250-year-old concerns about immigration, militarization, and weaponizing political differences. Do you hear echoes of these phrases from the Declaration in debates that still rage today?
“He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; … He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures. He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power. … He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us …”
In the afterglow of July 4, join TWAM in getting to know the Declaration of Independence. Read the full text, divided into speeches for reading aloud with friends at TheaterwithaMission.com. Watch Theater with a Mission dramatize the Declaration on Facebook – better yet, invite TWAM to come perform for your school, church, or civic group. Then add your digital signature to the Declaration, just in time for the 250th anniversary of the original signing of the document on August 2 (https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/join-the-signers). Discover the personal, pertinent, and passionate timeliness of the Declaration this summer!
