Cointelshow: A Patriot Act

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An informative, entertaining and slightly frightening pamphlet, in which Special Agent Christian White takes readers on a chilling tour of the US government's declassified surveillance documents. The script for COINTELshow has been performed by writer/activist L.M. Bogad in theatres, galleries, labour halls and community centres for the past 12 years. The pamphlet also includes a preface by Guillermo Gimez-Pea, a companion essay by Bogad about the history of domestic surveillance/harassment, and a 'how to' for would-be performers of the script.

Reviews

"This play is important for activists and apathetics, clergymen and clerks, artists and engineers...all of us, because we all have good reason to ask 'Who Watches the Watchmen' As Bogad makes all too clear, it will have to be us. " --The Yes Men (Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno)

"One would rarely use the word 'fun' to describe something generated from materials obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request, but that's exactly how I'd refer to COINTELSHOW: A Patriot Act. Bogad's hilarious satire teaches us about the gruesome details of COINTELPRO, and connects them to our post-9/11 security state, without preaching, spoon-feeding, or boring the audience."--Jason Grote, writer for the TV shows Mad Men, Smash, and Hannibal, and author of the plays 1001, Box Americana, and Civilization (All You Can Eat)

"The Left can also laugh, even at the worst of circumstances... Audiences will chuckle along as they engage with this creative teach-in/manifesto on how to challenge, subvert, and educate ourselves about our country's ever-growing "Patriot Acts. '" --Benjamin Shepard, PhD., author of Queer Political Performance and Protest: Play, Pleasure and Social Movements

Author Bio

Lawrence Bogad works on the intersection between art and activism, and on the role of humor and imagination in organizing social movements. His book, Electoral Guerrilla Theatre: Radical Ridicule and Social Movements (Routledge 2005), is an international study of performance artists who run for public office as a prank.
Bogad's produced plays have covered topics such as the Haymarket Square Confrontation, the FBI's COINTELPRO activities, the Pinochet coup in Chile, and global climate chaos. He is a veteran of the Lincoln Center Theatre Director's Laboratory, and a cofounder of the Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army. Bogad was a lead writer/editor-in-mischief on two Yes Men prank newspaper projects that garnered international attention. These "special editions" of the International Herald Tribune and the New York Post were attempts to draw greater public attention to the Copenhagen Climate Summit and the larger issues of climate change. Bogad has been a commentator on political performance for Air America, NPR, Pacifica, Peace Radio, and other radio stations and programs.