Heidi Schreck: Kids Read The Constitution

Heidi Schreck's play, What the Constitution Means to Me, is based on a prize-winning speech she gave as a 15-year-old at American Legion halls across America. Since its 2019 Broadway debut, it's been attended by the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and was a finalist for the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. A taping of the performance is now available on Amazon, directed by Marielle Heller (Can You Ever Forgive Me?, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood).

Schreck grew up in Wenatchee, Wisconsin, "The Apple Capital of the World." She tells NPR's Ask Me Another host Ophira Eisenberg that her early interest in theater was fueled by VHS tapes and records of shows like Sweeney Todd and The Glass Menagerie.

In 1986, Schreck's mother encouraged her to enter the American Legion Oratorical Contest, where contestants give an 8-10 minute speech on how the Constitution connects to their own life.