When systemic violence shatters a community, the public conversation almost inevitably retreats to the safe barricades of political spin, bureaucratic damage control, and hollow talking points. Playwright Jeff Perlman’s gripping new drama, SAY MY NAME: A Reckoning in Two Movements, refuses to grant anyone that shelter. Produced in association with Jay Michaels Global Communications (JMGC), the work is heading toward an industry presentation on October 16, 2026, at Manhattan’s Open Jar Studios (1601 Broadway, 11th Floor), placing commercial producers, festival directors, and presenters squarely in front of an unflinching examination of institutional paralysis and human grief.

At the epicenter of the play’s high-stakes political machine is actress Jennifer Laine Williams, who inhabits the role of Sarah—a razor-sharp political strategist trapped between personal loyalty, institutional survival, and the moral fallout of an unspeakable tragedy.

A Reckoning in Two Movements: The Story Behind the Tragedy

Spanning two decades, SAY MY NAME confronts the systemic, spiritual, and emotional aftermath of a fatal police shooting. The narrative follows Marcus Deshawn Thompson, a 15-year-old Black youth walking home from a high school dance when he is shot and killed by a police officer.

Rather than fading into an abstract statistic, Marcus’s spirit lingers in an enduring metaphysical threshold between the living and the dead, demanding to be recognized as a full human being rather than an ideological weapon.

The drama unfolds across two fluid, non-realistic movements:

• The First Movement: The immediate, claustrophobic night of the tragedy, as city officials, family members, faith leaders, and law enforcement scramble to construct narratives, protect their careers, or simply survive the emotional shockwave.
• The Second Movement: A devastating reunion twenty years later, tracing the long half-life of trauma, the cost of political compromises, and the arduous road toward spiritual release.

Central to this conflict is Mayor James “Jim” Jenkins—the only living person capable of seeing Marcus’s ghost. Torn by moral agony, Mayor Jenkins torches his carefully calculated political future by refusing to read prepared, sanitized remarks, choosing instead to speak the unfiltered truth. Stationed right beside him as the administrative house of cards collapses is Sarah, his trusted strategist.

Deconstructing the Strategist: Jennifer Laine Williams on Sarah

In the hands of a lesser performer, a political operative can easily flatten into a cynical, calculating archetype. But Williams approaches Sarah with psychological depth, grounding the character’s pragmatism in shared ideals and deeply personal devotion.

“Sarah is the person trying to keep everything on track, but what makes that especially complicated for her is that Jim has also been a mentor,” Williams explains. “She believes in working within the system in part because he taught her to believe that was the only way. So when he suddenly begins questioning everything they’ve built together, she’s not simply trying to protect his career or power for power’s sake. She’s defending a philosophy they shared and that has shaped her own life, and she believes in what that power could allow them to accomplish.”

When navigating the breaking point of this political alliance, Williams resists the temptation to telegraph emotional transitions, focusing instead on the lived truth between two people whose shared worldview is disintegrating.

“I don’t really think of Sarah’s loyalty as shifting,” Williams observes. “If anything, I think she remains fiercely loyal to what she and Jim have built together, even when he no longer is. What changes is her understanding of him and eventually, perhaps, her understanding of herself. I prefer to let those discoveries happen through the relationship and living the circumstances rather than try to indicate a particular shift for the audience.”

“There’s Nowhere to Hide”: The Intimacy of the Workshop Stage

With an ensemble that brings together living characters, institutional insiders, grieving families, and an ancestral chorus rooted in traditional spirituals, SAY MY NAME demands heightened focus from its cast. For Williams, the stripped-down format of an industry reading at Open Jar Studios does not diminish the drama’s impact—it amplifies it.

“There’s nowhere to hide,” Williams emphasizes. “Without bells and whistles, you’re relying almost entirely on the text, your scene partner(s), and the world you build with the creative team in the rehearsal room. That can make a bare-bones show feel very immediate. You’re listening differently, and because the piece is still developing, there’s also a sense that you’re discovering it together in real time.”

By removing scenic distractions and relying purely on vocal agility, dramatic timing, and intense emotional listening, the developmental room transforms Perlman’s script into an immediate, electrifying encounter.

Event Details & Industry Reservations

The industry presentation of SAY MY NAME: A Reckoning in Two Movements offers theatrical producers, regional artistic directors, and festival programmers an exclusive first look at a work built to challenge and captivate contemporary audiences.

• Production: SAY MY NAME: A Reckoning in Two Movements
• Playwright: Jeff Perlman
• Starring: Jennifer Laine Williams (as Sarah) alongside a distinguished ensemble company
• Date: Friday, October 16, 2026
• Location: Open Jar Studios (1601 Broadway, 11th Floor, entrance on 48th Street), New York, NY 10019
• Industry Inquiries & Press Reservations:Anya Kai, Jay Michaels Global Communications (JMGC, LLC) Email: info@jaymichaelsarts.com