Mackynzie Ganbaatar and Stephanie Cousins Photo by Alyssa Kristine Photography

While both plays are excellent and well worth seeing, What the Constitution Means to Me is a more frontal assault on our understanding of the document on which the framework of our democracy is built. Written as a semi-autobiographical piece, Schreck initially starred as herself in its first productions at Berkeley, then Off-Broadway, and on Broadway, where it was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play in 2019. It was also a Pulitzer Prize finalist.

Stephanie Cousins plays middle-aged Schreck with fervent conviction. She explains how, as a teenager, she earned money that paid for her college education by winning a series of debates on the subject of the U.S. Constitution, sponsored by the American Legion. She then transforms into 15-year-old Heidi, demonstrating her debating skills and her endearing passion for America's foundational document. We are in a Legion hall, its setting well realized by designer Eli Sherlock. Heidi is joined on stage by a stolid-looking World War II veteran and member of the Legion post, who acts as the debate moderator and judge.

Heidi disparages her arch-rival's use of "patchwork quilt" as a metaphor for the Constitution, making a case for her own metaphor, a "cauldron," to describe the document. She dwells at length on her favorite amendment, the ninth, which states, "The enumeration in the Constitution of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage other rights retained by the people." She elaborates on the "penumbra" concept associated with the ninth amendment by Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas, the bench from 1939-1975. Douglas stated that rights neither specifically guaranteed nor denied in the Constitution fall into a penumbra, between total light and total shadow. This opens up so many possibilities, Heidi gleefully contends, giving rise to creativity and discord in the interpretation of the law.

In fact, it was the ninth amendment that provided the underpinning of the supposition of a guaranteed right to privacy–not stipulated anywhere in the constitution–as the basis for the 1974 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion in every state. Heidi departs from being her 15-year-old self to share personal experiences several years later that stemmed from that fateful court ruling, a solid case for the competition's requirement that contestants explain how the Constitution has a personal bearing on their life.

Returning to her teenage self, she re-enacts the part of the debate where contestants pick an amendment at random and must extemporaneously comment on it. She chooses the first clause of the fourteenth amendment, which bestows citizenship to anyone born in the United States. The intent when adopted after the Civil War was to confer full citizenship upon those who'd been freed from slavery. Of course, it also grants full citizenship to children born on American soil to immigrants, regardless of the parents' citizenship status. From this, the term "birthright citizenship" was coined. When Schreck's play was first staged in 2017, there was hardly a glimmer of thought that this established interpretation would be brazenly challenged less than ten years later.

Heidi now veers more frequently between her 15-year-old and present self, trying the patience of the Legionnaire standing by as moderator. She finally gives up the gambit of her childhood-self altogether and speaks as adult Heidi about the failures of our Constitution, especially in regard to rights for women, noting that the original purpose of the Constitution was to protect the rights of white men. The Legionnaire is invited to drop his act and is introduced as an actor who speaks about his own experiences with masculinity and sexuality. Before long, the actor–originally Heidi Schreck, in this production, Stephanie Cousins–drops the façade of playing a role at all and speaks directly as herself.

Recognizing that the Constitution has been shown as being both highly laudatory and deeply defective, the play ends with a structured debate between Heidi, or rather, Stephanie, and a current high school debater. The young debater in the Artistry production is Mackynzie Ganbaatar, and the issue they debate is whether the Constitution should be retired in favor of a new governing document, or should remain the basis of our law, despite its flaws. They flip a coin to determine who will debate which side. The debate ensues, and an audience member is recruited to pick the winner.

Stephanie Cousins does a remarkable job as Heidi Schreck (both the 15-year-old and middle-aged versions) and finally as herself, though still adhering to script. She exudes boundless enthusiasm for the project of understanding the Constitution–not necessarily for or against, but understanding how it works and why it was devised as it was. She also expresses with anger and regret the reality that, through history, this document–or, more pointedly, its failure to be more inclusive in conferring rights–has been injurious to some Americans, particularly women, conveying both compassion and anger over indignities that inflicted Heidi's female ancestors.

Cousins states in the play's final moments that she wanted to do this play because she agrees strongly with what the playwright has to say, making it tricky to discern where the character Heidi leaves and the actor Stephanie steps in–or does she? Is that statement also part of the scripted play, and not necessarily true? Does it matter? In any case, Cousins creates a sense of the real Heidi Schreck on stage and delivers her insightful perspective on the Constitution of the United States, warts and all.

In much smaller but significant roles, Mackynzie Ganbaatar is a very impressive young woman, articulate and personable, as Stephanie's sparring partner in the final debate. Dan Hopman does a swell job of transforming from the clenched-jaw officiating Legionnaire to a gentle man, clearly with feminist leanings and liberal tendencies.

Amanda White directs this What the Constitution Means to Me with a clear sense that the work must keep moving, taking us without abrupt shifts from didactic presentation of constitutional language to heartfelt personal or family stories, presented as a non-stop stream of thought. This truly validates the title, the notion that the constitution can have–should have, let's say–personal meaning to each of us, and not be relegated in our minds to dry irrelevancy.

While the structure of What the Constitution Means to Me is unusual, it serves the playwright's purpose well. Artistry chose wisely in a season when what we long thought were certainties in our Constitution are being challenged, often in alarming ways. Yes, we should be more familiar with the Constitution, and it should have some personal meaning for us, because it affects everything about our national life. This production brings the play to vivid life. It is an important play to see and to talk about.

What the Constitution Means to Me runs through June 7, 2026, at Artistry, Bloomington Center for the Arts, 1800 West Old Shakopee Road, Bloomington MN. For tickets and information, please call 952-563-8375 or visit artistrymn.org.

Playwright: Heidi Schreck; Director: Amanda White; Scenic Designer: Eli Sherlock; Costume Designer: Meghan Kent; Lighting Designer: Shannon Elliot; Sound Designer: Nick Mrozek; Props Design: Katie Phillips; Stage Manager: Samantha Smith; Assistant Stage Manager: Grace Czywczynski.

Cast: Stephanie Cousins (Heidi), Mackynzie Ganbaatar (Debater), Dan Hopman (Legionnaire/Mike).