END ESA NOW!

END ESA NOW!

ESA has been going on long enough. Atos  has been torturing sick and disabled people for long enough. The government has been pretending it's enabling people for long enough. So we were delighted to see our friend Sue Marsh lay down the gauntlet and say enough IS enough. We need to end ESA once and for all and the ESA Endgame campaign might just do it.

We always wrote our plays as a way to educate people about Atos, the DWP and ESA. And we've had some success.  2,500 people have read the three versions of play on-line. The Monologues have been performed at Greenbelt, a Leeds Uncut demo and podcasted by My Life, My Choice . Despite  having Newham Council cancel their 1st performance, Act Up are still planning on putting on the Atos Stories

But now we want to try something new. Something you can ALL get involved in. We have three versions of the play, which you can download here:  Atos Stories, The Atos Monologues and AtosStreet Theatre.* We want to organise a mass action against Atos.

On Tuesday 9thApril. We'd like to invite you to put one of these versions on in your community. You don't have to be an actor or an actress to take part, just someone who wants to be heard in your own words or the words of others in a similar situation. But if you do perform and you care about these issues, please do perform with us!

You don't have do the whole thing, you can do a scene from the play, sing one of the songs, read part of the Monologues. You can add your own stories or link with the stories published by Sue on her blog under the #esaendgame hashtag here and here. The idea is that everybody Acts Against Atos on the same day across the country. You can do this anywhere, at a library, community centre, shopping mall,  theatre, your local Atos office. Wherever the most people will be able to hear the message.

Alternatively if you'd like to take part and can't get out of the house, but have the technology, why not commit to reading a bit and livestreaming... or tweeting sections of it?

So if you are an actor, or if you are not, if you are disabled or sick or not., but you can read a part, sing a song, act a scene and you want to get involved. Let us know.

If you want to take part, email us at atosstories@gmail.com. Tell us who is taking part, where and when and we'll put it on our blog. Please try and get a record of the event, and we'll post a link.

By Acting Together, we  CAN end ESA now!

* Please contact us if you need large print versions


UPDATE

We've been informed that Scribd has started charging for downloads. Wow Petition has kindly offered to host our plays, so you can download them here! http://wowpetition.com/atos-stories/


LISTINGS

This is an inside and outside event...

From the inside:

Tweeting There will be several people tweeting from 9.30am. Follow the #atosmassread hashtag & our twitterstream @Atosstories

Podcasting You can tell your own story in your own words Feed your audiofile to http://feeds.feedburner.com/WowPetitionCampaignPodcast
or send it to info@wowpetition.com.

Video Act Up! will be videoing a scene from their rehearsal of Atos Stories on Monday and we hope to have it up here on Tuesday.
We will also be linking to videos of Poets against Atos performing their poems

Livestreaming  the monologues in the evening. 
Joy Bahn and Cova at 7pm

Possibly Ravens of London http://ravensoflondon.wordpress.com/


Outside

LAMPETER  12-2pm The Atos Stories at Victoria Hall. Contact: bluehook@mac.com

OXFORD 11.30am Bonn Square

ESA END GAME

We all want to see an end to ESA. As soon as possible. Today our good friend Sue Marsh announced a plan that might just do that. Please check out her blog today and keep following for the next few weeks. Do the tasks she sets if you can. Together we can make this  the #esaendgame
http://diaryofabenefitscrounger.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/esa-sos-starting-gun.html