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Theatre professor Larry Bogad and his dancing mailboxes have been “Delivering Democracy” this election season, capturing media attention for their artistic activism.

The performers-as-mailboxes in the Delivering Democracy street show are getting out the vote in Pennsylvania, dancing to a reworked version of the pop tune “Please Mr. Postman” and handing out flyers with useful and accurate information about how and where to vote by mail, drop box or in person.

The New York-based Center for Artistic Activism is supporting Delivery Democracy and 10 other across the country — in an overall project the center says is aimed at celebrating voting rights and countering voter suppression in the 2020 U.S. election.

The center, on its , explains:“There has been a lot of disinformation going around lately, knocking the post office and saying that mail-in ballots are ‘fraudulent.’ We know this isn’t true, and we are making playful street theatre across the state of Pennsylvania to uplift morale, instill faith in the post office and drop box/in-person voting, and spread useful voter information to as many people as we can during this last crucial month before Election Day.”

Bogad, chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance, conceived of the idea and obtained grant funding to make it happen. He initiated and developed the flash-mob-style street show at his Center for Tactical Performance and the Strike Anywhere Performance Ensemble in New York City.

“We’ve gotten a lot of attention,” Bogad said. “We have a cameo in a , we were just in a about artistic activism, and, so far, have had six photos in The New York Times and counting. In Scranton, we were interviewed by a few American crews but also Belgian, French and British journalist crews.”

Michael French, arts marketing specialist in the Arts Administrative Group, contributed to this report.

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