In 1974, Studs Terkel published WORKING, a book that captures the oral history of what people do all day and how they feel about what they do.

In dialogue with Terkel’s book, DW Gibson organized NOT WORKING, a project that produced a book-length oral history and documentary film.

During the summer and fall of 2011, Gibson traveled across the U.S. with filmmaker MJ Sieber and playwright Mallery Avidon. The trip began in Orange County, California and ended in New York City. Gibson interviewed hundreds of individuals who lost their job because of the economic depression that followed the sub-prime mortgage crisis.

Interviews centered on the exact moment when the job was lost, the conditions that led to that moment, and the consequences that followed. The moment-to-moment details ruptured with emotion, tension, humor, and absolute horror. These close-ups were the essence of the project.

The workers featured in NOT WORKING lost their job because of economic considerations. They were let go by forces beyond their will, ability, and sense of commitment. They came from all levels of responsibility and income: hourly wage earners, executives, and every tax bracket in between.

DW Gibson  is the author of the award-winning The Edge Becomes the Center: An Oral History of Gentrification in the Twenty-First Century. He shared a National Magazine Award for his work on “This Is the Story of One Block in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn” (New York Magazine.) His work has also appeared in Harper’s, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Nation, The Village Voice, and The Caravan; he has been a contributor to NPR‘s All Things Considered and the podcast, There Goes the Neighborhood.

MJ Sieber is a director and actor whose films include Haven’t Seen A Soul In Years and Finger, as well as the web series Ask An Actor and The Barry Reinhardt Show. He is a founding member of New Century Theatre Company, which was given the 2009 Gregory Award for “Theater of the Year.”

Mallery Avidon is a playwright interested in the intersection of fact and fiction. Her plays include queerSpawn, breaks & bikes, The Past is Not a Foreign Country (very personal) maps of Seattle and Mary-Kate Olsen is in Love. She is currently developing a series of 16 plays inspired by the interviews collected for NOT WORKING and the experience of the trip. She holds an MFA in Playwriting from Brown University.