Capitol HILL Shanty

Capitol HILL is erected as a monument to the absurdities of government. Visitors can stand on the Soap Box, disrupting the pat language of political speeches with their own mad-libbed insertions. From that platform, folks can harangue the masses with their
own message, or liberate one of our provided pieces as part of Operation Mad-Libs Freedom. At the Department of Mustachery, they can adopt suitably stuffy facial hair to pay tribute to Gilded Age bosses. Stencils of our famous facial hair forefathers give them templates to bring a new presence to their mug or amend an existing mustache. Citizens may also go freestyle, as our inspirational gallery of birds, bananas, beavers, and other beardly incarnations demonstrates.

This farce also allows opportunities for participatory, if fanciful, outlets for governance. Visitors move through the vestibule lined with dreams submitted to the Department of Dream Intake and Processing, encountering their first chance to take a direct role in what happens in the shanty. At the Department of Departmenthood and Departmentality, you can submit an application to create your own department. Departments may be fancy, shiny, overbudget, ghostly, and godly—with staff positions ready to be filled! If the 24-hour spin cycle gets overwhelming, escape to a hideaway in one of the twin domes of the completely transparent Capitol HILL. As night gives way to dawn, replicating and ridiculing the bureaucratic formalities of government, citizens will be encouraged to reimagine and reanimate networks of autonomy and interdependence.