I directed and co-created The OK Trenton Project with a group of artists over the span of three years. During that time, we conducted over 25 interviews and workshopped the play both in-person and via Zoom during the pandemic. The piece was developed using Tectonic Theatre Project's Moment Work technique. It premiered at Passage Theatre in February of 2022.

Plot Summary: The OK Trenton Project is a documentary-style play about the reaction to a sculpture entitled “Helping Hands,” which was installed in August of 2017 on a vacant city-owned lot at the corner of Perry and Montgomery streets in Trenton, NJ. The sculpture was designed and built by 17 students from a summer camp run by the nonprofit group HomeFront, in collaboration with Isles, Inc., and artist Eric Schultz of Grounds for Sculpture. Following concerns that the sculpture too closely resembled a gang symbol and could send the wrong message to residents, the piece was removed and placed back in the artist’s studio. Told through the words of Trenton’s law enforcement, city officials, artists, residents, and students, this play tells the story of what one piece of art can mean to a community.

Reviews:
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The Modernist Beat by Anthony P. Pennino
NJ Arts.net by Jay Lustig
U.S. 1 by Neal Zoran
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