Luna Stage premieres THE GROUND ON WHICH WE STAND This Month

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Luna-Stage/">Luna Stage will present the World Premiere of THE GROUND ON WHICH WE STAND, a multi-writer, site-specific performance exploring the history and impact of The James Howe House from 1780 to present day. The Howe House is the first property in the Township of Montclair to be owned by an African American and formerly enslaved person, and has been the site of much current controversy.

Outdoor site-specific performances will take place in Montclair on Saturday, April 29. The first performance begins at 10am, and tour groups are scheduled on the half-hour with the final tour beginning at 2:45. The 11:30 am performance will move slightly more slowly, for anyone who prefers a gentler walk. The distance traveled during the outdoor performance is approximately 1 mile.

Indoor performances are scheduled at Luna-Stage/">Luna Stage on Sunday April 30 at 2:00pm and 7:00pm.

Tickets to both events are free, but reservations are strongly encouraged. Learn more and reserve tickets online at lunastage.org/underground-history.

As described by community organization Friends of the Howe House, "The James Howe House represents the importance and vibrancy of Montclair's black community, both historically and in the present. One of the oldest structures in Montclair, dating to the Revolutionary era, this house helps tell the story of freedom and slavery, the development of a black community, and also the founding of Montclair as a town."

James Howe and his family were enslaved by the Crane family. James Howe served Major Nathaniel Crane. In 1817, Crane manumitted Howe, and in his Will of 1831, Crane bequeathed Howe the house and the six acres surrounding it. According to census data, the Howe family (first James, and then his son Henry and daughter Delilah) owned the home until the early 20th century. It subsequently changed hands many times and was nearly torn down on multiple occasions, until this year, in a group of community members, Friends of the Howe House, organized to purchase the property and honor its legacy.

Luna-Stage/">Luna Stage has committed to tell this story--both past and present--in collaboration with community stakeholders, historians, playwrights, and local activists. To this end, we have commissioned ten playwrights-ranging from seasoned professionals to emerging artists, from artistic elders to high school students-to create original monologues inspired by the history of this space.

The monologues reflect 240 years of post-emancipation struggles, abolitionist history, the impact and legacy of Jim Crow laws, gentrification, and current community challenges around diversity and integration. Characters include Howe, his enslaver Nathaniel Crane, Howe's son Henry who was drafted to serve in the Civil War, Howe's daughter Delilah who resided on the property when it was foreclosed due to mortgage debt, abolitionists Amory Bradford and Charles Thompson, and present-day community organizers Anya Sammler-Michael and Aminah Toler, who fought for the preservation of this historic property. The characters were chosen in collaboration with ten community historians and activists, all of whom contributed their expertise and perspective and are ongoingly involved in the development of the work.

On April 29, the pieces will be performed outdoors, along the 1-mile walk from the Crane House to the Howe House. Each monologue will last between 3-5 minutes. Cohorts of 20 audience members will be guided together along this journey, and will share the experience of traveling from 1780 to 2023 Montclair. As they walk together between the monologue sites, they will be encouraged to respond to artistic questions via conversation prompts that will allow them to share their own perspectives and experiences with one another.

To support access, the monologues will be performed indoors at Luna-Stage/">Luna Stage Sunday, April 30. Elements of the project will also be presented at Crossroads Theatre, and community organizations hope to tour performances to Montclair schools.

This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, the New Jersey Council for the Humanities, the New Jersey Historical Society, the New Jersey Theatre Alliance/Stages Festival, the Montclair Foundation, and the Suzzanne Douglas Memorial Commissioning Fund.

This event is part of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance 2023 Stages Festival, made possible by support from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts; The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey; OceanFirst Foundation; Fund for the New Jersey Blind; New Jersey Manufacturers; and Customers Bank. www.njtheatrealliance.org/stages

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