Green Room Theatre Co. Presented A Devised Play About How Palm Springs Destroyed A Neighborhood

Green Room Theatre Co. Coachella Valley (GRTCCV) performed Displacement: Stories from Section 14 to diverse and enthusiastic audiences in Palm Springs and Coachella in late June. The devised play provides historical and personal background on the forced eviction of hundreds of low-income families in Palm Springs in the 1960s from land eyed for a downtown redevelopment project. 

The innovative play was devised by an artistic collaborative, led by two highly experienced playwrights (one a Native American) and including a Section 14 survivor, an African-American actor and musician. It is based partly on oral histories of survivors and descendants. Its development has also been informed by a community advisory committee formed specifically to support the artistic work.

This play provides critical context for understanding one of the major racial justice and reparations controversies in California. Public negotiations are ongoing between the Palm Springs City Council and survivors and descendants.

In Phase II, starting later this year, GRTCCV expects to refine the script with the help of top theatre experts and eventually present fully staged performances throughout Southern California. GRTCCV is also hoping to create a mural or monument, ideally on Section 14 land, linked to an online archive of historical and artistic material. A wealth of video material is being collected that could support this archive or a documentary film on the project and Section 14 history.

Further information on performances and Green Room is here on their website: https://grtccv.org/section-14/.