“TOWN”
Written by Michael John Garcés| Directed by Nell Bang-Jensen | Music by ILL DOOTS
Dramaturg: Gilberto Vega
Theatre Horizon, September 2022
TOWN (original title Our Norristown) is a new play that was written by, for, and about the people of Norristown. Using Thornton Wilder’s classic play Our Town as a provocation and structural map to reconsider the nostalgic myth of small-town American life and reconsider our understanding of community in the 2020s, TOWN focused on Death & Eternity, Love & Marriage, and Daily Life, all inspired by stories from over 130 Norristown residents.
Gilberto’s scope of work included an interactive lobby display at Theatre Horizon—in both English and Spanish—that featured: an overview of the project and how community members can become involved; a chronology of the play’s development spanning two years; and “Norristown In Our Words | Norristown en nuestras palabras,” which featured quotes from community members interviewed for the play. Additionally, in his role as Director of External Relations, as part of TOWN, Gilberto: led a bilingual marketing campaign that culminated in more than 1,200 people across four performances; coordinated the translation of the text into Spanish; and provided live Spanish translations at performances. Graphic Design work by Theatre Horizon.
As part of my research on the history of Norristown, I collaborated with Theatre Horizon’s Artistic Director Nell Bang-Jensen in creating a land acknowledgement for TOWN in advisement with Adam Waterbear DePaul and Barbara Bluejay of the Lenape Cultural Center:
Theatre Horizon is located in Norristown, PA, which stands on the territory known as “Lenapehoking,” the ancestral home of the Lenape people. For the past 10,000 years, the Lenape have been the original caretakers and stewards of Lenapehoking—one of numerous tribes that comprised tens of millions of people residing on this continent prior to the invasion of European colonizers.
Theatre Horizon recognizes that Isaac Norris, Sr.—Norristown’s namesake—purchased land from the family of William Penn even though nobody “owns” Lenapehoking. We acknowledge that Isaac Norris, Sr. was a slaveholder who benefited from a system that captured, sold, and enslaved over 10 million Africans who were trafficked to various locations in North America, South America, and the Caribbean.
We acknowledge the 6 million African Americans that moved from the American South to the Northeast during The Great Migration and their role in making places like Norristown a central hub for industry and retail. Finally, with a large Latinx population—particularly people from Puerto Rico and Mexico—we acknowledge the past, present, and future legacies of the Taíno and Aztec peoples.