(WEST ORANGE, NJ) -- Luna Stage presents a new solo adaptation of The Ground on Which We Stand (abridged) from June 5-21, 2025. The play was inspired by the history and legacy of The James Howe House, the first home owned by a formerly enslaved person in Montclair. The project was conceived and is directed by Ari Laura Keith.
The Ground On Which We Stand is a theatrical performance collaboratively written by 12 playwrights, which exists in three different formats (an 18-actor, two-hour site specific version, a 6-actor abridged version, and a 45-minute solo performance with one actor playing all the characters.) Created in collaboration with historians, community activists, and genealogists, the play reflects over 200 years of African American experience in the United States, as well as the importance of oral history and the fight for historic preservation.
Inspired by the history and legacy of The James Howe House, the first home in the Township of Montclair to be owned by a formerly enslaved person, The Ground On Which We Stand interweaves diverse historic and contemporary voices and honors African American history and its role in shaping our future. The play spans 190 years, reflecting post-emancipation struggles, abolitionist history, the role of Black soldiers in the Civil War, the impact of de facto segregation past and present, and the way a community can come together to reckon with its past and make intentional choices to preserve and honor historic spaces.
The Ground on Which We Stand (abridged) is performed by Naja Selby-Morton. It was written by Turron Kofi Alleyne, Jenny Lyn Bader, Sakinah Hofler, Stephen Kaplan, Kyle Mazer, Kathleen McGhee-Anderson, Diane Polledri, Martine Sainvil, TyLie Shider, Mo Schlick, Melissa Toomey, and Richard Wesley. It was abridged by TyLie Shider.
Performances take place Thursdays through Sunday from June 5-22, 2025. Tickets are available for purchase online. Luna Stage is located at 555 Valley Road in West Orange, New Jersey.
The play invites audiences to experience the larger historical context that surrounds Howe’s enslavement and manumission and his family’s fight against social and economic forces and systemic racism. It celebrates both historic and contemporary work for social justice, highlights the importance of historic places as spaces for both commemoration and healing, and reflects the power of individuals to support historic preservation and ongoing legacy.
The development of The Ground On Which We Stand was supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, The New Jersey Historical Commission, The New Jersey Council for the Humanities, The Montclair Foundation, and the Suzzanne Douglas Memorial Fund.
The Ground On Which We Stand was awarded the 2024 Giles R Wright Award for Excellence in African American History.
It was first produced in 2023 as a multi-writer, site-specific performance staged outdoors over the course of a mile-long walk in Montclair, New Jersey.
Luna Stage is located at 555 Valley Rd, West Orange, New Jersey. Founded in 1992, Luna Stage develops and produces vibrant plays about local and global experiences. They bring communities together for artistic events that spark conversations and create understanding and change. Firmly rooted in New Jersey's Valley Arts District, a crossroads of cultures, they celebrate the diverse voices that surround them. As producer, innovator, and educator, they are dedicated to eliminating barriers to participation, and nurturing the next generation of audiences and artists.
