INTERVIEW: New theatrical work centers on NYC’s Hart Island
Photo: Hart Island features, from left, David Samuel and Daniel Kublick. Photo courtesy of Maria Baranova / Provided by Everyman Agency with permission.
Hart Island, a new show from Mason Holdings, is billed as a multimedia theatrical meditation on New York City’s potter’s field and the humans connected to the land. Tracy Weller, founder and artistic director of the theater company, wrote the piece, and Kristjan Thor serves as director. Performances run through April 9 at The Gym at Judson in the Village. The cast consists of Julie Asriyan, Nora Cole, Jimmy Crowell II, James Foster Jr., Daniel Kublick, Donald Paul and Weller.
The show was heavily researched by Weller, and the results of her deep dive into the archives are six interconnecting stories of people who have a connection to Hart Island, which is located off the City Island neighborhood and is believed to be the largest mass grave in the United States. The island became a news item during the COVID-19 pandemic, but its history stretches back generations. According to press notes, the island has been a burial site for the “poor, homeless, unclaimed, and anyone unfortunate enough to have gotten lost in the bureaucracy of a flawed system.”
Recently Hollywood Soapbox exchanged emails with Weller, whose other theatrical credits include Jarring, Holiday House: Christmas Bends and Consumption. Questions and answers have been slightly edited for style.
When did you first develop the idea for a theatrical piece about Hart Island?
Several years ago, I discovered a piece about Hart Island in the New York Times. I was stunned and haunted. From that moment, I knew I wanted to create a theatre experience inspired by the island.
For people who don’t know, what exactly is Hart Island?
Since the end of the Civil War, Hart Island has been the potter’s field of New York. The bodies of over 1 million dead are buried in Hart Island’s unmarked trenches; it is the largest mass gravesite in the United States. Up until recently, it has been under the jurisdiction of the Department of Corrections, and Rikers Island inmates have dug the trenches.
Have you ever been there?
Hart Island is highly restricted, even for those with family members buried on the island. So, no, I have never been. My hope is that someday soon it will be easily accessible to those who would like to visit the graves of their loved ones.
How did you take all of these stories and make one theatrical evening?
Well, that is an almost impossible question, but I will say that the process has been long. And all of these stories are very close to me, and all humans are intrinsically linked, our joy and suffering shared. So the characters’ needs organically lead them from isolation to connection. Weaving them together was really about listening to their humanity.
Do you like the gym space at Judson? It’s a historic place for dance and theater.
It has been a longtime goal of mine to bring Mason Holdings to the Gym at Judson. The space is gorgeously raw and lends itself beautifully to a deep existential experience. We are so grateful to be here.
Is the story of Hart Island even more poignant and important to learn about in light of COVID-19?
During the pandemic, burials on the island went up from about 25 per week to 120 — and Rikers inmates were replaced by contract laborers in protective gear. The death toll of the last two years connects us, more than ever, to Hart Island. That said, it has been a poignant and important (beautiful, sad and complicated) place for well over 100 years.
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Hart Island, written by Tracy Weller, is currently playing at The Gym at Judson in New York City. Click here for more information and tickets.
