Passage Theatre Company’s newest play offers perspectives on solving gang violence.
By:Jillian Kalonick
When he first began interviewing young people for a play he was writing about gang violence, David L. White began to think maybe gangs weren’t such a bad thing.
Mr. White, associate artistic director of Passage Theatre Company in Trenton, mentioned to a young man who was in one of the theater’s education programs that he was thinking about writing an anti-gang show.
"I told him about it, not knowing he was a Latin King," says Mr. White. "He said, ‘I’d love to work on it with you I could tell you a bunch of stuff. The Latin Kings are great.’ What he started telling me sounded so profoundly spiritual, about brotherhood and togetherness. I walked out of there thinking, maybe I don’t really know what I’m talking about, maybe I should investigate the whole gang thing… Two days later he was arrested for murder."
After interviewing young people, teachers, police officers, clergy members, parents and community residents, Mr. White wrote If I Could, In My Hood, I Would…, which will be presented by the theater’s educational program, the State Street Project, Dec. 8-11. The show follows two high school students, Biron and Beatrice, as they are recruited by rival gangs, and offers a community perspective on the gang problem, from suburban couples to gang kingpins. An ensemble of Trenton teens and professional adult actors will star in the play.
"I didn’t want it to be a play for grownups so they would feel good about trying to save the kids," explains Mr. White. "I wanted it to be a play whose audience is the entire community, so they would look at it and ask themselves how they might be part of the problem and part of the solution.
"There’s one couple (in the play), they really think that the gang problem is something that’s sequestered to Trenton," he continues. "They don’t understand how activities of some kid buying pot in Princeton puts money in the pockets of the drug trade in Trenton, which goes back to the drug dealers, who spend it on drugs and guns."
After interviewing several people who had firsthand knowledge of gangs, he discovered the cause of violence was not only drugs, but "a lot about girls," making the usual "He likes you, do you like him?" among teenagers a dangerous prospect when it happens between rival gangs.
"Part of growing up is socializing and establishing relationships, and you can’t do it because gangs are involved," says Mr. White. "And if you say something about the wrong person, it can become violent… To me it was the more tragic thing, because now we’re not dealing with free will, where someone can either buy the drugs or not buy the drugs. Now we’re dealing with something that kids have to do, have every right to do, which is learn to become adults, and they’re not able to do it."
Also typical were gang members who insisted it wasn’t their gang who was violent it was the other gang who was causing all the problems and disturbing the peace. This mentality, along with the testimony of gangsters trying to recruit young people, makes joining a gang seem like a smart move the supposedly nonviolent gang will protect members from that other, violent gang.
"When (a gang member) talked to me, it sounded enticing and alluring and exciting and holy," says Mr. White. "It’s no wonder kids get talked into stuff like that. They feel like it’s extremely important. That really took me aback."
In an effort to open up a community forum on gang violence, Kidsbridge will sponsor post-show discussions each night following the performances. Panelists will include local principals, educators, pastors and social workers.
If I Could’s goal is to offer perspectives on the solution for ending gang violence, not the solution itself, but Mr. White wanted to add an element of optimism. Part of the play is taken from one of the State Street Project programs where participants finished a line that began "If I Could, In My Hood, I Would…"
"I would disrupt the corners, shake up the streets until they, everyone, began to listen to me speak, not of anger or of violence, but of tolerance and forgiveness," one line reads. "I would open the eyes of all those passersby who anxiously roll up those car windows," reads another; "They would realize that we have to make a community effort for change instead of thinking we are above or better than them."
"It was such a burst of optimism for them, such a burst of idealism," says Mr. White. "They were all so incredibly poetic, I knew right away that was the end of the play, that picture of promise, a picture of hope."
If I Could, In My Hood, I Would… will play at the Mill Hill Playhouse, Front and Montgomery streets, Trenton, Dec. 8-11. Performances: Thurs.-Fri. 8 p.m., Sat.-Sun. 3 p.m. $5 suggested donation. Dec. 9-10 shows sold out. A post-show discussion, sponsored by Kidsbridge with funding from Merrill Lynch, will follow each performance. For information, call (609) 392-0766. On the Web: www.passagetheatre.org

