Truth in Theater

When Jeffrey Solomon started researching incidents involving the experiences of minors in the immigration system, he thought he’d write a play about three or four different people. That changed when he and his collaborators found out about the plight of Edgar Chocoy.

The story of the Guatemalan-born teen who came to America seeking to escape the gang life in Guatemala, had everything Solomon was looking for in a story.

“We started out our research collecting a lot of stories and ended up with a play just about Edgar because it was just too big a canvas,” Solomon says. “We originally thought we’d focus on three young people and eventually we just said this has to be Edgar’s play.”

That documentary-style play, “De Novo,” has been performed by Houses on the Moon Theater Company, an educational theater group founded by Solomon. Now it’s coming to Passage Theatre in Trenton for four performances, Sept 10 through 18.

It’s a return of sorts for the play, which was performed in a Spanish-language version at Passage in June, before going to El Salvador. Now Passage is hosting the original version, which is mostly in English but also includes some Spanish.

Solomon, who is also directing “De Novo,” says he was inspired to write Edgar’s story because of the love and compassion people like Edgar’s mother, Margarita Guzman, and his lawyer, Kimberly Salinas, felt for him. “(They) really wanted his story told, they were excited that folks wanted to use the theater to let more people know about his life,” Solomon says.

Edgar was 14 years old in 2002 when he left Guatemala to escape the country’s gang world. He went looking for his mother, who had moved away to the U.S. to find work. He was detained by the Department of Homeland Security, and asked for asylum. According to a press release about the play, Chocoy pleaded with the judge not to deport him. "If I go back, they'll kill me," he reportedly said.

The play takes its dialogue and events from actual sources, particularly transcripts from Edgar’s court case. Solomon also interviewed Salinas, and Solomon and actor Jose Aranda interviewed Edgar’s mother, who gave them letters Edgar wrote to her while he was in detention.

“So we were working with multiple sources, all real text, all direct text, that we weaved together to tell the story,” Solomon says.

Solomon and the members of Houses on the Moon wanted to create a documentary-style play as a follow-up to 2005’s “Tara’s Crossing.” That play was a fictionalized account of a true story about a transgender woman who fled persecution in Guyana and sought political asylum.

“We became really fascinated with immigration court itself and just thought that it would be great to return,” Solomon says. “So few people know what goes on in immigration court. The court acts in our name and yet so few people know what actually happens inside immigration court.”

One of the people they interviewed for “Tara’s Crossing” was Chris Nugent, an immigration attorney who told Solomon that a story about minors in the immigration system would make for a good play.

“The narratives you hear in court are really harrowing and riveting and remarkable,” Solomon says. “It’s great to have a play, a fictional play, but we also thought it would be great to work with the existing text. That was the impetus to do the play.”

But just telling a noble story wasn’t enough. Solomon and the cast and crew behind “De Novo” also want the play to be a compelling evening of theater.

“I think we were successful at engaging the audience, pulling the audience in as if they were a judge or sitting in a courtroom,” Solomon says. “It kind of engages them on that level to sort through all the strands of the story and come to your own decision as if you were the judge.”

“De Novo” will be performed at Passage Theatre’s Mill Hill Playhouse, 205 E. Front St. in Trenton, Sept. 10-18. Performances are Sept. 10 and 17, 8 p.m. and Sept. 11 and 18, 3 p.m. Tickets cost $20, $20 students. Call 609-392-0766 or go to PassageTheatre.org for tickets and information.