City Without Altar

by Jasminne Mendez

City Without Altar is a play in verse which seeks to amplify the voices and experiences of victims, survivors and living ancestors of the 1937 Haitian Massacre that occurred along the northwest Dominican/Haitian border during the Trujillo Era. The play follows the chronological timeline of events that occurred before, during and after the massacre. Using monologues, montages and vignettes, the chorus of voices...

City Without Altar is a play in verse which seeks to amplify the voices and experiences of victims, survivors and living ancestors of the 1937 Haitian Massacre that occurred along the northwest Dominican/Haitian border during the Trujillo Era. The play follows the chronological timeline of events that occurred before, during and after the massacre. Using monologues, montages and vignettes, the chorus of voices, created and imagined from interview transcripts, news articles, and scholarly books, tell the stories regularly omitted and erased from this often ignored history.

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City Without Altar

Recommended by

  • Paloma Sierra: City Without Altar by Jasminne Mendez
    “

    One of the most moving and captivating plays in verse, written by a must-watch, contemporary pioneer of verse drama. Mendez's storytelling craft—which merges poetry with dramatic structure—is unmatched. Mendez's words engage audiences, inviting them to connect and empathize with the characters. This facilitates a deeper understanding of a history that demands acknowledgement and recognition.

    One of the most moving and captivating plays in verse, written by a must-watch, contemporary pioneer of verse drama. Mendez's storytelling craft—which merges poetry with dramatic structure—is unmatched. Mendez's words engage audiences, inviting them to connect and empathize with the characters. This facilitates a deeper understanding of a history that demands acknowledgement and recognition.

    ”
  • Elizabeth A. M. Keel: City Without Altar by Jasminne Mendez
    “

    City Without Altar blends choral composition with unabashed poetry. Mendez weaves in stage directions that imbue metaphor and mood ("Avocado-bellied hills"), while offering vignettes that shake off the constraints of linear time. From a community of women washing rice to fertility festivals for Yemaya, City Without Altar seeks out holiness in the nature of its landscape, and ultimately in the souls and memories of its people - including the audience.

    City Without Altar blends choral composition with unabashed poetry. Mendez weaves in stage directions that imbue metaphor and mood ("Avocado-bellied hills"), while offering vignettes that shake off the constraints of linear time. From a community of women washing rice to fertility festivals for Yemaya, City Without Altar seeks out holiness in the nature of its landscape, and ultimately in the souls and memories of its people - including the audience.

    ”
Machete/Surgeon and Dominican Soldier should be played by same actor*

Madame Telsaint (50-70s) – Haitian elder woman. A healer. An old woman with old bones. She is water.

Irelia (able to play 11-13yrs old)- Dominican-Haitian girl. Young. The fastest runner in Dajabón. She is moon.

Cenalia (20-35)- Haitian woman. A mother. A wife. She dreams of holding and being held. She is earth.

Cameron(able to play 11-15yrs)- Haitian boy. A brother. He sings like an angel. He is wind.

Maria(able to play (15-20yrs) – Dominican girl. A witness. She is in pain. She is memory. She is time.*

Machete/Surgeon (20-40s)- A machete. A man/male presenting. He cuts down. He is metal.

Soldier(20s-40s) – Dominican man/male presenting. Wields the machete. Obedient. He is clay.

Development History

  • Reading, Ingenio Live Virtual Theatre Vestival, 2020
  • Reading, Stages Theatre- Sin Muros Latinx Theatre Festival, 2018