Three Centuries Of History "In This House"

Songs, dances, and creative multimedia will blend to tell the story of the ’ legacy in a Thursday performance.

The Judy Dworin Performance Project, which visited this New London this spring for a , returns to the city this weekend with The show follows the history of the Hempstead Houses, which date back to 1658 and 1759, were the homesteads of Joshua and Nathaniel Hempstead and are currently maintained by Connecticut Landmarks as a seasonal historic attraction.

Dworin said she was investigating witch trials that occurred in Hartford for a performance when she found out about the houses. She said she was interested in their identity with race throughout the generations, from Joshua owning a slave to abolitionist activities to their location in an interracial neighborhood.

Allegra di Bonaventura Hogan, a historian who worked with Dworin, said Joshua raised nine children on his own after his wife died. Once his sons grew up and moved out, Joshua purchased 27-year-old Adam Jackson as a slave to help him with farming and other activities. She said more information may be available on their relationship than any other master-slave pairing in early American history due to the fact that Joshua kept a diary for 47 years.

di Bonaventura Hogan said the diary offers a window into a typical domestic situation in a slaveholding house. She said although Jackson was not a free man, he had a fair amount of autonomy, lived in close quarters with Joshua, and worked side by side with him.

“It’s through the diary that we actually know a little more about Adam Jackson,” she said.

Dworin said she researched the diary, letters, and other materials in the . She also met with four women who grew up in the neighborhood and ended the piece in the 1950s, leaving the question of the houses’ present role open.

“The audience, I feel, is not just a spectator but a witness,” she said.

Jane Glover, director of the , said the performance goes in line with the center’s mission of teaching the importance of African-American culture and presenting the city and African-Americans in a positive light. She said the center, along with area schools, took part in the painting of windows for display in the lobby. Children were asked to paint scenes from inside and outside their own homes on the windows.

“I find it interesting that Spongebob lives in someone’s house,” she joked.

Dworin said her pieces are often rehearsed in an improvisational manner, with the show coming together after improvements and changes in early runs. She said windows are also used on stage as part of the set.

“I wanted to have something that represented the house, but didn’t try to pretend that it was the house,” she said.

Leslie Bird, a singer in the show, said she was inspired by ballads and spirituals in forming the musical component of the performance.

“I created melody that brought together the convictions of the later Hempsteads, particularly the three [abolitionist] sisters you hear about later,” she said.

Several related events have taken place around the performance. recently held a panel discussion on the piece entitled “Performing the Hempstead House: Converging New London History, the Arts, and the Community.” Students in wrote and performed “The Secret Wells Behind These Walls,” an original piece based on the houses and Dworin’s piece. Starting on Saturday, the will have an exhibit based on continuing slavery in the 21st century; the show will run through Nov. 27.

“In This House” will have a schooltime performance at 10 a.m. on Thursday, and a premiere performance at 7:30 p.m. that day. Tickets are $28 for general admission and $35 for loge seats.