THE STORY SO FAR:
In 1922, near the banks of the Raritan River, a small city priest and a choir singer were slaughtered in the most infamous unsolved double homicide of the 20th century. The woman, who was not immediately identified, was shot three times in the face. Her throat had been cut. A later autopsy showed that her tongue and vocal cords had been removed. Her name, it was discovered, was Eleanor Mills, the young mother of Charlotte and Daniel Mills, and wife of James Mills, the handyman at the Church of Saint John the Evangelist.  Her body was found beside that of the Reverend Edward Hall, the rector of the Church of Saint John the Evangelist. The priest was shot once in the face. His calling card had been carefully placed against his shoe. The star witness: Jane Gibson, a farmer (denigrated as 'the pig woman') who rode to the crime scene on her mule, Jenny.

Incompetent cops, political operatives, and the poorest and most powerful families in New Jersey were all swallowed in the circus that followed. Thinkery & Verse, working with the Church of Saint John the Evangelist, now present THOU SHALT NOT, a nightmare narrative seen through the perspective of Charlotte Mills, a young woman desperate to find her mother's murderer. 

THOU SHALT NOT is a theatrical exploration of real events. As a guest of Charlotte Mills, the audience will meet Reverend Edward Hall, Mrs. Frances Hall, Eleanor Mills and all the main players of New Brunswick in 1922. The audience will be guided through the dark and surreal  events leading to (and following) the vicious murders of "the minister and the choir singer," and the "circus" that surrounded it. THOU SHALT NOT is a re-assessment of history, an interrogation of the complicity of a community, and the sharp revival of a young woman's voice long since silenced. The staging of this play will be site-specific, peripatetic and immersive.

Thinkery & Verse has received an invitation to perform the play at the Center at Park West as a part of their spring residency. Performances will take place during the last two weeks of May, 2020. The venue is perfect for the play: it is a performance space adapted from the West Park Presbyterian historic church. The Center at West Park is a secular, 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization. Thinkery & Verse is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, an umbrella not-for-profit that supports artists. 

ARTISTS MAKE ART. BUT CAN THEY AVOID BANKRUPTCY?
Because they are  newcomers to the NYC market, Thinkery & Verse cannot count on ticket sales to defer all the expenses of the production.   

Costs include: 

Thinkery & Verse always stays on budget. Whether crossing the ocean for the Edinburgh Fringe for Bride of the Gulf, creating polarizing new work like Dionysus in America, or workshopping a new musical like Rita, the Cleaning Lady, Thinkery & Verse strives to make your investment in art beautiful and meaningful. 

All donated funds will be used to make life a little more bearable for the artists involved. The team believes in this project, and they have already sacrificed a lot to tell this story: but let's give them a hand. 

SPECIAL THANKS to each of you, you incorruptible souls of humanity’s twilight.