This Land Was Made

This Land Was Made

By Tori Sampson
Originally Produced by Vineyard Theatre, New York, NY
Dates TBA


This Land Was Made Promotional Image

Liberation. Peace. Love. Self-Defense. Oakland in 1967 is a powder keg of social activism ready to boil over into radical action. For the patrons of Miss Trish’s bar, it’s all just talking points — until the full, seductive and explosive force of the revolution walks through the door. History and imagination collide with vibrant humor and echo into our present moment in this stirring new play from Tori Sampson, playwright of The New York Times Critic’s Pick IF PRETTY HURTS, UGLY MUST BE A MUHFUCKA, directed by Obie Award-winner and Vineyard artist-in-residence Whitney White (OUR DEAR DEAD DRUG LORD).

The dates and times of this production depend on when we are allowed to re-open safely. Tickets will go on sale then and Members will be notified at the earliest possible moment to book seats.


Artistic Statement: Tori Sampson’s This Land Was Made is set in Oakland in 1967, when the city was a powder keg of social activism ready to boil over into radical action, a time in powerful conversation with our own. The play looks at the effect the rise of the Black Panther Party has on the patrons of Miss Trish’s bar. Tori’s probing and poetic imagination draws us into the deep humanity of her characters, and into a world in which anything can happen, and might have; a world grounded in reality but which can break open, physically and psychologically, to reveal the continuum of time and history within which it exists. We have been developing This Land Was Made with Tori since before the shutdown; it felt urgent then and it feels even more so now.

Grant Statement: This Land Was Made is an ambitious play with 10 actors, period and location-specific dialect, and a structure that lives both in and outside of realism. The additional rehearsal time made possible by the Edgerton Foundation will enable early exploration of the theatrical rules of the play with our creative team; full cast immersion in the history of Oakland in the late 1960’s; and a period of ensemble-building that is deeply important to the storytelling of the play. This is invaluable support for such a large and daring play and will make it possible for us to realize the vision of our artists as fully as possible.

Director: Whitney White