“Faces of Freedom is a vivid theatrical experience, using both an ensemble and monologues, to tell the true stories of the young immigrants of today and yesterday. Moving fluidly from past to present and back again, the play interweaves Maria's journey to America in 1907 with Tron's escape from death and imprisonment as a Vietnamese boat person in 1978. Against this backdrop, we meet the newest immigrants: Halima, whose family fled the Taliban; Vida, who is trying to find the courage to cross the first city street she has ever seen; Juana, whose fast-food counter is her passport to a better world; Carlos, whose skill with a soccer ball is his entry into a new school; Elena and Luis, a sister and brother from Mexico, who are each inventing their own ways to cope with a suddenly unfamiliar life; Semir, a young Bosnian boy, who can only find peace of mind at Dunkin’ Donuts. In seeing their stories, we see reflected our family's story of coming to America, and we learn—perhaps for the first time—the story of our newest neighbors, all of different cultures, facing risks and challenges, yet all of us united in our search for freedom. All of us Americans.”--Dramatic Publishing

This piece was first performed at TCHS in the 2019-2020 school year. After a fall performance and an additional three showings to the student body, the theatre program was asked to put Faces of Freedom into rotation due to the relevance this play has in our diverse community.

The theatre program at Trenton Central High School has three major components: the CTE theatre program, the International Thespian Society, and the After School program. The Career and Technical Education (CTE) program for general theatre at Trenton Central High School is designed to prepare students for professional theatre. Being one of the younger CTE programs at TCHS, we are developing this program with our partners at McCarter Theatre, Passage Theatre, and Princeton University.  The International Thespian Society is an honor society for theatrical excellence. Any TCHS student can earn points to be inducted into the honor society. The after school program allows students who are not a part of the CTE to still express themselves through theatre. 

This production uses students from all three components of theatre at TCHS.