The College of New Jersey School of the Arts and Communication presents Kea and the Ark, March 1–2, 2025, at the Don Evans Black Box Theater in Kendall Hall. Through electric cello, puppetry, movement, and storytelling, White Box Theatre—led by acclaimed artist-in-residence Sebastienne Mundheim—tells the true story of Kea Tawana, a resilient public artist who spent 20 years building a 20-ton ark in Newark, New Jersey.

Kea and the Ark explores Kea’s journey as she single-handedly constructed an ark using materials from the homes of her displaced neighbors—a protest against the urban renewal policies that uprooted her community. Her life resonates with today’s struggles for fair housing, community dignity, and creative persistence.

“Kea and the Ark is a portrait of resilience,” says Mundheim. “How do we stay resourceful, visionary, and hopeful? Kea’s story gets us thinking about that. You also really fall in love with her as a character—she is hilarious and irreverent.”

Kea was created by a team of multidisciplinary artists, including OBIE and Barrymore Award–winning collaborators.

Their performance transforms the stage into an imaginative world that blurs the lines between history and mythology.

“I first saw the work at ArtYard and immediately imagined it traveling down the Delaware River to The College of New Jersey,” says Pamela Barnett, dean of The College of New Jersey School of the Arts and Communication. “It is a compelling New Jersey story that reflects on themes we study as academics. Our school’s mission entails fostering creativity, and each year, we invite artists-in-residence to challenge and inspire our community.” In addition to the performance, Mundheim will install a show of puppets in a campus gallery and meet with Visual and Performing Arts students.

Kea and the Ark was originally commissioned by ArtYard in Frenchtown, New Jersey, and premiered to sold-out audiences there in 2023. Since then, the show has enraptured audiences at Theatre Exile in Philadelphia and Delaware Contemporary in Wilmington in 2024, and twice at the Kohler Foundation in Wisconsin in 2023.

Performances will be held March 1–2 at 2 p.m in the Don Evans Black Box Theater in Kendall Hall, The College of New Jersey, 2000 Pennington Road, Ewing, NJ 08618.