On Sunday, February 7, 2021, Art House Productions hosted a panel discussion to accompany our radio play: Black Tom Island. This podcast will include excerpts from the Zoom panel, which explored the actual events of the historic Black Tom Explosion in 1916, as well as behind-the-scenes stories from the radio play’s production.

The panel featured Dr. Libby O'Connell of The History Channel and World War I Centennial Commission, Janet Akhtarshenas of Liberty State Park, John Beekman of the Jersey City Public Library, Dr. Timothy R. White of New Jersey City University, Black Tom Island playwright Martin Casella, and radio play director Darren Lee.

The panel was moderated by Jim Peskin, of the Art House Board of Trustees and an educator at Save the Ellis Island Foundation.

The Black Tom Island radio play and historical panel were made possible in part by the Hudson County History Partnership Program grant. Art House Productions is supported by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.

Art House Productions is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization committed to the development and presentation of the performing and visual arts in Jersey City, NJ. Art House Productions produces and presents original theater, events, visual arts, adult and youth arts education classes, festivals including Your Move: New Jersey’s Modern Dance Festival, the Jersey City Comedy Festival, and JC Fridays.