(PATERSON, NJ) -- The Paterson Performing Arts Development Council (PPADC) has announced its 2024 Playwright-In-Residence is Susan Justiniano, also better known as RescuePoetix, who is the 2022-2024 state of New Jersey Beat Poet Laureate. Her dramatic play, By the Light of the Ghetto Moon, will be the centerstage play of PPADC's Annual Hamilton Arts Festival (HAF). Now in its fourth season, the festival runs June 13–22, 2024 and features a series of events including theatrical productions and film screenings.

By the Light of the Ghetto Moon explores a first-generation Puerto Rican woman coming to terms with her past traumas as the only girl—whose older brother gets away with everything and two younger siblings whom she is expected to take care of—growing up in patriarchal, strict, Roman Catholic, household in Paterson, NJ. Her perspectives are shared with the most consistent presence throughout her childhood, the Moon.

“It is a story that has been experienced by many of us growing up disconnected from our heritage in some ways and steeped deep within it in others,” says Justiniano. “Paterson is where I was born and raised and holds a lot of memories of my formative years,” she says, speaking of her inspiration behind writing the play. “The experiences growing up in Paterson led to a story that took a very long time to give voice to. As I learned to embrace and accept my past, I took those lessons as a foundation for changing where that story evolved to.” Her hope for people seeing the play is that they are inspired to “voice to their own stories, whether they choose to share those stories or keep them for themselves.”

Justiniano is deeply immersed in the arts across communities through collaborations and actively working in various capacities with New Jersey-based arts organizations in Paterson, Jersey City, and Oradell. She emerged as a professional artist and entrepreneur in 2006. A highly recognized published poet and spoken word artist, she has recorded over fifty original poems to music. She was named Poet Laureate of Jersey City in 2020, making her the state’s first Puerto Rican woman to hold the title. In 2022, she was named New Jersey’s Beat Poet Laureate by the National Beat Poetry Foundation. Her poetry is motivational, uplifting, and empowering, as she spins verses in both Spanish and English and weaves stories around themes of strength, growth, and love.

“Poetry is a beautiful expressive way to develop community on so many levels. One word can connect with a single person and inspire vast audiences to continue creating together. While a solitary activity, poetry is truly a public art form,” says Justiniano, who has been in love with words since the age of 9, knowing that she could “create new worlds, be part of the magic that is the written word, and now the spoken word.”

Justiniano looks forward to being a big part of the 2024 Hamilton Arts Festival. “This is a milestone dream come true! I am excited to dive into the creative process, returning to my roots and working with the incredibly dynamic team in this new capacity with PPADC.”

PPADC’s Playwright-In-Residence program provides a monetary stipend and developmental support to writers, which includes working with a dramaturg, director, and other production team members to mount a mainstage production. The residency program was created to expand the diversity of plays produced on the main stage, to generate public value through the interaction of playwrights with local communities and to foster unique narratives in the arts.

“RescuePoetix/Susan Justiniano is wildly talented and highly accomplished as an artist, so, it is of no surprise that she would add playwright to her CV,” says PPADC’s Board President Denise Womack. “The fact that her rich talent was first cultivated right here in her hometown of Paterson, NJ and her allowing us to premier her play By the Light of the Ghetto Moon on stage in Paterson is a great honor and privilege. Her work represents the artistry we want our community to know exists. We are extremely excited,” adds Womack who is a poet and serves as an arts commissioner for the City of Paterson, appointed by Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh.

“Paterson has always been a big melting pot. We know that many first, second, and third-generation Puerto Ricans have called Paterson their home since the 1950s,” adds PPADC founding Board member Carolyn M. Brown. “Our communities welcome this project because they have indicated time and again that representation matters. Seeing characters that look like them or have had similar experiences is vital to developing a sense of identity and self-worth. At PPADC, we recognize that providing inclusive and welcoming spaces is critical to fostering not only understanding but also community building and belonging,” she adds.

PPADC’s Playwright-In-Residence and Hamilton Arts Festival are made possible with funds from the Passaic County Cultural & Heritage Council, a partner of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.

The Paterson Performing Arts Development Council (PPADC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that is dedicated to fostering collaboration with other local organizations and community partners to provide increased access and opportunities to artists of diverse backgrounds. PPADC is on a mission to establish pathways for new and accomplished artists to develop new works and to offer cultural events to communities in Paterson, NJ. PPADC is an Affiliate Member of the New Jersey Theater Alliance, the country’s first statewide professional theater service organization, representing a consortium of 40 performing arts and theater companies.