Mercedes Murphy, founder of the Williamsburg-based Théâtre Trouvé, appears to be of the same school as French director and theater philosopher Antonin Artaud: she seeks to create art that will jolt spectators out of complacency and numbness and into contact with what is essentially true, painful, and universal in the human experience.

Since September 11th, a cultural shift has occured in which the theatre has become – more than usual – the staging ground for angst about our country’s political situation.