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Georgica Pettus Premieres Play 'Truck' at MoMA PS1

artist · 2026-06-25

Playwright Georgica Pettus, 28, will premiere her new play 'Truck' at MoMA PS1 in Queens on June 27. The play is set at a used car dealership in Liberty, Texas, in 2021, centered on a 'Hands on a Hardbody' endurance competition where the last person touching a truck wins it. Pettus, who studied art rather than drama, wrote the play over a year and a half, drawing inspiration from a 1997 documentary of the same name. The play features eight characters and an original score by composer Marcello Palazzo, a 27-year-old wunderkind in the London Symphony Orchestra Young Composers Program. Pettus's previous plays include '4,000 Dollars,' written in a week about her own financial struggles. She describes 'Truck' as a period piece exploring relationships, chance, and America in 2021.

Key facts

  • Georgica Pettus is 28 years old.
  • Her play 'Truck' premieres at MoMA PS1 in Queens on June 27.
  • The play is set at a used car dealership in Liberty, Texas, in 2021.
  • It involves a 'Hands on a Hardbody' competition where the last person touching the truck wins it.
  • Pettus was inspired by a 1997 documentary 'Hands on a Hardbody'.
  • She wrote the play over a year and a half.
  • The play has eight characters: Mike, Will, Carla, Georgie, Partly, an announcer, and two salesmen.
  • The original score is by Marcello Palazzo, a 27-year-old composer in the London Symphony Orchestra Young Composers Program.
  • Pettus's background is in art school, not drama school.
  • Her first play, '4,000 Dollars,' was about her own lack of money.

Entities

Artists

  • Georgica Pettus
  • Marcello Palazzo
  • Jim Fletcher
  • Natasha Simchowitz

Institutions

  • MoMA PS1
  • London Symphony Orchestra Young Composers Program
  • CULTURED

Locations

  • Queens
  • New York City
  • United States
  • Liberty
  • Texas
  • West Coast
  • East Coast

Sources