Sacrifice Zones is written as a meditation on the 85-mile corridor that stretches from Baton Rouge down to New Orleans known as Cancer Alley. It holds the most densely concentrated collection of petrochemical and fossil fuel operations in the western hemisphere. Residents of the some eleven parishes suffer the health effects of industrial pollution. Parts of this area have the highest risk of cancer from air pollution in the United States. Cancer Alley is but one area, albeit a critical one, of many classified as a sacrifice zone, a geographical area that has undergone permanent environmental change due to locally unwanted land use.

This work blends elements of violence and despair with glimpses of hope and a call to action across eleven distinct sections embodying the eleven parishes of Cancer Alley and the residents thereof. This work is written for The Versipel Collective and was premiered on May 21st, 2026 at the New Marigny Theatre in New Orleans, Louisiana.