Put on a blindfold and join the No Peeking Theatre for a night of immersive experiences at Jersey City Theater Center beginning Friday.
The production titled “Blackout,” was inspired by the Black Lives Movement and the racially tinged rhetoric of the 2016 presidential election, according to a press release from JCTC.
Amanda Levie, executive director of No Peeking Theatre, wanted to develop a new production to launch during Black History Month. Through social media and other networks, Levie asked for writing of any genre whose subject matter dealt with the experience of being black in America, the release said.
She described the response as nearly overwhelming. The submissions were transformed to 90 minutes of immersive theater. The subject matter concerns a cross-section of the African Diaspora, ranging from the Black American experience, to stories about recent African immigrants and about the Afro-Caribbean immigrants. “Blackout” challenges audiences to rethink their preconceptions of race, inclusion and prejudice, both social and personal, the release said.
“Blackout” was written by Chima Chikazunga, Andrea Clinton, Ashley Bivins Eural, Justin Green, Siiyara Nelson, Tokunboh Talabi, Courtney Wheeler and wendelin.
The cast includes Nerissa Tutiven, Mariah Ralph, Nadege Matteis, Mike Anthony, Bernard L. White, Deidre Benton, Jayna Strong and Alex Poage.
No Peeking, founded in 2012, offers theater that is sensory and experiential. Audience members are given blindfolds to wear and as they listen to the actors, stage hands create ambient sounds and music, different scents and aromas and even provide objects and surfaces to touch.
“Blackout,” which is part of JCTC’s “Borderless” series, will be performed Friday, Feb. 17 and Saturday, Feb. 18 at 8 p.m., and Sunday Feb. 19 at 3 and 7 p.m. at Merseles Studios, 339 Newark Avenue, Jersey City.
Tickets are $20, or $10 Students and seniors with an ID. For more information or to purchase tickets visit: jctcenter.org.
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