A series of staged readings by established and new playwrights is opening in Jersey City at what the Jersey City Theater Center hopes will be an annual New Play Festival.
Readings are scheduled through March 25 at the Merseles Theater, 339 Newark Ave., Jersey City. The festival is the product of a partnership between JCTC and the Writers Theatre of New Jersey.
The festival opens Thursday, Feb. 9, with “Fourth Planet” by Dano Madden. It’s about an astronaut deciding between relationships on earth and becoming the first woman on Mars.
“As a presenting venue, JCTC is committed to nurturing new voices in American theatre,” said Olga Levina, artistic director, in a press release. “It is urgent, because of the times we live in now, that we listen to each other so can we fully analyze our current situation and build our future together. These playwrights represent the voices of people from a cross-section of society.”
“We need a theater that is inclusive, that enables audiences to listen to voices from many different theaters. With the New Play Festival, we are bringing plays of artistic excellence so audiences can experience quality work, many of which seem destined to become full-scale productions,” she said.
“The New Play Festival at JCTC provides a valuable new play development opportunity for local playwrights.,” said Lia Romeo, new play reading coordinator. “Before new plays come to the stage in a full production, it’s incredibly helpful for playwrights to hear them in front of an audience in a “reading” format, and get a sense of what’s working and what isn’t. It also provides an opportunity for audience members to give feedback and get involved with the development of a new work of art.”
John Pietrowski, artistic director, Writers Theatre of New Jersey, said that “March is Women’s History Month, and the plays Writers Theatre are offering as part of the New Play Festival celebrate the resilience and determination of women; from the large historical canvas of the Paterson Silk Strikes, to the quiet fortitude that holds a family together in Newark during the Depression and World War II, to women incarcerated in the American prison system, or struggling to find a spiritual and moral center against impossible odds.”
The next reading is March 8, at 7:30 p.m., when “Paterson Falls,” by Rosemary McLaughlin, will be read. This is the play investigates the Paterson Silk Strikes in 1912-13. Rosemary McLaughlin is a NJSCA Literary Fellow in Playwriting and this reading is part of the Literary Artist Fellowship Award.
For a complete schedule of the plays, all of which are free ($5 donation requested) is available at jctcenter.org.
Meanwhile, JCTC is continuing it’s Borderless series with the premier of “BLACKOUT,” a No Peeking Theatre production that takes a multifaceted look at the African-American experience through a unique, and immersive theatre experience.
“BLACKOUT” runs Feb. 17-19, at Merseles Studios. Performances are at 8 p.m. Feb. 17 and 18 and at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Feb. 19.
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