DEVELOPMENTS
News from Playwrights Theatre
Vol. 21, Issue 3 - 2007MUSING OVER MIRACLES
Random Notes from the First Four Days of RehearsalSince time and newsletter deadlines wait for no man, and because we started rehearsal a week earlier than usual, I offer these notes from the very early rehearsal process. Undigested and unadorned.
Tuesday: We are in the middle of rehearsal for Sherry Kramer’s one-woman play, When Something Wonderful Ends, at a point early in the play when the character says “My mother brought flowers to her mother’s grave, and now I’m doing it for her. It’s a frail, magical ritual, a bit like performing a miracle-- doing something beautiful for the dead.” And then, in a few lines, she says “every single time I feel the willfulness of the miracle, I see that the impossible is ordinary and everyday and right in front of me, just around the tiny corners of this world there is always this possibility of contact with the unseen, with the divine...” Hey! Suddenly, we’re talking a lot about miracles. Well, we have to stop and figure this out. While we’re figuring out about the miracles, our stage manager runs off to a computer, comes back with a printout, a definition of miracle-- “derived from the old Latin word miraculum meaning... ‘something wonderful.’ Huh? Oh, we get it. Sneaky playwright. Hiding things right in the title.
Wednesday: We move on. Much of this play is about small miracles and the presence of the divine, how that presence makes itself known, gets sensed and interpreted. It is also about how we use oil and the places that contain the oil. It is also about Barbie and her 59 outfits, and how she came into existence. And about being Jewish in Springfield Missouri, which is the home of “Baptist Bible College, Central Bible College, and Evangel College.” But it is not a lecture, we discover, it is about someone who had an epiphany after the death of a parent, and is sharing that epiphany with us (We print out the definition of epiphany-- “a sudden recognition that changes the view of one’s self or social condition, often sparking a reversal or change of heart”). And as with all things recently understood, the understanding is a process. The change of heart is viewed with wonder, a little trepidation, and-- lots of humor. We like this, especially the humor. Laughing in rehearsal is good.
Thursday: We are really beginning to understand that so many large things start with something very small, things that at first blush may seem insignificant or inconspicuous. A chain reaction of cause and effect is set off, or similar events gain a critical mass, and then, there they are, looming large. It happens with Barbie clothes, photos of flowers, Status of Forces Agreements, automobiles. We understand that sometimes we are not aware that our original naive impulses lead us to places we don’t want to be and we discover ourselves in the middle of things we don’t know how to get out of.
Friday: Towards the end of the play. We’re talking about mother again. Her endless kindness. A word occurs to me. Another Latin word. Caritas (print out definition-- unlimited loving-kindness towards all others). I write a note in the margins: “Her mother, devoutly connected to her Judaism, managed to transcend the dogma, and connected through her religion to something elemental, to something that the best part of all religious constructs share-- kindness, generosity, love (find Paul/Corinthians, I think) Real love is courageous; it acknowledges faults, it judges itself and others, it is not stupid or naive, but after all of the judging is done, it still finds a way to exist. This is a profound intellectual exercise, a profound emotional exercise, a profound spiritual exercise -- easily overlooked, easily cheapened. We must work not to cheapen this.
PLAYWRIGHTS THEATRE NAMED A MAJOR ARTS INSTITUTION BY NEW JERSEY STATE COUNCIL ON THE ARTSWe are honored that for the years 2007-2010 the New Jersey State Council on the Arts (NJSCA) has again designated Playwrights Theatre as a Major Arts Institution. This means that the Council considers Playwrights Theatre to be "an anchor institution that contributes vitally to the quality of life in New Jersey" (only one of five professional theatres in the state so designated). This is the Council’s highest and most prestigious award. Playwrights Theatre has been so designated since 2003.
Left to Right : David A. Miller, Executive Director NJSCA; Carol A. Herbert, Chair NJSCA; Assemblyman Eric Munoz (M.D.); Germaine B. Trabert, NJSCA Council Member; John A. Pietrowski, Artistic Director, Playwrights Theatre of NJ; Assemblyman Jon M. Bramnick; Senator Thomas H. Kean Jr.
EDUCATION SCOOP...
From Madison to the entire state of NJCreative Arts Academy
Playwrights Theatre's Creative Arts Academy teaches over 500 children, teens and adults at the Madison location in acting, playwriting, musical theatre, private coaching and more. Whether you are looking to develop your dramatic imagination, improve your communication skills or just learn something new, Playwrights Theatre has fun and interesting classes all year long.
Summer Theatre Camp for Kids • Summer Theatre Program for Teens • Summer Classes for Adults
The Full-Day Theatre Academy (Monday through Friday, 9:30 am – 4:30 pm) is designed for grades 4-6 and 7-9. Students work with a team of artists and alternate daily through classes in acting technique, musical performance, play production, and playwriting. Students explore each skill and learn how to weave the various elements together into an engaging, original performance piece presented to family and friends. Tuition is $595 per two-week session and a multiple student or multiple session discount is available. Each session concludes with a presentation for family and friends.
The Two-Week, Half-Day Summer Camp sessions are an opportunity for students at all levels of experience to bring their imagination to life, while practicing basic performance and writing skills. Tuition is $275 per two-week session and multiple student, multiple session and returning student discounts are available. Each session concludes with a presentation for family and friends. The morning session (Monday through Friday, 9:30 am – 12:30pm) classes include: Playmakers (grades 1-3), Acting Lab (grades 4-6), Musical Performance (grades 4-6) and the Creative Play class (ages 4 & 5) which meets (Monday through Friday, 9:30 – 11:30am) and the tuition for this class is $250. The afternoon session (Monday through Friday, 1:30 pm – 4:30pm) classes include: Playmakers (grades 1-3), The 2-Week Play (grades 4-6), and Playwriting Lab (grades 4-6).The Summer Theatre Half-Day Program for teens is an opportunity for students at all levels of experience to discover new facets of creativity while developing their theatrical skills. Tuition is $275 per two-week session and multiple student, multiple session and returning student discounts are available. Each session concludes with a presentation for family and friends. Classes are Monday through Friday, 1:30 – 4:30 pm and include The 2-Week Play (grades 7-9), Acting Workshop (grades 10-12), Playwriting Workshop (grades 7-9 and 10-12), Musical Performance (grades 7-9), Poetry (grades 7-9 and 10-12) and Acting for the Camera (grades 7-9 and 10-12). The Acting Workshop (grades 7-9) meets Monday through Friday, 9:30 – 12:30pm. Other specialty classes may be offered over the summer and will be announced on the website www.ptnj.org and via email updates.
New! Summer Classes for Adults in Playwriting, Acting and Poetry. Additional classes may also be offered. Be sure to check the website for additional information or call the Education Department at (973) 514-1787 X21.In addition to traditional enrollment where students take one session at a time, the Creative Arts Academy is offering a Creative Arts Academy Degree Program for both children and teens. The Degree Program is a complete Creative Education where students can matriculate and earn credits towards a Creative Arts Academy Degree. Students will receive a complete creative education with a professional theatre that is nationally recognized for its artist and educational excellence. The Creative Arts Academy Degree Program assists in the artistic, academic and emotional development of its students.
For exact dates and times of each class, descriptions and to register, visit the education page of our website.
Poetry Out Loud
Last year, The National Endowment for the Arts, the nation's largest annual funder of the arts, and the Poetry Foundation, the nation's largest literary nonprofit, partnered with the New Jersey State Council on the Arts to inaugurate Poetry Out Loud: National Recitation Contest.
Poetry Out Loud (POL) builds on the recent resurgence of poetry as an oral art form, as demonstrated by the slam poetry movement and the immense popularity of rap music among our youth. The program encourages the nation's youth to learn about great poetry through memorization and performance, which help students master public speaking skills, build self-confidence, and learn about our literary heritage.
The New Jersey State Council on the Arts partnered with Playwrights Theatre to launch NJ's Poetry Out Loud Residency Program. This unique pilot program engaged over 500 students in 7 high schools across the State in a hands-on, process-based arts residency with professional poets and performance artists. The residency was followed by a series of contests—Classroom, School, State and National—that encouraged students to strive for excellence and allowed the broader community to be impacted by the beauty of poetry and reacquaint them to its relevance in so many areas of our lives.
This year, while ten high schools in NJ are being invited to participate in a POL residency with Playwrights Theatre, every high school in the State will be able to organize their own POL contest. Starting at the classroom level, teachers are provided with free multimedia curriculum materials – a poetry anthology, audio guide, teachers' guide, posters, and comprehensive website, www.poetryoutloud.org, all aligned to national standards – to augment their regular poetry curriculum with poetry recitation and a school-level competition. School-level recitation champions advance to regional contests. Those regional finalists advance to the state final, then the state champion advances to the national contest in Washington, DC. In 2006, Poetry Out Loud awarded over $100,000 in prizes to students and schools at the state and national levels.The State Final was held on Thursday, March 22 at NJN studios in Trenton. The 2007 National Finals will be held at George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium in Washington, DC on April 30 & May 1, 2007.
The Regional Poetry Out Loud Winners were:Region I - South Jersey
Kaylee Bruckler - *Absegami High School, Galloway
Sandy Lamplugh - Williamstown High School, WilliamstownRegion II--Central Jersey
Cyree Johnson - *Piscataway High School, Piscataway - State Runner Up
Mary Merwitz - Villa Victoria Academy, EwingRegion III---North Jersey
Naja Selby - *Arts High School, Newark - State Winner!
Inkoo Kang - *Madison High School, Madison* Poetry Out Loud Residency School
If you would like your school to participate in New Jersey's regional and state competitions next year, or are interested in further information, please visit http://www.jerseyarts.com/and click on the Poetry Out Loud link. Please note that the sign up deadline for this year’s participation was November 1, 2006. If you are interested in finding out more about the POL residency program contact Alysia Souder, Director of Education at 973.514.1787 ext. 15New Jersey Young Playwrights Festival
The 24th Annual New Jersey Young Playwrights Contest Festival will be held on April 30 and May 1 as part of a partnership between Playwrights Theatre and Premiere Stages at Kean University.
The plays will be presented at the Wilkins Theatre at Kean University on Monday, April 30 at 10am for the Elementary and Junior High division winners and on Tuesday, May 1 at 10 am for the High School division winners’ plays. The readings will feature professional actors and directors and reservations can be made by calling the Wilkins Theatre Box Office at (908) 737-7469. Admission to the readings is free, but reservations are suggested, as seating is limited.
YOU CAN HELP...
Supporting a non-profit theatre company will make you feel all warm and fuzzy
Want a tax break? Want to feel like you made a difference in the world? Want to see your name in our programs? Playwrights Theatre and its many programs cannot operate on ticket sales and corporate giving along. We rely on the community and individual supporters like you to help sustain our New Play Development and Education programs.Please consider one of these many ways to support our work. We depend on YOU!
Direct Donation
Make a direct donation to Playwrights Theatre. You can donate by cash, check or credit card. Donations are made even easier by going through our web-site www.ptnj.org. These gifts can be designated towards a certain program or used for general operating expenses.
Annual Bowl-a-Thon fundraiser
Participate in the Playwrights theatre fundraising event “Pins for Playwrights”. Be a bowler and gather your own pledges, or be a backer and support another bowler. Enjoy the party!
Matching Gifts
Many corporations/employers will match your donation. You can find a list of participating companies in our playbill or on our website. Ask your company if they match, and make your donation a greater gift.
Tribute/Memorial Gifts
Make donations as gifts for weddings, birthdays or any special occasion to support Playwrights Theatre, or make a gift in memory of a departed Playwrights Theatre supporter. The person honored, or their family, will receive a personalized card stating a contribution has been made in their name. These gifts are a wonderful way to honor someone who loves the arts.
Estate/Beneficiary Designation
Consider leaving a legacy gift. What better way to ensure arts and arts education for the next generation than to name Playwrights Theatre as a beneficiary on your life insurance, will or IRA. This is a wonderful way to make a major gift.Gifts of Property, Auto, Boats
Securities
Convey your stock as a donation. Playwrights Theatre offers many benefits to those who donate. Please check our website to see the tiered privileges that are available. Ask your financial advisor to assist you on the best method of donating. We can quickly provide all the necessary information to make a wire transfer to our investment account.Playwrights Theatre is a 501(c) 3 not for profit organization. All donations are tax deductible within the limits of the law.
STAGE DIRECTIONS...
The playwrights and teaching artists we've worked with continue to do amazing things
Diane Lockward (New Jersey Writers Project Poetry Teaching Artist) at Grandview Elementary School in North Caldwell, Ridgewood Avenue Upper Elementary School in Glen Ridge, and Forest Avenue Elementary School in Glen Ridge will be a featured poet in the spring issue of Valparaiso Poetry Review, an online journal.The Good German playwright, David Wiltse, had a premiere of his new farce, Hatchetman, in January at Florida Stage.
2nd Annual BowL-a-THON…
Bowling rocks when you come to this event
The 2nd Annual PINS FOR PLAYWRIGHTS...Spare a Dime...Bowl-a-Thon to benefit the educational and new play development efforts for Playwrights Theatre is just around the corner. SAVE THE DATE!!! May 2007All proceeds support will support our efforts in:
• Education-Outreach programs, such as the Madison Young Playwrights Festival, New Jersey Writers Project and Creative Arts Academy
• Productions such as: The Good German, Where the Sun Never Sets and When Something Wonderful Ends
• General operating costs
You can register as an individual or gather some friends to form a team. Information can be found on our website. Check out the video from last year’s event.
ROUNDTABLE READINGS...
Last chance of the season to be part of the processBe a part of the process! Join us as professional writers, actors and directors present rehearsed readings of a brand new script and then participate in a post-show discussion. Many of the mainstage productions you see at Playwrights Theatre (including this year’s The Good German) originally began as a roundtable reading. Admission to the readings is free, but reservations are required; and a donation of $10 is requested at the door.
A weekend full of free readings of new works from some of the country’s most exciting writers! The last Roundtable Reading Series for the season will be May 17-19, 2007.
Peter Scolari, Jake Speck and Ryen Herrmann in this season's
reading of Madison, by Guillermo Reyes.
Thursday, May 17 at 7:00 p.m.To The Colored American Soldier
by Alexis Camins & Rashaad Ernesto GreenAudience age: 15 & up
Breaking down the barriers of time, three sets of African American soldiers, each named Richard and William, are stationed in three separate American wars: the Philippines in 1899; Vietnam in 1968; Iraq after 2003. Richard is the private who struggles to be loyal to what he feels is a futile cause: fighting for those who hate him. William, as his commanding officer, tries to do his duty regardless. As events grow more and more complicated for both men, To The Colored American Soldier raises difficult questions about whether or not betraying one’s country is ever justified.Friday, May 18 at 7:00 p.m.
Sedition by David Wiltse
Audience age: 15 & up
From the author of this season’s smash hit, The Good German, comes a brand new political drama that is set in Nebraska during the eve of U.S. involvement in World War I. Andrew Schrag, an esteemed Head Professor of the German department, is persuaded to speak out against the war. But despite his articulate and persuasive arguments, this view soon gets him into trouble with his university, the community, and the government. Sedition is a timely play about courage, ignorance of history, and what it means to be patriotic.Saturday, May 19 at 7:00 p.m.
Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie
by Julie Jensen, based on a novel of the same name by Kristiana GregoryAppropriate for both adults and children ages 8 & up
Two girls, aged 13, Hattie and Pepper, become fast friends when they make the arduous crossing from Missouri to Oregon by wagon in 1847. In the course of their journey, the girls must grow up, facing their biggest fears and their own questionable behavior. This historical, two-character play is a coming-of-age story that celebrates the fragility of life and the resilience of the human spirit.
MAINSTAGE SEASON...
The final show of the 2006-2007 season
When Something Wonderful Ends (New Jersey Premiere)
by Sherry Kramer
April 19 - May 6, 2007
Directed by John Pietrowski
In this "one-woman one Barbie play", written specifically for the 1964 Redhead Swirl Ponytail Barbie #850, MC (Mint Condition), Sherry Kramer brilliantly manages to create a character that weaves together the 1964 SOFA (Status of Forces Agreement) with Iran, our passion for Barbie dolls and thirst for petroleum with the death of a mother. A humorous and touching tour de force by a writer coming to national prominence.
For tickets, visit www.ptnj.org or call 973/514-1787 X30.Bonnie Black as "Sherry" in
When Something Wonderful EndsGIFT CERTIFICATES...
Give the Gift of Theatre!!!
Gift certificates are a wonderful idea for Easter, birthdays, anniversaries, weddings and thank-yous. Certificates are available for our mainstage performances as well as classes at our Creative Arts Academy. Contact Jennifer DeWitt for more information, 973/514-1787 X20 or jdewitt@ptnj.org
