Crossroads Theatre Company Kicks Off Town Talks Conversations This Month

As part of Crossroads Theatre Company's platform to educate and engage audiences locally, regionally and nationally, it will kick off it's Town Talks series with a two-part conversation on topics pertinent to the state of our country's affairs before and after the 2020 election.

The conversations, which will be recorded live at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NBPAC) with a limited audience comprised of Crossroads members and streamed for public viewing, are being co-presented by the NAACP of New Brunswick.

In addition to virtual encore productions being offered, Crossroads 2020-2021 season includes eight Town Talks that are public conversations to address the burning topics and questions impacting our communities today. The Town Talks will stream two to four weeks every month from October 2020 to April 2021.

The first part of the inaugural Town Talks conversation, entitled Our Responsibility to the Vote, will be streamed from October 28 to November 3, 2020 from the Crossroads Theatre Company website. The second part, The Day After Conversations, will stream from November 5 to November 15. Noted New Jersey statewide lobbyist and public affairs consultant Jeannine Frisby LaRue will moderate the first public conversation. "I am honored to be a part of Crossroads' continuing and unapologetic voice to raise awareness about the VOTE, said LaRue. "I am additionally proud to contribute to any effort to keep the voices of ancestors alive and relevant in tandem with the causes being lifted today that fuel our spirits and compel us to teach, enlighten and motivate," LaRue added. Panelists include long-time civil rights activist Ruby Sales; Middlesex Country Freeholder Shanti Narra; Rev. Dr. Charles F. Boyer, Founding Director of Salvation and Social Justice; and Aaron Greene, Esq. Associate Counsel of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice.

The Day After Conversations will be led by Crossroads Co-Founder Ricardo Khan who will be joined by veteran artists, up and coming activists and today's drum majors for justice.

This Town Talks event will be segmented into three parts: Looking Back: Reflections from the American theatre; Contemporary Activism: The Struggle Continues; and Dangerous Waters: Raising and Protecting the Next Generation. "Art inspires transformation and ignites change," said Khan who created the Town Talks series to" highlight the historic role the arts have played to bring social change."

Launching Crossroads Town Talks series is a very fitting tribute to the late Congressman John Lewis, among the original drum majors or justice," said Anthony Carter, President of Crossroads Board of Trustees. Carter reminds us of the importance Lewis placed on the arts as an influencer and documenter of history with a quote from Lewis that says "without the arts, without music, without dance, without drama, without photography, the civil rights movement would have been like a bird without wings."

To register for Town Talks and for more information about Crossroads 2020-2021 season, please visit ww.crossroadstheatrecompany.org.

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