Free Staged Reading of SMOKE Comes to Jersey City

Jersey City Theater Center, in partnership with I Love Greenville, Jersey City Public Library, and Greenville Arts Crossroads present a staged reading of Zelda Patterson's Smoke, directed by Ravin Patterson. Smoke will premiere at Jersey City Free Public Library/ Earl A. Morgan Branch (1841 John F. Kennedy Blvd, Jersey City, NJ 07305) on Saturday, July 22, 2023 at 2:00PM. Tickets are free and available at www.JCTCenter.org. 
 

Smoke is a full-length play about Alana Phillips, a young white girl who enters a psychiatric institution burdened with her brash, angry, manipulative, and racist feelings. She encounters her newfound caregivers of recent African descent, who carry their own preconceived notions of patients diagnosed with psychiatric illnesses. Alana is committed and is forced by law to stay and take the treatment that others feel will bring her into compliance with the rest of the world. She is also told the state has stopped allowing patients to smoke while committed to the institution, one of the small pleasures Alana engages in and is determined to keep.  However, she must comply with this mandate first if she expects to be discharged.  
 

"July is National Minority Mental Health Month, a time that reminds us of the profound impact of storytelling and the healing arts,” said Olga Levina, Executive Director. “At Jersey City Theater Center, we thrive to serve our diverse community with food for the soul- the arts, weaving connections and fostering unity. With unwavering support from I Love Greenville and Healthier Jersey City, Department of Health and Human Services, we bring this reading to the Public Library, Morgan Branch, ensuring that people of diverse backgrounds have unhindered access to the magical healing power of storytelling. Written by Zelda Patterson, a gifted playwright and a medical professional from New Jersey, this play holds the potential to shine truth on the state of our health care and, by doing so, bridge the divides between communities. We must prioritize the invaluable gifts of listening, sharing, and healing together. We shall discover immense strength in these collective moments and heal together as one community."

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