Interview: Jessica Phelan of JERSEY VOICES at Chatham Playhouse

The Chatham Community Players will host its 28th annual Jersey Voices One-Act Plays by New Jersey Playwrights Festival. I had the opportunity to interviewing Producer, Jessica Phelan.

What is Jersey Voices?

Jersey Voices is an annual one act festival done at Chatham Playhouse. It features the work NJ authors (either current residents or people who have been born/grown up here) and each performance is followed by a talk back where the audience has the opportunity to ask questions and hear more from the playwrights/directors/actors about the process. This is the 28th year that it has been performed. Of those 28, our 2020 festival was filmed and done in a streamed viewing, all the rest have been live in the playhouse.

Tell us about the process of assembling Jersey Voices.

We begin accepting play submissions in January. We have a committee of 7 people who read every submission (this year we got 125) and narrow it down to a top 15 plays that get sent to potential directors. Directors then submit their feedback and what they would like to direct. The producers take all that feedback and match directors with shows while trying to create a balanced evening of theater. From there we hold auditions, cast the show, have a group first read through, each director and cast breaks off and rehearses their own piece over the course of 6 weeks, we come back together for a tech week where we put the whole show together, and finally we open!

What inspired you to be a producer for this show?

I started my Jersey Voices journey as an actor in the 2012 production. I was cast in 2 pieces that year and had the best time working with the cast and creative team. In 2016, I directed a piece for Jersey Voices and loved getting to have the playwright for my piece involved in the rehearsal process. In late 2017 I approached then producer Bob Denmark about joining the play reading committee to help select the pieces. He asked me to remind him in Jan of 2018 and we would start reading. At a Christmas party in 2017 I was talking with a Chatham Board member who mentioned Bob was looking to step down as producer soon and they needed someone to take over. I had had 2 glasses of red wine and thought " I love Jersey Voices, I can produce it!". So if I had to say what inspired me to produce JV it would be the amazing experiences I had as an actor and director in previous productions...and red wine.

What do you want audiences to take away from this year's Jersey Voices?

I want audiences to see new ideas and plays that they haven't seen before. Everyone in community theater has seen Neil Simon a million times, but far less people have seen plays by Susan Brown-Peitz, whose play, Open Door, is featured in this year's JV and is the first time she has ever seen her work staged. By coming to Jersey Voices you are supporting creative talent that lives in your neighborhood. 4 of this year's 6 playwrights will be at every performance. Since submitting to us, playwright Alli Hartley-Kong has turned The Grape Nerds Reunion into a full length piece. By coming to see Jersey Voices, you are seeing developing works. We have a great balance of comedy, drama, and satire this year - plays that will make you laugh and make you think. For me, Jersey Voices is a beloved part of summer. One actor from years past even told me that "Jersey Voices is like summer Christmas".

The one acts included this year are:

• "Open Door" by Susan Brown-Peitz, Directed by Sarah DeVizio: A veterinarian's waiting room sets the scene for an unexpected conversation about grief and hope.
• "The Grape Nerds Reunion" by Alli Hartley-Kong, Directed by Sarah Pharaon: Connected by a past one of them can't remember, two classmates at their high school reunion explore the impact of choices they've made - both big and small.
• "Never More Lenore" by G. David Post, Directed by John A.C. Kennedy: Two office-mates interview a potential temporary employee. They have very different experiences when she comes in through the office door.
• "The Singing Woman" by G. David Post, Directed by Lauri MacMillan: If you told a stranger at a bus stop you were being haunted would you be ready to hear the truth?
• "The Elusive Pursuit of Maximum Bliss" by Ken Preuss, Directed by Amanda Marino: A wealthy man and a female researcher explore multiple timelines to seek the feasibility of 100% happiness.
• "Kidneys" by Devon Villacampa, Directed by Steve Ruskin: Two college students come to the University Financial Aid office when their money gets cut. There is a very nice lady there. Let's see how helpful she can be.
• "Wing Man" by Mary Jane Walsh, Directed by Joann Lopresti Scanlon and Assisted Directed by Eleanor Anderson: A woman discovers a parrot has flown into her apartment. Becoming friends, he sits on her shoulder, and she takes him into bars as an icebreaker and conversation starter.

Jersey Voices is running now through August 7th. Visit https://www.chathamplayers.org/ for tickets and more information. Chatham Playhouse is located at 23 North Passaic Avenue in Chatham New Jersey.

Photo Credit: Chatham Players

To post a comment, you must register and login.