Playwright Pia Wilson to Deliver New Play for Yendor Theatre Company's Summer Season

Award-winning playwright and Newark Native, Pia Wilson, has written a new play for Yendor Theatre Company's Neighborhood Theatre Initiative. Formally launched in 2019, the Neighborhood Theatre Initiative, brings free, fully-staged, professional theatrical productions directly to community members by activating spaces throughout the city's neighborhoods.

"I'm excited to work with Yendor again, bringing new work to the community I'm proud to be a part of. Newark has such an amazing history, but in this work, I'm thinking about the future," Wilson said.

The new play, recently completed, will have a full casting call in Newark and be produced with professional actors, designers and director. Producing this new play will employ over two dozen professional artists and reach over 500 audience members. Wilson, a Traveling Master for Dramatist Guild Foundation, is no stranger to Yendor Theatre Company; she was previously commissioned to write an original play, Down Neck, to celebrate Newark's 350th Anniversary, with an initial reading at The New Jersey Performing Arts Center in 2016 and a world premiere production at the Newark Riverfront in 2017. The play directed by Yendor Theatre Company (YTC)'s Founding Artistic Director, the late Rodney Gilbert, highlighted the diverse racial and ethnic history of the Ironbound section of the City, the richness of Newark's Jazz scene and the city's sports history as the home for the Negro League baseball team, The Eagles.

"Pia is such a masterful storyteller so I was very excited that she said yes to writing for us this year; her being from Newark and already being so familiar with Yendor Theatre Company is just the icing on the cake" says current Artistic Director, Andrew Binger, on commissioning Wilson. Wilson's newest play with YTC, Eternal City, will be staged at outdoor spaces this August, with productions planned for all five wards of Newark, a tradition YTC prioritizes. Since inception, YTC has staged theatre presentations and productions at various locations throughout the City of Newark, including the Newark Museum of Art, Newark Symphony Hall, Lincoln Park and the Newark Public Library. Last summer's play, In the Middle of the Mess by Paris Crayton III, was directed by Newark theatre artist, Alicia Whavers, and also staged in all five wards of the City.

The production featured professional actors from NYC/NJ and local Newark High School students, which creates a pipeline for local youth to explore career paths in the arts.

"Newark is an amazing arts town, and Yendor is a wonderful arts organization. I am one happy artist! Looking forward to sharing this play with the community," Wilson said.

For more information on this summer production be sure to follow Yendor Theatre Company on Instagram (@ yendortheatrecompany).

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