Playwrights Theatre Announces is 25th Anniversary Benefit 9/17

Playwrights Theatre will host a benefit celebrating 25 years of creativity and community on September 17, 2011, from 6:00pm-9:00pm at the Hartley-Dodge Memorial Building, 30 Kings Road, Madison, NJ. Tickets are $75.00 and can be purchased by calling 973-514-1787 x10 or online through Eventbrite http://ptnj25.eventbrite.com.

The evening's honorees include: Lawrence S. Feinsod, Executive County Superintendent, Essex County, Jeannie Tsukamoto, Council Member, Madison Borough Council, Lisa Ellis, President, Madison Board of Education, Dave Carver and Playwrights Theatre's Champion Girls Softball Team, Arthur Wilson, Poet/Playwright/Teaching Artist, and Shamsuddin Abdul-Hamid, 2010 NJ State Poetry Out Loud Champion.

It will feature new ten-minute plays by Improbable Playwrights Hon. Jon M. Bramnick, NJ State Assemblyman and Hon. Mary-Anna Holden, Mayor of Madison. There will be also be a collaborative play written by the evening's attendees and performed by professional actors.

Additionally, the entertainment will also include music from Jerry Vezza, songs performed by Sahirah Johnson with Jane Keitel and a special performance from The MoMs (from MoM A Rock Concert Musical).

There will be a plethora of unique and interesting gift baskets to bid on featuring donations from Madison business as well as some surprise items from playwrights, directors and actors that have graced Playwrights Theatre's stage.

"We're really looking forward to gathering our friends, community supporters, and fellow artists around us to celebrate our quarter century of arts education and new play development servIce To Madison, the State of New Jersey, and beyond," said John Pietrowski, Playwrights Theatre's Artistic Director. "The evening will reflect our commitment to professional theatre, student achievement through the arts and creativity in and for the community. And the beautiful Hartley Dodge Memorial, one of the glorious symbols of Madison, will serve as our backdrop."

The event is hosted by Playwrights Theatre's Board of Directors Gene Ciccone (Maplewood), John Bodnar (Madison), Leanna Brown (Chatham), Anthony Buscetti (Teaneck), Richard Dalba, P.A. (Chester), Edward K. DeHope (Madison), Lester W. Faulkner, Jr. (Mendham), Rebecca Fields (Madison), Judah Skoff (Hoboken).

About Playwrights Theatre:

Founded in 1986, Playwrights Theatre is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit professional theatre and arts education institution dedicated to developing and nurturing the dramatic imagination of artists, students, and audiences. Our New Play Program creates development opportunities for professional writers through readings, workshops and productions, and invites audiences to participate in authentic feedback experiences. Our New Jersey Writers Project, Poetry Out Loud, New Jersey Young Playwrights Contest and Festival, and Creative Arts Academy programs provide a comprehensive and hands-on arts education experience to over 31,000 students, Pre-K through adult.

Writers in the New Play Program are drawn from across the country, including our affiliation with the National New Play Network, a nation-wide group of theatres dedicated to the development and production of new work. Teaching Artists in our Education Programs are professional artists working in their field in the New Jersey, New York, and Philadelphia metropolitan areas. From 2003-2012, we have been designated a Major Arts Institution by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts (along with only five other theatres: The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, George Street Playhouse, McCarter Theatre Center, Two River Theatre, and Paper Mill Playhouse) as "an anchor institution that contributes vitally to the quality of life in New Jersey."

Funding for our activities comes from: the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the F.M. Kirby Foundation, Inc., Bank of America, the Bay and Paul Foundation, The Bickford Foundation, Dramatist Guild Fund, Horizon Foundation of New Jersey, The Prudential Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Travelers, The Victoria Foundation, and many corporations, foundations and individuals.

Playwrights Theatre is a member of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance, the National New Play Network, and Madison Arts & Culture Alliance.

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