Playwrights Theatre Announces the 2010-2011 Season

Playwrights Theatre is proud to announce its 25th season. The 2010-2011 programming includes three mainstage productions, the popular FORUM reading series and classes for children, teens and adults at the Creative Arts Academy.

The Mainstage season is being called "What Now?" as the theatre embarks on its Silver Anniversary. It begins in September with a co-production with Premiere Stages, in partnership with Kean University Human Rights Institute. John Pietrowski directs the debut production of Tammy Ryan's Lost Boy Found In Whole Foods (appropriate for ages 11 and up). All shows will be performed at the Zella Fry Theatre on the campus of Kean University, September 2 - 19, 2010 (Press Opening: Friday, September 3 at 8:00pm). A student matinee is scheduled for Wednesday, September 8 at 10:00am. An optimistic "Lost Boy" from Sudan meets a suburban mother in desperate need of adventure. What begins as an unlikely friendship soon becomes an unbreakable bond that leads them toward a better understanding of their place in the world. A host of special events will occur in conjunction with the production and more information regarding those events can be found at http://www.kean.edu/premierestages/plays.html.

The season continues with the World Premiere of MoM A Rock Concert Musical (appropriate for ages 16 and up, adult language and situations) with book, lyrics and music by Richard Caliban, who will also direct the production. Performances will take place at Playwrights Theatre, 33 Green Village Road, in Madison, NJ. Five "soccer moms" form a rock band to play at a High School benefit. Then they get really famous. Beautiful and terrible things happen to them. MoM A Rock Concert Musical chronicles their rise and rise. The workshop production won Outstanding Musical at FringeNYC 2009. The show runs from September 30 - October 24, 2010 (Press Opening: Friday, October 1, 2010).

In association with The Growing Stage in Netcong, NJ, Playwrights Theatre will present the final show of the season, Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie by Julie Jensen, directed by John Pietrowski, which will run from November 4 - November 21, 2010 (Press Opening, Friday, November 5 at 8pm). All performances will take place at Playwrights Theatre. Migrating with their parents on the Oregon Trail in 1847, two thirteen-year old girls become fast friends as they grow up together on their humorous and harrowing journey. The Growing Stage will be touring the production throughout March and May and information can be received by contacting the theatre directly at www.growingstage.com. A student and senior matinee is scheduled for Wednesday, November 10 at 10:30am and Wednesday, November 17 at 10:30am (appropriate for ages 8 and up).

Additional student matinee performances are available upon request as well as a variety of post-show programs. School Groups receive a study guide prior to the performance and teachers can also request a copy of the script for review.

The mainstage series plays on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 3pm and select Thursdays at 3pm and 6:30pm.

The popular FORUM series (13 plays in three weeks) returns November 30 - December 18, 2010. Staged readings will engage audiences with original plays from some of the country's most prolific playwrights. Patrons can attend one reading for $10 or purchase a FORUM PASS to the entire event for $25 (attend all 13 readings). Playwrights Theatre's full-season subscribers receive a FORUM PASS as a free added bonus. During this celebration of new plays, patrons are invited to be a part of the process as some of the best actors and directors in New Jersey and New York present rehearsed readings of these new works and then participate in post-show discussions with the authors and the Artistic Director. The entire roster of plays and specific schedules will be available on Playwrights Theatre's website www.ptnj.org in the fall.

Playwrights Theatre offers a variety of single tickets and a subscription package. For the 2010-2011 season, single tickets are $25, $22.50 for seniors, $20 for groups, and $15 for students. Patrons can get a season subscription for only $60. Just a few of the season subscriber benefits include: free FORUM Pass (free admission to all 13 readings), two Family/Friends half-price ticket passes, post-show talkbacks on selected nights, invitation to opening night party, complimentary ticket exchanges, easy online and telephone reservations, reserved seating, free parking, and a special page on the website where they can access scripts online and participate in the Subscribers Blog.

Playwrights Theatre will also continue its successful Book Club Project. Instead of reading a book, this unique program lets book clubs read the script, which is provided by Playwrights Theatre. Clubs then come see the production and participate in a special post-show discussion with the Artistic Director and/or cast. Tickets are $20.00.

"As we enter our 25th season of presenting new work and encouraging the creative process for students of all ages, we continue our innovative partnerships with other New Jersey theatres," said John Pietrowski, Artistic Director. "This is our second joint effort with The Growing Stage, and we are expanding our work with Premiere Stages, who has been partnering with us on the New Jersey Young Playwrights Contest for the past several years. Obviously, we want our patrons to come see the excellent work we do, but we also want them to enjoy all that New Jersey theatre has to offer."

Playwrights Theatre's Creative Arts Academy teaches affordable classes to children, teens and adults. Our professional teaching artists lead process-oriented classes whose objectives are to impact all areas of a person's life.

Playwrights Theatre's New Jersey Writers Project, a partnership with the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, teaches playwriting, prose, poetry and creative dramatics to over 15,000 children in all of New Jersey's 21 counties annually. Professional writers, selected for their writing excellence and their expertise in the classroom teach the classes. Not limited to school classrooms, these programs work with after-school programs, the disabled, youth at risk (including incarcerated youth), inter-generational projects, and gifted and talented students. Playwrights Theatre also teaches residencies completely in Spanish and assists public school teachers through its Professional Development program, licensed by the New Jersey Department of Education. Award-winning programs that work in school and community-based organizations in Newark, Camden, Elizabeth, Madison and Cranford extended Playwrights Theatre's national reputation as an innovative leader in arts education.

Playwrights Theatre is also a partner with the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, Discover Jersey Arts, and New Jersey Network on Poetry Out Loud, the NEA/Poetry Foundation's National Poetry Recitation Contest. Last year, nearly 16,000 New Jersey high school students participated in contests all over the state to ultimately compete in the state final that sends the winning performer to the National finals in Washington, DC. Those interested in holding a Poetry Out Loud Program at their school can contact Robin Middleman at robinm@arts.sos.state.nj.us. For more information on Poetry Out Loud, please visit the Discover Jersey Arts website www.jerseyarts.com/pol.

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