Playwrights Theatre to Host Artist Fellowship Showcases in Madison, March 2014

Playwrights Theatre has partnered with the New Jersey State Council on the Arts for two months of Artist Fellowship Showcases in Madison. The first group was presented in October 2013 and the second group will take place on Thursdays in March 2014. All readings will begin at 7:30pm in the Chase Room of the Madison Public Library on 39 Keep Street in Madison, NJ. Readings are free with a suggested donation of $10. All tickets will be available at the door on the evening of the readings.

"All of the readings this month will focus on plays written by The New Jersey Literary Artist Fellows," said John Pietrowski, Playwrights Theatre's Artistic Director. "There's an amazing breadth of styles and subject matter in these four pieces, so we hope you come see all four."

March 6, 2014
Deb Margolin, Playwriting (Montvale)

March 13, 2014
John Pietrowski, Playwriting (Long Valley)

March 20, 2014
Joanne Hoersch, Playwriting (Weehawken)

March 27, 2014
Ben Marshall, Playwriting (Plainfield)

Individual biographies of the writers can be viewed at http://www.ptnj.org/pages/literary-artist-fellowship. Visitors to the site will also find interviews with the writers as well as a list of their favorite and most influential books.

The Literary Artist Fellowship Showcase began in 2001, with subsequent showcases in 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008. The State Arts Council and Playwrights Theatre cosponsor the series of readings by the poets, playwrights and prose writers that received Council Fellowships. The Fellowships, which may be used to support the professional development of the artist, are highly competitive. The awards are granted to New Jersey artists in 12 different arts disciplines (offered on a three-year rotation) and are awarded solely on the basis of an anonymous independent peer panel review of artistic quality. The program is carried out in partnership with the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation.

In the fall of 2001, as part of its overall mission to provide presentation and performance opportunities for Fellowship recipients, as well as other New Jersey artists, the Council partnered with Playwrights Theatre to present the works of the literary fellows.

For the poetry readings, authors will present their own work, for prose writing, authors are given the option of reading their own stories or having them read by a professional actor. Playwrights are provided with staged readings of their scripts, always presented with professional actors and a professional director, with a preference given to the wealth of professional actors and theatre artists living in the Garden State.

"These are beautiful evenings full of humor and intensity, we encourage you to come out and see all of them. All play readings will include a post-reading discussion, as well," said Pietrowski.

This program is made possible with by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State.
About the New Jersey State Council on the Arts: The New Jersey State Council on the Arts is a division of the New Jersey Department of State. It receives funding through direct appropriations from the State of New Jersey and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. Since 1966, its volunteer members and professional staff have worked to improve the quality of life in New Jersey by helping the arts to flourish. For more information about the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, please visit www.artscouncil.nj.gov. Further information regarding the arts is found on an interactive web site (http://www.jerseyarts.com) and available on a toll-free hotline (1-800-THE-ARTS).

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 2003-2013, we have been designated a Major Arts Institution by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts (along with only four other theatres: The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, George Street Playhouse, McCarter Theatre Center and Paper Mill Playhouse) as "an anchor institution that contributes vitally to the quality of life in New Jersey."

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