'ROBBERS', CAVE BOYS, BLU and 'BOOK OF D' Set for The Growing Stage's New Play-Reading Festival This Weekend

The Growing Stage -- The Children's Theatre of New Jersey, located in the Historic Palace Theatre on Route 183 in Netcong, New Jersey is proud to announce four plays selected for their 4th Annual New Play-Reading Festival happening today, November 14th through 16th. In the New Play-Reading Festival, four brand-new plays for young audiences, chosen from 161 submitted works, will be read by professional and community artists in a casual setting. Following each reading, the entire family can participate in a discussion of the work with the professional team. One of the four plays will be selected to become a fully mounted production in 2015!

The four plays selected for the festival are: The Box of Robbers by Jeffrey Higgins, Cave Boys by Anne Negri, Blu by Gloria Bond Clunie, The Book of D by Cody Daigle.

The Box Of Robbers (Friday, Nov. 14th at7:30PM) Directed by TGS Artist, Becky Nitka, this story centers around a little girl named Martha, who is accidentally left home alone one day. When she goes up to the attic in search of her dollhouse, she discovers an old chest belonging to her uncle. Curiosity leads Martha to unlock the chest, and she is astonished by what she finds waiting inside.

Cave Boys (Saturday, Nov. 15th at 4:00PM) Helmed by the New Play-Reading Festival's director, Steve Graham, this story begins in September of 1940, after Germany's recent occupation of France, a ragtag group of teenage boys in southern France find a hole in the ground that leads to an underground cave. Instead of treasure, they discover mysterious drawings on the cave walls. They soon learn that they have stumbled upon the most significant site of prehistoric art known to modern humans. As they attempt to hold onto the secret of the cave, the boys discover new things about each other and their responsibility to their home.

Blu (Saturday, Nov. 15th at 7:00PM) Directed by TGS Artist, Danny Campos, this two-act drama follows Blu, a talented eighth grade artist, who battles bullying that threatens to turn his technicolor world - grey. As his older brother Scott teams up with friends to search Blu's room for a missing journal, they discover clues that help them understand what happened to Blu, and reveal the important legacy he leaves for his family and community. With humor and tragedy, Blu touches issues that would be most appropriate for older junior high and high school students.

The final selection is The Book of D (Sunday, Nov. 16th at 2:00PM) Directed by Lori B. Lawrence, TGS's Director of Educational Programming, the story introduces us to D, a young outcast who escapes into a world of stories. He keeps a book, The Book of D, to grapples with the tough things in his life -- his parents' divorce, his lack of friends, and the reasons for everything. When he makes a new friend, Blu, who introduces him to Greek mythology, friendship becomes a new story for D to write.

For further information, you can visit our website at www.growingstage.com or call the Box Office at (973) 347-47946.

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