Actors' NET Presents A PATCH OF GREEN Reading, 9/2

The Actors' NET of Bucks County presents a staged reading Sept. 2 of a violent and gritty new play set in Ireland during "the troubles" of the 1950s.

Matthew Cassidy of Morrisville - a transplanted New Yorker - has authored A Patch of Green, which depicts the clash between Protestants and Catholics. A street-wise young pickpocket shelters a trio of emotionally broKen Young people in an abandoned Catholic church. Outside, a Protestant gang threatens to burn down the church, inhabitants and all.

"Matty Cassidy, one of our company's stage managers, has been working on his script for more than 20 years," Joe Doyle said. "His characters are so vivid that they leap off the page and inspired us to present it as a work in progress to get audience feedback. He presents a brutal world. The language is raw, often obscene. The violence is intense, often sadistic. And sexual themes make this reading totally inappropriate for young people."

Michael Gearty of Langhorne heads the cast, which also includes Amanda Graf of Morrisville; Brian Jason Kelly of Doylestown; Maggie Morlath of Yardley; John Helmke of Hamilton, NJ; Curtis Kaine of Princeton; Derek Kosecki of Morrisville; and Alex and Zach Zimmerman of Levittown. 

A Patch of Green will be presented as a script in hand staged reading Friday Sept. 2 at 8 p.m. at the Heritage Center, 635 N. Delmorr Avenue (Route 32), Morrisville - near the Calhoun Street Bridge. The performance will be followed by a special talk back session with the  Net presents staged reading of new play playwright, director and cast. All seats for staged readings are $10. To reserve, call the non-profit Actors' NET at 215-295-3694.