New Jersey Stage logo
New Jersey Stage Menu



 

Crossroads Theatre Company To Present "Black Women and the Ballot" online

originally published: 06/06/2020


(NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ) -- Crossroads Theatre Company is partnering with the American Slavery Project (ASP) and a consortium of theatre companies and theatre allies to present Black Women and the Ballot, three plays that for the first time will be available nationally and experienced virtually on Friday, June 19 at 7:30pm (EST).  The performances, that depict the rebellions large and small by Black women to progress voting rights, can be accessed from the Crossroads website at www.crossroadstheatrecompany.org.

Black Women and The Ballot marks Crossroads’ entrance into the virtual space of theatre performance since COVID-19 swept in changing our lives, our livelihood and our leisure,” said Anthony P. Carter President of the Crossroads Board of Trustees. “We are proud that our first production on a virtual platform spotlights the very important and timely topic of voting and we encourage our patrons and supporters to join us,” Carter added. The consortium of theatres joining Crossroads and ASP presenting the plays include the Classic Theatre of Harlem, the Liberation Theatre Company and The Sheen Center for Thought and Culture.

The American Slavery Project, the brainchild of Judy Tate, an Emmy® A-winning writer and playwright, “is the theatrical response to making connections between our beginnings as black people in America through to today; and creating conversations that educate and enlighten” Tate said.  Black Women and the Ballot examines the relationship between America and Black women voting in this 100th anniversary year of Women's Suffrage.  Specifically, it sheds light on African-American women’s contribution to suffrage over multiple decades and the undocumented and disenfranchised Black immigrant women overlooked today and highlights ASP’s platform Voter Outreach Thru Theatre Engagement (V.O.T.E.).

The performances are called radio dramas, evoking the radio plays of the past before television.  There will be visuals that will complement the performances to enrich the virtual experience including photos from the featured plays and historic milestones. The total running time of the three featured radio dramas is 37 minutes.  They are titled Don’t/Dream by Saviana Stanescu; In the Parlour and Pulling the Lever written/directed by Judy Tate.  A talk back session is included as part of the program that will include video of the actors who will talk about their voting experiences and what voting means to them.

Phylicia Rashad in the role of “the Ancestor” in Pulling the Lever sums up the importance of voting saying “The only thing I pray for now is that somebody tells the children what happened because they got to tell their own.  If you don’t pass it on people forget.”




New Jersey Stage provides affordable advertising for the arts, click here for info



Black Women and the Ballot Plays - Don’t/Dream, By Saviana Stanescu, Directed by Judy Tate - On Election Day, an undocumented immigrant housekeeper, burdened with endless chores, fantasizes about voting and tries to make sense of her entitled employers' obsessions. Running time: 6 mins. 

In the Parlour, By Judy Tate, Directed by Dianne Kirksey Floyd - On the eve of the historic 1913 Women’s March for votes, young Howard University student, Edna Brown stiches up walking skirts for her sisters of the newly formed sorority, Delta Sigma Theta, to wear. But when she learns that the famous white suffragette, Alice Paul, the march’s organizer has other plans, she gets help from the formidable Mary Church Terrell and the shrewd president of the Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sorority, Inc. It is a battle of wit and will in this original imagining of a very true story. Running time: 25 mins.

Pulling the Lever Written and Directed by Judy Tate - Three generations of Black Women remember their most important experiences voting. Running time: 8 mins.

The 1999 Tony® Award-winning Crossroads Theatre Company (CTC), now a resident member of the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center (NBPAC), is in its fourth decade of being a preeminent gateway for black theatre that has been the stage for many actors, directors, designers, writers and other theatre professionals. Since opening in 1978, CTC has built a rich and storied legacy, celebrating the culture, history, spirit and voices of the African Diaspora.  

American Slavery Project Productions feature the original works of African Americans who write about the era of enslavement through to today.  




New Jersey Stage provides affordable advertising for the arts, click here for info





FEATURED EVENTS

ART | COMEDY | DANCE | FILM | MUSIC | THEATRE | COMMUNITY

To narrow results by date range, categories,
or region of New Jersey
click here for our advanced search.


Vivid

Vivid Summer Solos: Where is Everybody?

Wednesday, July 09, 2025 @ 6:30pm
Visual Arts Center of New Jersey
68 Elm Street, Summit, NJ 07901
category: theatre

Click here for full event listing

 

A

A Broadway Tour of America

Thursday, July 10, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Grunin Center - Black Box Theater
1 College Drive, Toms River, NJ 08754
category: theatre

Click here for full event listing

 

The

The MAC players at the Middletown Arts Center present "Hairspray"

Friday, July 11, 2025 @ 7:00pm
Middletown Arts Center
36 Church Street, Middletown, NJ 07748
category: theatre

Click here for full event listing

 

A

A Broadway Tour of America

Friday, July 11, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Grunin Center - Black Box Theater
1 College Drive, Toms River, NJ 08754
category: theatre

Click here for full event listing

 

The

The Wizard of Oz

Saturday, July 12, 2025 @ 2:00pm
Algonquin Arts Theatre
60 Abe Voorhees, Manasquan, NJ 08736
category: theatre

Click here for full event listing

 

More events

Event Listings are available for $10 and included with our banner ad packages




 

EVENT PREVIEWS

Montclair

Montclair Township Declares 'Montclair Theater Day' Ahead of Vanguard Theater's Inaugural Festival

(MONTCLAIR, NJ) -- Known for its vibrant and lively arts scene, the town of Montclair continues to find new and meaningful ways to celebrate creativity within its community. One of the town's newest initiatives includes the inaugural Montclair Theater Festival, presented by Vanguard Theater and The Essex County Board Of Commissioners. This eagerly anticipated event is set to take place on Saturday, July 12, 2025, at Glenfield Park in Montclair's historic Fourth Ward.



Chatham

Chatham Playhouse to Host 31st Annual Jersey Voices: One-Act Festival

(CHATHAM, NJ) -- The Chatham Community Players (CCP) will host its 31st annual Jersey Voices One-Act Festival with six performances between July 25 and August 3, 2025. This year's production will include eight original short plays written by New Jersey playwrights.



Centenary

Centenary Stage Company presents Jimmy Buffet's "Escape to Margaritaville"

(HACKETTSTOWN, NJ) -- Centenary Stage Company kicks off SUMMERFEST 2025 with Jimmy Buffett's Escape to Margaritaville, July 10-20 in the Sitnik Theatre of the Lackland Performing Arts Center. With a book by Emmy Award winner Greg Garcia and Emmy nominee Mike O'Malley, this production is jam-packed with the artist's most beloved classic tunes including "Cheeseburger in Paradise," "Margaritaville," "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere," "Fins," "Volcano," and many more.



LoMotion

LoMotion Live presents "The Diary of Anne Frank"

(BOONTON, NJ) -- LoMotion Live is proud to present The Diary of Anne Frank, a play by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, newly adapted by Wendy Kesselman, based on the book Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl. The production runs from July 18-26, 2025 at The Parsippany Arts Center in Boonton.



Art

Art House Productions to present "Hamlet" directed by C. Rashee Stevenson in October

(JERSEY CITY, NJ) -- Art House Productions will present a mainstage production of Hamlet, directed by C. Rashee Stevenson, from October 9–26, 2025, at the Art House Theater in Jersey City. This bold reimagining of Shakespeare's classic tragedy fuses the original text with interpolated language from Les Nègres and Les Paravents by Jean Genet and works by Federico García Lorca—transforming the play into a cosmic crime thriller that plunges deep into grief, identity, and the metaphysical.