New Jersey Stage logo
New Jersey Stage Menu



 

The Breath Project Announces Lineup For Inaugural Virtual Festival

originally published: 10/14/2020


(SAN FRANCISCO, CA) -- The Breath Project—a new theatrical initiative formed by Artistic Director and Co-Founder Gamal Abdel Chasten and Co-Founder Marieke Gaboury in response to the current global spotlight on racial injustice against Black people—announced the lineup for the inaugural The Breath Project Virtual Festival being held on October 24-25.

In partnership with Two River Theater and 23 other theater companies across the country, the free festival will feature 24 world premiere works created by multidisciplinary theater artists of color that are all 8 minutes and 46 seconds in length.  In the wake of the death of George Floyd, the 8 minutes and 46 second time frame has become a symbol for the racial injustice faced by countless members of the Black community across the United States.

The festival takes place Saturday, October 24 (5:00pm ET and 8:00pm ET) and Sunday, October 25 at 8:00pm ET. To RSVP for The Breath Project Virtual Festival, click here

“We received many inspiring submissions from around the country to be housed in our archive, and a third of those will be featured at the virtual festival,” said Chasten. “The range of works we received was vast, and included more traditional theatrical presentations and those that challenged the idea of what is theater in this moment of isolation. It is my hope that when people visit our website, attend the virtual festival, or follow and support our vision, they will have their boundaries pushed and their ideas challenged, and that, in the process, we change the face of American theatre.”

“Two River Theater is thrilled to be working with The Breath Project and the 23 partner organizations on this virtual festival.  In this moment of unrest and uncertainty, as is our mission, we look to our artistic communities to direct our gaze to the life of the human spirit. The Breath Project’s commitment to art, action and advocacy aligns with our mission and gives us all an opportunity to use our collective creative energy to shift the American theater towards justice” says Kamilah Bush, Two River Theater Artistic Assistant/Breath Project Partner Curator.




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



Following a call for entries in August 2020, over 65 original works—ranging from monologues and slam poetry to puppetry and dance activism—were submitted. From those entries, a diverse panel of artists of color selected the 24 works that will comprise the inaugural festival. All works that have met the required submission guidelines will be archived on The Breath Project website. 

The 24 selected works (in alphabetical order) are: 

·       Mhir Agrawal / Gamal Chasten – “Say Hello Stewart”

·       Aldo Billingslea — “3 Story Walk Up”

·       Alumni Theater Company — “Perspectives”

·       Ananya Dance Theatre — “Just Breathe”

·       James Brunt — “Waiting for Death”




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



·       Giovanny Camarena — “Don’t Be Afraid”

·       The Char’Actors — “The Cycle”

·       Tyharra Cozier — “Breath”

·       El Colectivo de Dramaturgos de Puerto Rico – “inhala – exhala”

·       Henri Franklin — “Views of Color in 8:46”

·       Yetta Gottesman — “Oh, Maria”

·       Ilasiea Gray — “Acting While Black”

·       David Guster — “Nice to Meet You”

·       Candice Handy — “Black Quarantine Date”

·       Harvey — “Breonna’s Prayer”




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



·       Gabrielle Jackson — “The Ballad of Jacob Blake”

·       Angela G. King — “8:46”

·       Bruce Lemon, Jr. — “The Act of Ownership”

·       Anthony Sky Ng-Thow-Hing — “Transcending Isolation: Hope”

·       Josh Richardson — “Choosing Sides”

·       Derek J. Snow — “The Ballad of the Dying Body or The Breath to Say”

·       Jessica Gabrielle Thomas — “Glow | Eternal”

·       Bil Wright — “Pulse”

·       David Zayas / Gamal Chasten — “I Just Don’t Know”

The Breath Project seeks to build a more equitable theater community in the country and to actively dismantle structural racism in the American theater through a three-pronged mission: Art, Action, and Advocacy.  

ART - In partnership with organizations and artists across the nation, The Breath Project will create, develop, and support original theatrical works, created by BIPOC artists.  The work that is housed by The Breath Projectwill be used as a tool for education and advocacy, as a living time capsule of this moment in history. 

ACTION - The Breath Project is working to build relationships between local artists and theaters in their community and region, creating more opportunities for BIPOC theater artists, technicians, and administrators throughout the country. Working across national partnerships, The Breath Project will seek to end the notion that plays by BIPOC artists fulfill a quota or check a box for a theater, and instead become an organic and permanent part of the American Theater landscape.  

ADVOCACY - The Breath Project will work to support the organizations that produce, fund, and support the American Theater to eliminate the racism and biases that exist in our institutions and business practices. 

Theaters partnering with The Breath Project include (in alphabetical order): Alabama Shakespeare Festival(Montgomery, AL); Alumni Theater Company (Pittsburgh, PA); Cherry Lane Theatre (New York, NY); Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park (Cincinnati, Ohio); City Theatre Company (Pittsburgh, PA); Cornerstone Theater Company (Los Angeles, CA); Curious Theatre Company (Denver, CO); Detroit Public Theatre (Detroit, MI); Dorset Theatre Festival (Dorset, VT), Face Off Theatre (Kalamazoo, MI), Flat Rock Playhouse (Flat Rock, NC); Flint Repertory Theatre (Flint, MI); Kumu Kahua Theatre (Honolulu, HI); Marin Theatre Company (Mill Valley, CA); Network of Ensemble Theaters (National Service Organization); Palo Alto Children’s Theatre (Palo Alto, CA); Pillsbury House Theatre (Minneapolis, MN); Portland Center Stage (Portland, OR); Rude Mechs (Austin, TX); San Diego Repertory Theatre (San Diego, CA); Southern Rep Theatre (New Orleans, LA); Studio Theatre(Washington DC); Two River Theater (Red Bank, NJ); and Western Michigan University Department of Theatre (Kalamazoo, MI).  

 



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

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.



Original

Original 'RENT' Cast Member and Obie Award-winner Anthony Rapp to Teach Master Class at Gateway Playhouse

(SOMERS POINT, NJ) -- Somers Point's Gateway Playhouse is thrilled to announce that original Broadway cast member of the international hit, Jonathan Larson's "RENT," and Obie Award-winner, Anthony Rapp, will teach a master class to the all-teenage cast of "RENT: School Edition" on Wednesday, July 2, 2025, as part of the Gateway to the Arts program. The class runs from 9:00am to noon.



Two

Two River Theater Announces Lineup for Their 14th Annual Crossing Borders (Cruzando Fronteras) Festival

(RED BANK, NJ) -- Two River Theater's celebrated Crossing Borders (Cruzando Fronteras) Festival of new plays by Latine playwrights will take place from Thursday, July 31 to Sunday, August 3, 2025 in the Joan and Robert M. Rechnitz Theater. Now in its 14th year, this annual event joyfully showcases the richness, diversity, creativity, and talent of Latine theater artists. All festival events are open and free to the public.



Players

Players Guild of Leonia to Hold Auditions for "Where The Time Goes"

​​​​​​​(LEONIA, NJ) -- The Players Guild of Leonia will hold auditions for Where The Time Goes on Tuesday, July 15 and Wednesday, July 16, 2025 from 6:00pm to 9:00pm each night at their theater. This is a World Premiere musical featuring the iconic songs of The Baby Boomer Generation.