Jersey City Theater Center Wraps Up 2021 Stages Festival Across Final Two Thursdays In May

(JERSEY CITY, NJ) -- The Jersey City Theater Center’s 2021 New Play Festival, part of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance’s 2021 Stages Festival, wraps up four weeks of new plays the next two Thursdays May 20 and 27.  A total of ten new plays on the topic of healing from the US, Canada and New Zealand will have been seen in the festival, which began on May 6.  All shows are at 7:30pm.  The plays -- eight short plays and two full-length works -- are presented on Zoom, followed by a live Q&A with the projects’ respective artistic teams. For tickets visit www.jctcenter.org

On Thursday, May 20 they will present four short plays: On Robots and Raindrops written and directed by Monica Cross: In the not-so-distant future, Billie finds herself prescribed an in-home companion robot to help her cope with loneliness and the recent loss of her wife, Susan. Random Acts of Kindness by James C. Ferguson, directed by Mark Cirnigliaro: At a time when stress is high an interesting case is made to remember that empathy and kindness make us all stronger. Relativity and Me by Len Cuthbert, directed by Michole Biancosino: In a subway station, a young mother meets her great-grandmother for the first time.  Although it might appear to be about physical healing, this play actually looks a bit deeper, finding that real healing involves something far greater. Skull against the Sky by Rex McGregor, directed by Mark Cirnigliaro: After suffering a nervous breakdown, Georgia O’Keeffe hasn’t done any painting in over a year. While recuperating at her husband Alfred Stieglitz’s family home at Lake George, she finds love and laughter in the company of an old friend, Jean Toomer. But is this enough for her?

On Thursday, May 27, a full-length play: Love in the Time of Mass Incarceration by Boris Franklin and Tequia Gladden (Stormy Monday), directed by Mark Cirnigliaro: Using the lives of a young couple this play explores the question, is it possible for love to survive the social and physical pressure of mass incarceration.

Previously seen were: The short plays “E Minor Seventh” by Timothy Nolan, “Fractured Ferry Tale” by Ken Levine, “Hope Sings, Nocturnal” by Ken Preuss, and “Tiny Secrets Notes” by Marj O'Neill-Butler (May 6); and the full-length “Moon Drops” by Carol Campbell, Domnica Radulescu, and Nikaury Rodriguez (May 13).

Catalina Florina Florescu, a professor of theatre at Pace University in New York, who is a resident theater curator of the Jersey City Theater Center (JCTC) is the Festival’s curator.

This is the sixth annual New Play Festival organized by JCTC, an event that welcomes play submissions from around the world.  “Clearly the topic of healing resonates in so many ways in this moment in time,” says Olga Levina, JCTC’s artistic director.  “People around the world are experiencing collective traumas because of health, political unrest, economic and social disruptions and increasing environmental crises.  We knew that playwrights almost everywhere would recognize the problems, but what we didn’t expect was how many thoughtful plays focus on how to cope with, grow and heal from these challenges!”

Adds Florescu, “Pain is a physical, debilitating ailment and a socio-economical crippling reality. If a member of our family is in pain, the entire family suffers. Through several short plays and two full-length plays we invite our local and international communities to join our passionate search for answers to collective challenges, and for more sustainable visions on healing and growth.”

By developing world-class programing that brings daring and consequential work to Jersey City from around the world (and from very nearby), JCTC sparks conversations about important topics that are locally relevant yet global in scope. We go directly into our schools; we work with community organizers and educators; we provide incubator opportunities for local artists; and we welcome artists, perspectives and cultures from abroad… all of this so that JCTC can put into practice its deeply held social change values, while serving our wonderfully diverse community with equity and inclusivity.

JCTC’S New Play Festival is part of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance’s 2021 Stages Festival, a state-wide celebration of theatre, made possible by support from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts; Bank of America; The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey; OceanFirst Foundation; the George A. Ohl, Jr. Trust; New Jersey Historical Commission; and Fund for the New Jersey Blind. 

JCTC's season is supported by a grant from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a division of the Department of State, and administered by the Hudson County Office of Cultural and Heritage Affairs, Thomas A. DeGise, Hudson County Executive & the Hudson County Board of County commissioners.  JCTC’s New Play Festival is supported additionally by the City of Jersey City and the Office of Cultural Affairs.