(WEEHAWKEN, NJ) -- New Jersey Theatre Alliance presents Hudson Theatre Works’ PlayWorks readings of new plays. They will be releasing their YouTube video of “Bird In a Box,” by Joanne Hoersch on Wednesday, May 27th online on the theatre company's Youtube channel. This link will become active on Wednesday, May 27th at 7:00pm. Donations will be going to the Weehawken Emergency Services Volunteers.
There is nothing more important to the long-term vitality of American theatre as an art form than the nurturing of new voices. PlayWorks is the first step in this process. PlayWorks presents readings of new plays by contemporary, often local playwrights, giving them an opportunity to share their work and include the audience in the creative process.
“Bird in a Box” by Joanne Hoersch. Two sisters, two very different memories of their shared childhood. With Joanne Hoersch, Gloria Lamoureux, directed by Frank Licato, produced by Adrian Wattenmaker with music by Donald Stark and Zachary Licato.
Meet the Playwright: Joanne Hoersch is resident playwright at Hudson Theatre Works. Hoersch received her BA in drama from Emerson College. She studied fiction at Columbia University, where she was the recipient of a Woolrich Fellowship for creative writing, and completed her MFA at The New School.
In 1998, she received a grant from the NJ State Council on the Arts, for fiction writing. Her first full length play, Jackson Is Gone was produced by Hudson Theatre Works, and for it she received her second grant from the NJ State Council on the Arts in 2012 for playwriting.
In 2012, and 2013, Jackson is Gone and Shelley, her play based on the lives of Mary and Percy Shelley, were given roundtable readings at The Lark Theatre
She was a semi-finalist for the Heekin Foundation’s national fiction competition.
Joanne is a member of the NJ Women Playwrights Program. Through their sponsorship, she received a staged reading at Jersey City Theatre Center of her play Bunnies, which is based on her real-life experiences working as a Playboy Bunny in the 1970s, and was produced in celebration of Women’s Month in March, 2019. It is due to receive a full production at Hudson Theatre Works, hopefully, in the fall.
Hudson Theatre Works is located at 80 Hauxhurst Avenue in Weehawken, N.J.. To see a full schedule of events for The Stages Festival Online please visit www.njtheatrealliance.org/stages.
“The Alliance is grateful that Hudson Theatre Works is participating in the 2020 Stages Festival,” said John McEwen, Executive Director of the Alliance. “For more than 20 years, Stages has provided theatrical experiences for thousands of residents across New Jersey. These efforts would not be possible without the wonderful help of partners such as Hudson Theatre Works.
The New Jersey Theatre Alliance 2020 Stages Festival is 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. A full calendar of events is available at www.njtheatrealliance.org/stages.
Hudson Theatre Works is committed to low ticket prices, so everyone can enjoy live theatre. It celebrates ensemble collaboration as well as artistic risk through its permanent company, guest artists, partner institutions and the surrounding community. It is dedicated to a rugged aesthetic which seeks to tell stories, both new and old, classic and contemporary, that reflect our lives, relationships and the world today. Hudson Theatre Works' primary focus is on bringing a living theatre community to Hudson County, and the wider metropolitan area through performance, affordable pricing, outreach and theatre arts instruction. Hudson Theatre works is a professional Equity company and a proud member of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance.
Hudson Theatre Works is supported in part through gifts from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, UBS Financial and the City and Mayor of Weehawken, New Jersey.
Founded in 1981, New Jersey Theatre Alliance was the first statewide service organization for professional, not-for-profit theatre companies in the United States, and is a leader in developing model programs that unite, promote, strengthen, and cultivate professional theatre in New Jersey. Funding for the New Jersey Theatre Alliance, a not-for-profit organization, is provided in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, New Jersey Division of Travel and Tourism, and contributions from individuals, corporations, and foundations including the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, Bank of America, The Shubert Foundation, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, Investors Bank, The Hyde and Watson Foundation, Kessler Foundation, The F.M. Kirby Foundation, E.J. Grassmann Trust, The Union Foundation, and The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey.
