(TRENTON, NJ) -- Continuing its 2020-21 Season, Passage Theatre has a variety of online programming planned for audience members to stream during the month of November, including it’s first live online Play Reading, an Artist Interview, and two educational online Learning Lab videos for elementary and middle school students.
Passage will present its first live online play reading on Saturday, November 21, 2020 at 7:00pm of Welcome to Matteson! written by Inda Craig-Galván and directed by Andrew Binger. Welcome to Matteson! tells the story of a suburban couple that hosts a welcome-to-the-neighborhood dinner party for their new neighbors, a couple recently (forcibly) relocated from Chicago’s roughest housing project, and it’s anything but welcoming. Anyone who is unable to attend the live reading on November 21 can view a recording of the live reading at 12:01am on Sunday, November 22 until 11:59pm on November 24. To see the live or pre-recorded video of our play reading of Welcome to Matteson!, $10 tickets can be purchased at www.passagetheatre.org. Passage’s 2020-21 Season Passport holders have access to this play reading and a host of other online and in-person programming being offered this season.
On November 4, Passage will post an exclusive artist interview with Inda Craig-Galván, where she will share her process for creating this compelling theatrical piece. Although this artist interview does not require a ticket purchase, we ask that viewers consider making a donation of $5 or more to support our efforts as we continue to pay artists during this uncertain time.
Additionally, Passage will be presenting two (2) online individual interactive Learning Lab videos accompanied by information packets on November 9 and November 23 respectively. The first Learning Lab video and information packet is titled “Caring for My Community” and is geared towards children in grades five through eight. In this installment, two (2) teaching artists, along with a special guest, will help students brainstorm about the ways in which they can care for the members of their community. The second Learning Lab video and information packet is titled “How Can I Help My Community?” This is the third and final learning lab in the series for children in grades one through three. In this Learning Lab, two (2) teaching artists, along with a special guest, will help students think about the ways that they can help members of their community. All previous Learning Lab videos are available on Passage’s website and can also be found on Passage’s YouTube channel. All Learning Lab videos are free to view, but we ask that parents and teachers consider making a $5 donation or more to support our efforts as we continue to produce more online content for students. For more details, click here.
Passage’s Interim Artistic Director, Julia Bumke, says, "November is a busy month here at Passage, as we prepare to share the timely and darkly funny play Welcome to Matteson! with an online reading. Inda Craig-Galván has written a story that is deeply rooted in Chicago and its surrounding suburbs, but its story of reverse gentrification feels equally apt here in Trenton, NJ. Our behind-the-scenes interview with Inda, which launches on Passage's website on November 4, will offer valuable insights into the play's resonances during quarantine, and how this piece fits into the larger conversation of how cities and their suburbs are developed.”
Passage’s November’s Programming
Play Reading:
November 21 - 24, 2020 (Live reading on 11/21 @7:00pm)
Welcome to Matteson!
Written by Inda Craig-Galván
Directed by Andrew Binger
$10 per attendee
A suburban couple hosts a welcome-to-the-neighborhood dinner party for their new neighbors — a couple recently (forcibly) relocated from Chicago’s roughest housing project — and it’s anything but welcoming. A dark intra-racial comedy about reverse gentrification and how we deal with the “other” when the other looks just like us.
Learning Lab VIDEOS:
Caring for My Community
Video Release Date: November 9, 2020
Elementary School Students (Appropriate for grades 5-8)
Suggested Donation: $5
In this Online Learning Lab, two Passage Teaching Artists (along with a special guest!) will help students brainstorm about the ways in which they can care for the members of their community. Students will be taught how to make a piece of visual art that can be hung in the lobby of the Mill Hill Playhouse for all to see!
How Can I Help My Community?
Video Release Date: November 23, 2020
Elementary School Students (Appropriate for grades 1-3)
Suggested Donation: $5
In this Online Learning Lab, two Passage Teaching Artists (along with a special guest!) will help students think about the ways that they can help members of their community. Students will write 1-2 sentences helping to script out what they would say to the person they want to help and draw an illustration to show how it would look.
Passage Theatre’s season is made possible in part by the N.J. State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the NEA; the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation; The City of Trenton; Trenton Downtown Association; WIMG 1300; The Curtis McGraw Foundation; PNC Bank; Trinity United Methodist Church, Ewing, NJ ; First Presbyterian Church of Ewing; New Jersey Manufacturers (NJM); New Jersey Theatre Alliance; Janssen Pharmaceuticals; NJ Economic Development Authority; I Am Trenton; Otsuka Pharmaceutical; Mathematica Policy Research; Thomas Edison State University; The Bunbury Fund of the Princeton Area Community Foundation; The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey; The Shubert Foundation; The MAP Fund, and Mary G. Roebling Foundation.
