NEWS | FEATURES | PREVIEWS | EVENTS

originally published: 03/21/2023 

(HACKETTSTOWN, NJ) --  In conjunction with the World Premiere of Off the Map by Christine Foster, Centenary Stage Company will host several events where the public can meet Christine and hear all about the process of playwrighting and storytelling. Join Christine Foster and CSC on Friday, March 24th at 5:30pm in the Lackland Performing Arts Center for a seminar/discussion addressing the art of theatre as storytelling, why the theatre will never die, why it's essential to the human condition, and why live actors are "athletes of the heart." 

Christine will explore the difference in approach to telling the same story in theatre vs. film. The seminar is free to attend, and reservations can be made by calling the Centenary Stage Company box office. Attendees of the seminar will receive $10.00 off an adult ticket to any performance of Off the Map.

Following the seminar, Christine, along with the rest of the Cast and Creative team of Off the Map, will be in attendance at the opening night “meet and greet” wine and cheese reception following the opening night performance on Friday march 24th at 8:00pm. Then on Sunday, March 26th following the 2:00pm performance, Christine Foster will host a talkback on the topic of the play and the process of creating it.

Originally born in the UK and then working for a majority of her life in Toronto, Christine Foster now resides in Mexico, like her characters Denny and Claire Newhart in Off the Map. Also, like two other characters seen in Off the Map, Foster has an educational background in archeology. Foster’s plays have been produced in the UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, Denmark, Mexico, Korea and the US, and on CBS, CTV, History and the Family Channel. In 2018 she won the Marion Thauer Brown New Audio Drama Award and her full-length Four Thieves Vinegar ran successfully in London before being remounted at the Brighton Fringe in 2019. Her monologue Cousins was the winner of the Soundworks.co.uk Contest in 2020. Her full-length black comedy Four Thieves Vinegar ran successfully in London before being remounted at the Brighton Fringe in 2019 and her new play on the life of Bess Houdini will tour in the UK in the fall. Recent short pieces have been performed on podcasts, BBC Radio, and WBRH Scotland, and she currently has two new full-length plays scheduled to premiere in the UK in 2022-23.

Originally a part of the 2022 Women Playwright Series readings, Off the Map by Christine Foster is a fully realized production at Centenary Stage Company. Performances will run March 23 through April 2 in the Kutz Theatre of the Lackland Performing Arts Center of the Centenary University campus at 715 Grand Avenue, Hackettstown, NJ. Performance dates and times for Off the Map are Thursdays, March 23 and 30 at 7:30pm; Fridays, March 24 and 31 at 8:00pm; Saturdays, March 25 and April 1 at 8:00pm; and Sundays, March 26 and April 2 at 2:00pm. Tickets range from $25.00 - $29.50 for adults with discounts available for seniors, students, and children under 12 for select performances. For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit centenarystageco.org or call the Centenary Stage Company box office at (908) 979-0900.

 

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Centenary Stage Company offers discounted tickets for NJEA members with proof of membership. This is a 15% discount on ticket prices for performances of Centenary Stage Company theatre productions from Sunday through Friday. Attendees of the seminar Attendees of the seminar will receive $10.00 off an adult ticket to any performance of Off the Map.

Off the Map tells the story of Denny and Claire, who have retired to the wilds of Central America. Here, they quickly discover that things are not as they were expecting, neither in their relationship, nor in their new property. A mysterious Mound is discovered by a pair of archaeologists who arrive on the scene, making a shattering discovery which will challenge all their beliefs about what is ever truly real and what is imagined. Off the Map is part of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance 2023 Stages Festival, made possible by support from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts; The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey; OceanFirst Foundation; Fund for the New Jersey Blind; New Jersey Manufacturers; and Customers Bank.

Rehearsal/Promotional Photo [pictured Left to right: Kayla Yepez, David Sitler, Phil Eichinger, Carolyn Popp] Photo by Trevor Callahan

The Centenary Stage Company box office is open Monday through Friday from 1:00pm-5:00pm and two hours prior to performances. The box office is located in the Lackland Performing Arts Center on the campus of Centenary University at 715 Grand Ave. Hackettstown, New Jersey.

The 2022-23 Season of Performing Arts events at the Centenary Stage Company is made possible through the generous support of the NJ State Council on the Arts, the Shubert Foundation, the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, the Sandra Kupperman Foundation, the John and Margaret Post Foundation, the CSC corporate sponsors, including Platinum Season Sponsor the House of the Good Shepherd, Silver Sponsors Hackettstown Medical Center Atlantic Health System, Heath Village, Visions Federal Credit Union, and Fulton Bank, and Centenary Stage Company members and supporters.