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originally published: 10/04/2022 

(UNION, NJ) -- Premiere Stages at Kean University presents the premiere production of Certain Aspects of Conflictin the Negro Family by Ty Lie Shider, the recepient of the 2021/22 Liberty Live Commission, on October 13-23 under the tent at Kean University’s Liberty Hall Museum (1003 Morris Avenue, Union, NJ.).  Tensions reach an all-time high between Newark residents and police, racial and civil unrest begins spilling into Plainfield, New Jersey in the Long Hot Summer of 1967. Clif and Peach moved their family to Plainfield for the promise of a better future, but as the riots begin, the family contemplates a return to the South.

The accomplished cast includes Kena Anae, who returns to Premiere Stages after portraying Junior in the staged reading of Certain Aspects…last Fall; Eddie Blackman Gouveia whose theatre credits include Blues for an Alabama Sky at Portland Center Stage and My Children! My Africa! at Luna Stage;  Diane L. Parker, who has performed with New Jersey theatre companies The Theatre Project, Luna Stage, and Vanguard Theater; and Nicole Prothro whose theatre credits include Little Shop of Horrors at 5th Avenue Theatre and Porgy and Bess with Seattle Opera.

Certain Aspects of Conflict in the Negro Family runs October 13-233 under the Tent at Kean University’s Liberty Hall Museum. Performances take place Thursdays and Fridays at 8:00pm, Saturdays at 3:00 pm and 8:00pm, and Sundays at 3:00pm.  Opening Night is Friday, October 14.

Tickets are $35 standard, $25 for senior citizens and Kean alumni and staff, $20 for patrons with disabilities and $15 for students. Significant discounts for groups of ten or more apply. To make reservations or to order a season brochure, please call the box office at 908-737-7469 or visit Premiere Stages at premierestagesatkean.com. Assistive listening devices and sign-interpretation are available upon request; please call 908-737-4077 at least two weeks prior to your desired performance.

The Liberty Live commission is awarded biennially, in partnership with Kean University’s Liberty Hall, and seeks to develop and produce new plays that celebrate New Jersey’s rich and diverse history. The production will feature Kena Anae as Junior, Eddie Gouveia Blackman as Clif, Diane L. Parker as Peach, and Nicole Prothro as Ruth. Othell J. Miller directs.

 

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The Liberty Live Commission program is made possible in part by a 2022 HEART (History, Education, Arts Reaching Thousands) Grant from the Union County Board of County Commissioners.

TyLie Shider is a Minneapolis based writer and a 2022-23 McKnight Fellow in Playwriting at the Playwrights' Center (PWC). He is a recipient of the Liberty Live commission, two consecutive Jerome Fellowships (PWC), and an I Am Soul playwright in residence at the National Black Theatre (NBT). Additional upcoming projects include The Gospel Woman (NBT), Whittier (PWC), and his filmmaking debut Sign O' the Times. Screenwriting credits include: Truant. TyLie holds a BA in Journalism from Delaware State University and an MFA in Dramatic Writing from NYU. A proud member of the Dramatist Guild, he is currently a Professor of Playwriting at Augsburg University, and a staff writer for Minnesota Playlist.

Othell J. Miller currently oversees the Theater Arts Program at Plainfield Academy for the Arts & Advanced Studies. Past directing credits include: No Child…by Nilaja Sun, Skeleton Crew by Dominique Morriseau, Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage, The Talented Tenth by Richard Wesley, Flyin’ West by Pearl Cleage, Doubt by John Patrick Shanley, Zooman & the Sign by Charles Fuller, Miss Evers’ Boys by David Feldshuh. Past collaborations with Mr. Shider include: Josiah’s Kidd, To the Day of Decision, & One Day at a Time. Mr. Miller holds an MFA in Theater (Acting) from Rutgers, Mason Gross School of the Arts. 

Premiere Stages is made possible in part through funding from W. John Bauer and Nancy Boucher, The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Carole Shaffer-Koros and Robert Koros and ExxonMobil Foundation, The Dubose and Dorothy Heyward Foundation, The Northfield Bank Foundation, The Hyde and Watson Foundation, The Union Foundation, E.J. Grassmann Trust, The New Jersey Theatre Alliance, Investors Foundation, The Union County HEART Grant and through the generous support of individual patrons and local organizations. Discover Jersey Arts is our marketing partner. Visit JerseyArts.com for more information about other arts programming happening around the Garden State. 

Premiere Stages is committed to producing topical plays and interactive programs that reflect people of all ethnic and racial backgrounds, national origins, nationalities, ancestry, religious groups, gender expression or identities, sexual orientation, political beliefs, ages, abilities and disabilities. 

Created in 2004, Premiere Stages is the professional Equity theatre in residence at Kean University. Through its unique partnership with Kean, Premiere’s play development programs, educational initiatives, and professional development opportunities actively embrace the university's academic curriculum while expanding the scope, accessibility, and prestige of the professional programming on campus. 

Founded in 1855, Kean University is one of the largest metropolitan institutions of higher education in the region, with a richly diverse student, faculty and staff population. Kean continues to play a key role in the training of teachers and is a hub of educational, technological and cultural enrichment serving more than 16,000 students. The University’s six undergraduate colleges offer more than 50 undergraduate degrees over a full range of academic subjects. The Nathan Weiss Graduate College offers six doctoral degree programs and more than 80 options for graduate study leading to master’s degrees, professional diplomas or certifications. With campuses in Union, Toms River, Jefferson and Manahawkin, New Jersey, and Wenzhou, China, Kean University furthers its mission by providing an affordable and accessible world-class education.