(LEFT) Sara Koviak (RIGHT) Anne O'Sullivan
(LONG BRANCH, NJ) -- New Jersey Repertory Company (NJ Rep) will continue its 27th Season with a presentation of Your Name Means Dream, written and directed by Academy Award-nominated José Rivera. This production will star Sara Koviak (New York: The Hours are Feminine) and Anne O'Sullivan (Broadway: Blythe Spirit), who both originated these roles when it debuted at the Contemporary American Theater Festival in 2023. It will begin performances on October 31, with its opening night on November 2, and run through November 24, 2024.
Aislin is getting older and suffers the inevitable indignities of being human — and hates technology. Stacy, her caregiver, is perfectly toned, doesn’t age, and is utterly in control — because she’s an AI robot. And there’s a new algorithm out there called AOS or Approximation of Soul. Does Stacy have it? José Rivera examines how we live, die, and form our sense of self in a world that’s increasingly saturated with technology.
“We are thrilled to present Your Name Means Dream, a deeply thought-provoking and timely piece by the visionary José Rivera. This play beautifully explores the complex intersections of humanity and technology and challenges us to reflect on what it truly means to have a soul in an increasingly digital world. We are excited to share this compelling story with our audiences as part of our commitment to presenting bold, innovative works that spark conversation and thought.” SuzAnne Barabas, Artistic Director of NJ Rep.
The creative team includes set design by Jessica Parks, lighting design by Jill Nagle, technical direction by Brian Snyder, costume design by Patricia E. Doherty, sound design by Nick Simone, assistant lighting designer is Janey Huber, the production stage manager is Kristin Pfeifer and assistant stage manager is Lauren Capp.
Tickets are NOW on sale at NJRep.org or by calling 732.229.3166. NJ Rep is located at 179 Broadway in Long Branch, New Jersey. Your Name Means Dream will begin promptly at 7:30pm on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, with additional matinees on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays at 2:00pm.
JOSÉ RIVERA is a playwright and the first Puerto Rican screenwriter to be nominated for an Academy Award for the movie The Motorcycle Diaries. He has won two Obie Awards for playwriting, a Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays Grant, a Fulbright Arts Fellowship in Playwriting, a Whiting Award, a McKnight Fellowship, the 2005 Norman Lear Writing Award, a 2005 Impact Award and a Berilla Kerr Playwriting Award.
New Jersey Repertory Company (NJ Rep) was founded in 1997 by SuzAnne and Gabor Barabas. Its current central headquarters is the Lumia Theater, located on lower Broadway in Long Branch. The theater's mission is to develop and produce new plays and to make a lasting contribution to the American Stage. Over two decades, NJ Rep has produced 152 plays, of which 128 have been world premieres. The theater has the additional distinction of having had many of its plays produced by other theaters around the country, totaling over 200 subsequent productions in the US and overseas.
In 2012 and 2018, NJ Rep was the recipient of a National Theater Company Grant from the American Theater Wing that sponsors the annual Tony Awards for Broadway in recognition of its contribution to the repertoire of the American Stage. Only seven theaters have had this distinction. In addition, the theater has presented over 400 developmental readings as well as introduced 136 new works through its Theatre Brut Short-Play Festivals that focus on visionary and avant-garde works.
NJRep acquired a new property, a 28,000 square foot school situated on 2 ½ acres and located just five minutes from its Main Stage Lumia Theater and two blocks from the Jersey Shore. The theater plans on gradually transforming the school in stages into a cultural center that will house additional performance spaces, an art cinema, an art museum, a rooftop café, an arts education wing, and residences for out-of-town actors and playwrights. When completed, the center will present a wide array of programs in acting, playwriting, art, sculpture, poetry, music, and photography and will serve as a catalyst for economic development and as the foundation for the cultural renaissance of the community.
NJ Rep thanks the following for their support: The Shubert Foundation, MacMillan Family Foundation, New Jersey State Council on the Arts, The New Jersey Cultural Trust, The Stone Foundation of New Jersey, The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, OceanFirst Foundation, Manasquan Bank Philanthropic Fund, Investors Bank Foundation, Community Foundation of New Jersey, Jewish Communal Fund, Citizens Philanthropic Foundation.
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