(SUMMIT, NJ) -- Vivid Stage is not only celebrating its 30th Anniversary season, marking decades of bringing contemporary theatre to audiences in the state of New Jersey, but making history as well. The company is embarking upon an adventure this fall, an artistic residency at the Del E. Webb Center for the Performing Arts in Wickenburg, Arizona, as part of the Center's "Made in Wickenburg" program.
This residency, which runs October 27 through November 10, 2024, is intended to “foster creative, collaborative and performance projects of established performing artists. Each residency is designed to allow artistic companies the opportunity to pursue new projects, mount work or collaborate with other artists, free from everyday pressures.”
According to the Webb Center, “Outreach is an integral part of the residency program as participants are required to offer free, open rehearsals to expose the general public to their art form and the creative process. Open rehearsals may include…watching actors and directors build a dramatic scene. Participatory interactions with the artists and directors may include question and answer sessions or witnessing the technical staging of a new piece with blocking, music, sound and light cues under consideration.
In culmination of their Residency, artistic companies present a repertory piece on the Webb Center’s stage as a part of the annual “Webb Center Presents” series, exposing Arizona audiences to the company. After the residency, the company finalizes the new work” for production.
Participating in the residency are Vivid Ensemble Members Harry Patrick Christian, Laura Ekstrand, Noreen Farley, Becca Landis McLarty, Daria M. Sullivan, Jason Szamreta and Harriett Trangucci. Also collaborating are director Betsy True and playwright Barbara Blumenthal-Ehrlich. The company will be accompanied by documentary filmmaker Matt Wilson, who will record the process and create a film that explores the motivations and experiences of the artists.
Through improvisation, writing prompts, discussions and exercises, the artists will generate material on a theme that they discover together. By the end of the two-week residency, the beginnings of a full-length piece will be created. When the ensemble returns to New Jersey, the collaborative piece that was initiated at the Webb Center will be further developed, with several private showings throughout the coming year. Ultimately, the original theatre piece will be produced as a part of Vivid Stage’s future mainstage season.
Vivid Stage was founded in 1994 as Dreamcatcher Rep, and is a non-profit professional ensemble of actors who build community with the audience by sharing contemporary, life-affirming stories that challenge, energize and entertain. Their work has at its heart a belief in the essential goodness of people and the power of live performance to connect people through our shared humanity. They expose theatregoers to ideas and lives like and unlike their own with the intention of awakening their imaginations and creating empathy for others. They deepen the experience of all their patrons with personal contact through receptions, talkbacks, and interactive programs.
The company’s activities include mainstage productions, improvisational comedy and cabarets, new play readings and a variety of educational and senior outreach programs.
Vivid Stage’s programs are funded by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, and many other corporations, foundations and individuals. Vivid Stage is an Equity Producing member of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance.
Vivid Stage, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) corporation, incorporated under the laws of the State of New Jersey.
