(ATLANTIC HIGHLANDS, NJ) -- First Avenue Playhouse presents Cocktail Hour Confessions by Jared Kelner across two weekends from August 14-29, 2026. During the cocktail hour of an interracial wedding, family secrets and hidden prejudices surface.
The play has been called, “A thought-provoking dramedy.”
The production is directed by Dave McGrath and Ben Alexander. It stars Arthur Gregory Pugh, Nancy Viola, Aaron Gutterman, Cort Hooker, Jacynth Apora & Vince Fay.
Performances take place Friday and Saturday nights at 7:30pm and Sunday Matinees (August 16 & 23) at 2:30pm. Call (732) 291-7552 to reserve seats. The theater is located at 123 First Avenue in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey.
Playwright Jared Kelner is an actor, acting teacher, personal acting coach, NJACT Perry Award nominated playwright, producer and director. He has appeared professionally on stage, film, tv and radio.
Jared is the author of LINE? The Creative Way for Actors to Quickly Memorize Monologues and Dialogues which hit #1 on Amazon.com in Acting/Auditioning. Jared is the creator of REACT (Rapid - Emotion - Activation - Craft - Training) Learn How Actors Use NLP To Cry On Demand) - a craft technique DVD available on Amazon.com. Jared is the playwright of 2 Off-Off-Broadway plays, What Do They Become? and A Promise To Your Mother (nominated for the 2016 NJACT Perry Award for Outstanding Original Play) and a third play called Silver Dollar.
Jared graduated from a performing arts High School, holds an undergraduate degree in Theater Arts (Cum Laude) and has studied the following acting craft techniques over the last 30 years: Stanislavski, Chekhov, Meinser, Strasberg, Adler, Hagen, Morris, Dusa, Heller, Alba, PEM and many others. Jared has taught teen and adult acting craft classes in California, New York and New Jersey and was the Co-Founder and Co-Artistic Director of The Actor's Playhouse, a Meisner Technique acting school in Northern California. He is currently the owner and Artistic Director of The Actor's Approach Acting Academy in Central New Jersey.
