FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Deb Cooperman,

Director of Marketing and Public Relations

Phone: (973) 540-0515 ext. 14

E-mail: dcooperman@njtheatrealliance.org

September 2007

 

 

 

New Jersey Theatre Alliance welcomes

FIVE new Associate member theatres

 

(Morristown) The New Jersey Theatre Alliance, the consortium of professional theatres throughout the state, is pleased to announce the addition of five new members to its roster.  Act Out Theatre (Woodstown), The Skyline Theatre Company (Franklin Lakes), and Mile Square Theatre (Hoboken), Shadow Lawn Stage (West Long Branch), The Theater Company (Hoboken), have recently become Associate Members, joining eight other theatres in a program that will assist them in their growth and development.  “We are delighted to welcome these five outstanding theatres to our Associate program,” says John McEwen, Executive Director of the Theatre Alliance.  “We look forward to partnering with them as they expand their offerings to their communities.”

 

Act Out Theatre, (Woodstown), presents their productions at the Clare Rostan Appel Theatre at Appel Farm Arts and Music center in Elmer.  “We like to promote local artists,” says Founder and Producing Artistic Director David M. Keller, and productions are “educationally tinged.”  The upcoming No Longer Warriors is based on a Civil War novel of the same name by Woodstown author Charles Harrison, and adapted for the stage by local playwright David Dorrell.   No Longer Warriors will run from November 2 – November 11 with post show discussions with the cast, playwright, author and director.  

 

Student matinees are offered with every production and the company also partners with Salem Community College in Carneys Point to offer summer camp classes serving children from 6 – 12. 

 

For more information, contact Act Out Theatre at (856) 769-3638 or visit their website at www.actouttheatre.org.

 

Mile Square Theatre (Hoboken) was founded in 2002 by Chris O’Conner while he was in graduate school at Rutgers.  The company has gained recognition for 7th Inning Stretch – an annual festival of seven 10-minute plays about baseball – a tip of the hat to their hometown of Hoboken, the birthplace of baseball.   Two of the plays have gone on to appear at the Humana Festival, and the company is working on getting the plays published in an anthology.

 

The company offers one free outdoor production per season and an indoor paid performance, as well as the popular 7th Inning Stretch festival.   This coming year, O’Connor hopes to expand the roster to include 3 indoor productions as well as the free outdoor show.  They also have a strong commitment to education; producing theater for young audiences, and offering a thriving internship program, as well as theater workshops at the Hoboken Historical Museum.  “We’re very excited about becoming Associate members of the Alliance; I know they don’t accept just anyone.  By becoming members we’re confirming that we’re the real deal – it gives us cache to continue what we’re doing,” says O’Connor.

 

Shadow Lawn Stage (West Long Branch).  Shadow Lawn Stage is a professional theatre in residence at Monmouth University.  Led by Artistic Director Dr. John Burke, the mission of Shadow Lawn is to provide students an opportunity to learn and work with theatre professionals behind the scenes and on the stage – while creating high quality work for the community.  The company is currently producing in the Pollak Theatre as they await the completion of construction on the renovated Woods Theatre, a former carriage house that is listed in the historical register.  The intimate Woods Theatre, with 140 seats, is due to be completed in the summer of 2008.  

 

“We’ve been in transition,” says Linda Delaney, Production Associate, but next year we’ll be back with a full season.”  Past seasons included three productions – and all productions provide opportunities for students from Monmouth University’s department of Music and Theatre Arts to participate and learn alongside professional theater artists. 

 

For more information, contact Shadow Lawn Stage at (732) 263 – 5730 or visit their website at www.monmouth.edu/shadowlawnstage/

 

The Skyline Theatre Company (Franklin Lakes), founded in 1995 is headed by Sam Scalamoni, Managing and Artistic Director and is in residence at the Ramapo/Indian Hills School.

This year’s season includes Hair from October 4 – 7, and A.R. Gurney's Love Letters from May 1 – 4, 2008.   In addition to these productions, The Skyline Theatre Company offers the Artist in Focus program – a combination of workshops, master classes, and an apprentice program where professional performers, technicians, designers, and administrators share their knowledge and train young people in all aspects of the performing and visual arts.  And Skyline’s Apprentice Program gives students the opportunity to work directly with professionals in a production setting. 

 

“Becoming a member of NJTA is key in our foundation of becoming recognized as the professional group we are,” says Scalamoni, “and a signal to the community that we are poised for growth.”

 

Founded in 2000, The Theater Company (Hoboken) is located on the campus of Stevens Institute of Technology and stages their productions in The Center for the Performing Arts at DeBaun Auditorium.   “One of the most unique features about our company,” says Managing Director Karen Maloney, “is that we really believe the process of mounting a production should be an educational experience for all involved. Our casts combine professionals, community members, students and children – if applicable to the show – so everyone can learn from each other and benefit from each other’s experiences.” 

 

This season the company is presenting the Hudson County One Acts Festival – this weekend September 14, 15, and next weekend: September 21 and 22; Urinetown, the musical from October 19 – 28; A Christmas Carol on December 14, 15 and 16; and Seussical from February 8 – 24.   The Theater Company offers group discounts for schools and organizations which include post-show discussions with the show’s director, cast and stage manager.

 

The company also offers an educational touring production to local schools each Spring; their upcoming selection will be Free to Be ... You and Me. 

 

“Becoming a member of the Alliance is really helping us reinforce who we are and the quality of work we are striving to bring our audiences,” says Maloney.  “Being awarded membership makes us feel that we have accomplished so much in a short amount of time and it only spurs us on to achieve even more.”

 

For more information, contact The Theater Company at (201) 216-8933 or visit their website www.debaun.org.

 

For more information about New Jersey Theatre Alliance’s Associate Member program, and other programs designed to promote New Jersey’s professional theatres, and enhance the theatre experience for our communities, visit our website at www.njtheatrealliance.org.

 

For over 25 years, the New Jersey Theatre Alliance, the only statewide service organization for professional, non-profit theatres in the United States, has provided programs and services to support and encourage professional theatre arts activity, arts education, and artistic presentations designed to increase public access and exposure to, interest in, and understanding of the art of theatre.

 

Funding for the New Jersey Theatre Alliance, a not-for-profit organization, is provided in part by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation as well as contributions from foundations, corporations, businesses and individuals.  American Airlines is the official airline of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance.

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