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Theatre & Dance
Spring 2021
Agua Es Vida/Water is Life: Celebration of Dance & Song from Mexico
Written by David Gonzalez with Cecilia Ortega-Cano, Dance & Music by Mexico Beyond Mariachi
Saturday, June 12, 2 p.m.
Virtual Event
Link will be sent 2 hours prior to the show
30 minute filmed show
15 min live Q&A with the artist
“Why is there fire in the woods? Where did the water go?” The world is out of balance, and we must work together to bring the world, and ourselves, back into balance. Our Indigenous storyteller, Cecilia, guides us on a journey that starts with the magical Danzante and leads to an impossible challenge. Or is it? All along the way dancers and musicians from all parts of Mexico bring their glorious traditions to life. Featuring dances from Veracruz, Guerrero, Michoacán, and more, Agua Es Vida is a dance and storytelling adventure that celebrates Mexican culture with ALEGRIA!
The Cashore Marionettes: Simple Gifts
Date: TBD
Simple Gifts, is a series of touching portrayals and poignant scenes from everyday life set to stunning music by such composers as Vivaldi, Strauss, Beethoven and Copland. Through a combination of virtuoso manipulation, beautiful music, theatrical illusion, and artistic insight, the original vignettes presented in Simple Gifts provide an entertaining and sensitive vision of what it is to be human. The performance explores a range of emotions with characters and actions that are amazingly convincing. The marionettes are engineering marvels and the quality of movement is extraordinary.
JCTC and NJCU presents
W.E.B. Du Bois: A MAN FOR ALL TIMES
Written & Directed by Alexa Kelly
Featuring BRIAN RICHARDSON as Dr. Du Bois
Created and developed by Pulse Ensemble Theatre
Date: TBD
An emotion packed play about the life and times of Civil Rights
Activist --W.E.B. Du Bois, (1868-1963). With this riveting drama we are
transported into Du Bois' private and political world. An inspirational
journey through almost one hundred years in this great man's life. An
experience both humorous, touching and enlightening.
In response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19), the Addams Family performances will be rescheduled to a date in the near future. We will post further information as we receive it. All tickets that have been purchased to date will be valid for the rescheduled performance dates.
The Addams Family
Margaret Williams Theatre
Tickets $15, students $5
The Addams Family, a comical feast that embraces the wackiness in every family, features an original story that is every father’s nightmare: Wednesday Addams, the ultimate princess of darkness, has grown up and fallen in love with a sweet, smart young man from a respectable family—a man her parents have never met. And if that wasn’t upsetting enough, Wednesday confides in her father and begs him not to tell her mother. Now, Gomez Addams must do something he’s never done before—keep a secret from his beloved wife, Morticia. Everything will change for the whole family on the fateful night they host a dinner for Wednesday’s “normal” boyfriend and his parents.
Past Events
Thursday, September 26, 2019 at 9:45 a.m.
Margaret Williams Theatre
$8 for all students and adults (including teachers)
CONTACT: boxoffice@njcu.edu, 201-200-2429
GRADES: 1–6
Mexico Beyond Mariachi performs SUGAR SKULL! A Dia De los Muertos Musical Adventure! A heartfelt story following young Vita on a magical adventure where she discovers the true meaning of Day of the Dead with the help of a candy skeleton who suddenly springs to life. It’s an entertaining, educational show that takes you on a historic and geographical journey through traditional Mexican music and dance.
Thursday, November 7, Friday, November 8 & Saturday, November 9, 2019 at 8:00 p.m.
West Side Theatre
Tickets: $25, Students: $5
When Denitra loses the charter school lottery
for her daughter, she must find another way to escape from their underperforming neighborhood school. The answer seems like a risk well worth taking, but may end up requiring a bigger sacrifice than she ever could have imagined. Set in 2010 in Essex County, NJ - over a half-century after Brown Versus The Board of Education, LINES IN THE DUST questions how far we’ve come and more importantly, where we go from here. (Luna Stage Commission)
Margaret Williams Theatre
Thursday, January 23, 2020 at 9:45 a.m.
$8 for all students and adults (including teachers)
Grades 4-12
To purchase group tickets please contact: boxoffice@njcu.edu or (201) 200-2429
A celebrated body of compositions that merge live dance, multimedia presentation and interactive dialogue to honor faith, survival and renewal as the cornerstones of her Eastern European roots and Jewish heritage. As a child of Holocaust survivors, Dorfman reveals her heritage through dance stories that interweave the common threads of our humanity. In honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day, the show explores the rich tapestry of human experience and tradition through interdisciplinary and intercultural collaboration.
Digital Event
Saturday, May 9, 2020 at 2pm
Stephanie Chaiken, Director, NJCU Center for the Arts, moderates a demonstration and Q&A with Joseph Cashore, creator of the acclaimed Cashore Marionettes.
Joseph Cashore has been designing and performing his remarkable marionettes for over 30 years. His achievements include:
Henson Foundation Grant – to promote puppetry to adult audiences
UNIMA Citation of Excellence – highest honor a US puppeteer can receive
Pew Fellowship for Performance Art – based on artistic accomplishment
PennPAT Roster Artist – PennPAT roster artists “maintain the highest standards of artistic quality and professionalism”
Saturday, July 11, from 2pm - 3:30 pm
Digital Event
In this interactive and inspiring event, NJCU Center for the Arts Director, Stephanie Chaiken, will interview acclaimed dancer, choreographer, educator and curator - Edisa Weeks, and Edisa will present a workshop Exploring the Personal and Political.
Using personal memories and political events as source material, participants will explore methods for delving into movement and text to generate socially relevant and gutsy theatrical work. Participants are encouraged to tap into their theatrical and kinesthetic imagination and ability.
Level: Open to All
Please have ready for the workshop:
Plain Paper (3 or more pages)
Pen or pencil
One or more of the following: Crayons, Magic Markers, Colored Pencils
Edisa Weeks has had work performed in venues ranging from Aaron Davis Hall, Alfred University, Emory University, the Guggenheim Museum, Harlem Stage, Jacob's Pillow, The Kennedy Center, to The National Black Arts Festival, Summerstages Dance Festival, and The Yard. She has also performed in swimming pools, senior centers, sidewalks, and storefronts to living rooms in Berlin, Germany, as part of Haus der Kulturen der Welts 50th anniversary celebration.
Raised in Uganda, Papua New Guinea and Brooklyn, NY, Weeks holds a BA from Brown University an
Saturday, August 22, 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Digital Event
Join us for an interactive talk and workshop with Arlene Chico-Lugo and Eric Aviles, co-founders of the Liberation Arts Collective. These critically acclaimed actors/teaching artists/writers have dedicated their lives to the pursuit of stories being told, including roles examining the Latino experience in the United States. This program is part of our Creative Process Series and will explore Aviles' play Where You From? What You Be About? and discuss turning real-life experiences into a play, independent producing, responding to a global pandemic through online presentations, and the nature of artistic collaboration.
Thursday, October 22, 11:00 A.M. -12:20 P.M.
Free Virtual Event
Stephanie Chaiken, Director of the NJCU Center for the Arts, moderates a panel and workshop with Benjamin V. Marshall and Julie Weinberg of the 9th Floor Playwrights Collective, and Marc Dalio, NJCU - Area Coordinator of Musical Theatre Studies & Professor of Voice.
This panel and workshop will teach about structure for criticism from multiple perspectives when you have a draft of a new play -- and how to work with a group for feedback to lead you to a next draft
Live Outdoor Event
Location: The Lawn @ The GSUB Patio
Friday, April 30, 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, May 1, 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, May 2, 3:00 p.m.
Total Event time is approximately 3 Hours
Please dress appropriately for outdoor weather
