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Tuesday, February 21, 2012

THE JCC OF METROWEST AND THE JEWISH PLAYS PROJECT SEEKS AUDIENCES TO HELP CHOOSE THE WINNER

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A revolutionary event in which “teasers” of the top three new plays will be performed by a group of actors. Then, the audience will vote on the winner using their cell phones.

WHEN: Saturday March 24 2012 at 8 PM
WHERE:
JCC Metrowest, 760 Northfield Ave., West Orange
TICKETS: A limited number of tickets are available, and can be purchased for $18 at the JCC Box Office, ONLINE or by calling 1.800.494.TIXS.
For more information, visit www.jewishplaysproject.org

The Winner of the Contest will be presented to producers and theater companies at Manhattan’s 14th Street Y the last weekend in June of 2012, with a goal of being produced in 2013 somewhere in the U.S.

The Top 3 Plays Are:

  • A People by Lauren Feldman (Brooklyn, NY)
  • Six by Zohar Tirosh-Polk (New York, NY)
  • The Wicked Son: A Passover Play by Cecelia Copeland (New York, NY)

The contest, a national and international search for the best new Jewish play scripts began in September 2011. By November, 175 plays had been submitted from writers all over the world, including more than 85 from the New Jersey/New York area.

The Top 3 were selected by an Artistic Panel of 10 emerging New York actors, writers and directors working alongside a Community Panel of 30 active Metrowest residents. The Artists rated scripts on their aesthetic merit and production readiness, while the Community members judged the importance of the subject matter to the Jewish community both at home and abroad.

“We set out to create a contest that would really allow a wide range of voices into the dialogue about what we like to call 21st Century Jewish theater,” said Ms. Berman. “The amazing group of folks who came together to judge the plays worked so hard to let each play to be heard. We hope this type of community engagement in the arts will be a model for other communities. The good news is we found great plays – imaginative, funny, spiritual plays, plays with heart and brains and neshama and strong 21st Century Jewish voices.”

Initial data on the plays submitted showed some interesting subjects cropping up across the writers:

  • 27% wrote Family Dramas & Comedies
  • 27% wrote about Historical events (about 85% of which was related to the Holocaust)
  • 6% wrote about Israel
  • 40% wrote about everything else under the sun.

“There's some Biblical retellings, some grappling with fertility, and new looks at sexuality, ethnic diversity, dating, terrorism, and a lot more, said Mr. Winitsky. “That's what Jewish life today is about. It's family and history and the Bible, but it’s also everything else under the sun, and it’s why the Jewish Playwriting Contest was started. Making great theater about all of it makes it more human, more joyful, more accessible to everyone - Jews and non-Jews alike.”

ABOUT THE JCC: JCC MetroWest’s vision is to be the premier Jewish social, recreational, cultural and educational center that serves the entire MetroWest community and inspires every individual to explore the boundless potential of Judaism. We will be a welcoming Jewish neighborhood that links every Jew to the home, the community and the rest of the Jewish world. www.jccmetrowest.org

ABOUT THE JEWISH PLAYS PROJECT: The Jewish Plays Project is a development house for 21st Century Jewish theater. The organization seeks to ignite an explosive engagement between cutting-edge theater artists and Jewish audiences by developing and advocating for a new generation of plays and musicals that embrace and investigate the intersection of Jewish identity and secular self. www.jewishplaysproject.org

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: