LIBERTY LIVE: TALKING TO WESTFIELD
WHEN: Friday, December 7 @ 6:00 PM (Special Benefit Performance), Saturday, December 8 @ 2:00 PM and Sunday, December 9 @ 3:00 PM
WHERE: Little Theatre in the Kean University Center, Kean University, 1000 Morris Ave., Union
TICKETS: $15 ($100 for the benefit, $50 of which is tax-deductible), with a discounted rate of $10 available for groups of 10 or more.
To make reservations call Kean Box Office at 908.737.SHOW (7469) or visit www.kean.edu/premierestages.
Liberty Live will feature the premiere of the family-friendly Talking to Westfield. In this engaging new play, Trevor and his father visit the Westfield Museum. After setting out on his own into the Museum’s living history exhibit, Trevor finds himself thrust into the past where, along with Westfield’s most famous historical figures, he makes history. Literally!
Talking to Westfield is written by award-winning playwright EM Lewis. Her play, Song of Extinction, won the 2009 Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award and her drama Heads was awarded the 2008 Primus prize. A 2010 Hodder Fellowship in playwriting at Princeton University brought her to the Garden State.
The production is directed by Premiere Stages Producing Artistic Director, John Wooten, and features a cast of Warren Jackson*, Sam Kitchin*, Briana Packen, and Nick Piacente. (* appears courtesy of Actors’ Equity Association). (Above: Sam Kitchin and Nick Piacente in the Liberty Live world premiere of Talking to Westfield.)
All performances will include a combination of pre- and post- show activities designed to engage audiences and ensure that the event is fun for the whole family. Working closely with Liberty Hall Museum and the Westfield Historical Society, Premiere Stages will design an interactive mobile museum in the Pre-Function Lobby of the Little Theatre. The space will feature displays on Westfield History and famous residents, and loaned exhibits from the Reeve House in Westfield. Patrons of all ages will have the opportunity to write their own memories of New Jersey for display in the lobby throughout the weekend. Children will also have the opportunity to draw pictures of New Jersey that will also be displayed. Following the production, some of the contributions will be added to the Liberty Live History Archive.
“We are glad to be able to reschedule the inaugural production of Liberty Live following the effects of Hurricane Sandy,” said Premiere Stages Producing Artistic Director, John Wooten. “We hope that by bringing New Jersey history front and center we can help inspire local communities to rebuild by celebrating the incredible resilience and perseverance that made New Jersey what it is today.” The Liberty Hall Museum will be collecting Toys for Tots at all performances.
For the December 7th afternoon performance (time TBA), Premiere Stages will partner with Westfield’s Miller-Cory House to offer a Native American Medicine Pouches workshop, prior to the performance in the University Center Greek Lounge, adjacent to the theater. There will also be a workshop exploring New Jersey history through ensemble storytelling and improvisation.
For the December 8th 2:00 PM performance, Premiere Stages will partner with Westfield’s Miller-Cory House, and the first 30 patrons to purchase tickets will also be afforded FREE access to Liberty Hall Museum’s noon to 1:30 PM Gingerbread House Workshop with purchase of a ticket to Talking to Westfield. At the workshop, children will get into the holiday spirit when they decorate their own Gingerbread House at this popular annual Liberty Hall event. A tour of Liberty Hall decorated for the holidays will follow the workshop. There will also be displays in the Pre-Function Lobby and additional workshops exploring history through ensemble storytelling and improvisation.(Above: A room from a Westfield dollhouse. The entire dollhouse will be on display at the event.)
For the December 9th 3:00 PM performance, Premiere Stages will partner with Westfield’s Miller-Cory House to offer a free Native American Medicine Pouches workshop, following the performance. There will also be displays in the Pre-Function Lobby and a free workshop exploring New Jersey history through ensemble storytelling and improvisation.
Through a donation from Westfield’s Cold Stone Creamery, children will have the opportunity to sample “Black Cows”—an old-fashioned root beer drink that would have been served in a soda fountain shop in Westfield at the turn of last century—offered at all performances!
In addition, Premiere Stages will present a sit-down reading of Talking to Westfield at the Westfield Memorial Library on Thursday, November 29th at 7:00 PM. The reading will serve as a preview of the production in December and information on Premiere Stages, Liberty Hall Museum, and the Westfield Historical Society will be available at the reading. The Library is located at 550 East Broad Street, Westfield, NJ 07090 and the event is free and open to the public.
Premiere Stages will also hold a special VIP Celebration of Liberty Live on Friday, December 7th beginning at 6:00 PM. All tickets are $100 and proceeds from the event will support Premiere Stages’ artistic and educational endeavors, with a special focus on school residency programs for students living in underserved districts. A portion of the proceeds will also go to support the Westfield Historical Society. The evening includes admission to the December 7th pre-show Reception at 6:00 PM at the Liberty Hall Wagon Shed featuring music, wine and carefully selected hors d’ oeuvres; a candlelight tour of the Museum grounds at 7:00 PM; a complimentary ticket to the performance of Talking to Westfield at 8:00 PM in the University Center Little Theatre; and a champagne toast and dessert reception following the show in the Pre-Function Lobby of the Little Theatre. For more information and to reserve tickets, please call 908.737.4092. Call now. Seating is limited!
The Liberty Live project is part of the Premiere Stages Play Festival, which is dedicated to the development of emerging dramatists in the region. Each year, Premiere Stages commissions a one-act script from a New Jersey playwright that explores the history of a city or township located in New Jersey. “We are extremely pleased to expand our new play development programs to include Liberty Live,” said John Wooten, producing artistic director of Premiere Stages. “The project empowers local dramatists to create compelling plays about how New Jersey has evolved. And the Liberty Hall Museum is the perfect partner to help bring these unique and important stories to life.”
The 2012 pilot program of Liberty Live is made possible through funding from The Westfield Foundation and The New Jersey Historical Commission. Premiere Stages is also made possible in part through funding from The New Jersey State Council on the Arts, The Shubert Foundation, The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, The Provident Bank Foundation, The Northfield Bank Foundation, The New Jersey Theatre Alliance, The National Science Foundation and through the generous support of individual patrons. For further information, call Premiere Stages at 908.737.4092.
Premiere Stages offers affordable prices, air-conditioned facilities, free parking and discounted tickets to patrons with disabilities. Please call for a list of sign-interpreted, audio-described or open-captioned performances. Assistive listening devices and large print programs are available at all times. Publications are available with advanced notice in alternate formats.
Photos by Ben Gancsos.
