MILE SQUARE THEATRE ANNOUNCES VIRTUAL PLAY SERIES

Mile Square Theatre’s Given Circumstance: New Plays in the Virtual World

September 18-20: Sitting and Talking by Lia Romeo

September 25-27: New Plays by Nandita Shenoy and Cary Gitter

October 2-4: New Plays by Audley Puglisi and Kevin R. Free

October 9-11: New Plays by Dustin Chinn and Chris O’Connor

TICKETS: $15-$20, available at: www.milesquaretheatre.org. Once purchased, audience members will be emailed a link through which the stream may be accessed.

WHEN: The four-part series begins September 18, and runs every weekend through October 11. 
WHERE: Zoom

The series begins with Lia Romeo’s charming, deeply heartfelt play Sitting and Talking, which follows a man and woman in their 60s as they navigate the vulnerable, awkward, and sometimes hilarious path to companionship via online dating during quarantine. Film star Dan Lauria, who played the titular role in Broadway’s Lombardi, is joined by Emmy- and Golden Globe-nominated actress Wendie Malick, and the piece is directed by James Glossman. Sitting and Talking is presented in collaboration with Project Y Theatre Company, led by co-founding Artistic Directors Michole Biancosino and Andrew W. Smith.

While Romeo’s play stands alone, the rest of the Given Circumstances lineup is paired off, providing audiences with two different short plays when they tune in. 

• The weekend of September 25, viewers will be treated to new plays by Nandita Shenoy and Cary Gitter
• October 2 brings plays by Audley Puglisi and Kevin R. Free
• October 9 with work by Dustin Chinn and Chris O’Connor. Directors and casts of these other six plays will be announced at a later date.

Mile Square Theatre Artistic Director Chris O’Connor says, “The term ‘given circumstance’ is a theatrical term used by practitioners to describe the circumstances defined by the playwright, which frame the play. We thought the term was apt to describe the circumstances that are defining theatre in the time of COVID. A monumental circumstance these days is that we now live in a digital world, chiefly defined by Zoom calls. All of these commissions have asked the playwrights to set their plays on the Zoom platform as a central ‘given circumstance.’ We are thrilled to have this impressive lineup of writers and theatre collaborators.”

MST Season Sponsorship: Advance Realty, Aecom/Tishman, Bijou Properties, Haven Savings Bank, Jet.com, Kearny Bank, The Rockefeller Group.

Mile Square Theatre is supported by the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.

This program is made possible in part by funds from the New Jersey Council on the Arts/Department of State, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts; and by funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, administered by the Hudson County Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs, Thomas A. Degise, County Executive, and the Board of Chosen Freeholders.

Member of The New Jersey Theatre Alliance.

For more information on Mile Square Theatre, please visit www.milesquaretheatre.org.