Jersey City Theater Center (JCTC) announces a full slate of
international programming, introducing audiences to global artists with a
series of online and in-person events. JCTC will also participate in the #HudsonGives
24-hour online giving event on Thursday, May 12, 2022. #HudsonGives unites local communities around local
causes to benefit hundreds of area nonprofits.
“Because of our dedicated supporters across
Jersey City and Hudson County, we, in turn, can support hundreds of incredible
local, national, and international artists. Last year, over 400 artists
participated in JCTC programs and productions,” says Olga Levina, JCTC’s
executive producer. “#HudsonGives helps us fulfill our mission to create
conversations through the arts. This week alone, our programs feature artists
representing countries across 3 continents. It is an
honor to be able to bring such high caliber talent – from IDR and Palesa
Mazamisa to Dr. Tawanda Hubbard and Molly Kirschner – to audiences here,” she adds.
Lazy Boy
by Palesa Mazamisa
WHEN: Saturday, May 14, 2022, at 12:00PM (ET)
WHERE: Online
Lazy Boy, written and directed by South African Palesa
Mazamisaz and featuring actress Hlengiwe Lushaba Madlala, tells the story of a
woman seeking to triumph against all odds. Set in a time of fear and anxiety
caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the play takes the audience through a journey
of desperation, anger, sorrow, and ultimately a sliver of humanity.
The Red Ants are scurrying about, creating piles
of destruction in an already bleak informal settlement. Agnes is left
despondent and hopeless in the space that was once her shack, but she vows not
to give up. She addresses two Red Ants carrying away the only possession she
cares about, her chair. Already exhausted, depressed and frustrated, she needs
the lazyboy to get through the assault on her dignity, her right to live in a
home, however shambolic it may be. So, she begs the young men to return the
chair, her symbol of independence, the first item she bought for herself after
leaving the man who used money to control her. Her sanity is vested in this
chair, it’s her solace, her comfort spot that allows her to think and hatch a
plan to move back to her home province where she’s left her two daughters in
the care of their father, her ex. Lazy Boy is a woman’s plea for her
dignity amidst chaos.
TICKETS: $10: https://www.seetickets.us/event/Theatre-Online-South-Africa-Lazy-Boy-by-Palesa-Mazamisa/451087
“Black Space”
with Special Guest Dr. Tawanda
Hubbard
WHEN: Sunday, May 15, 2022, at 2:00 PM (ET)
WHERE: Online
Host Ashley Nicole Baptiste and special guest Dr. Tawanda Hubbard will
discuss the fatigue and challenges of living up to being resilient in the face
of negative images and messaging about Black women. Dr. Hubbard is an Associate Professor of Professional Practice at
Rutgers University School of Social Work (RUSSW). She was honored in 2021 with
a national Teaching Leadership Award in Higher Education by JV Educational
Consultants. In addition, Dr. Hubbard is a licensed clinical social worker with
over 17 years of child welfare, mental and behavioral health, advocacy, case
management, and clinical experience with a small private practice and
consulting firm. She is currently pursuing a second doctorate in Family Science
and Human Development at Montclair State University. This event will be
streamed live on Facebook Live and YouTube via Zoom.
TICKETS: Free: https://www.seetickets.us/event/Black-Space-S2E5-Dr-Tawanda-Hubbard/482607
IDR (Italian Doc Remix)
WHEN: Sunday, May 15, 2022, at 6:00 PM (ET)
WHERE: JCTC Studios, 165 Newark Ave., Jersey City (enter at Barrow St.)
Founded by Italian guitarist/composer Marco
Cappelli and Italian American percussionist Jim Pugliese, IDR (Italian Doc
Remix) has carved out a unique musical niche. The ensemble fuses jazz
improvisation, rock, and Italian folkloric/early music sources to excavate the
cultural memory of generations of Italian immigrants and explore the musical
space where traditions blur and cross-contaminate, memories fade and distort,
and new post-immigration sounds are born. IDR’s newest album, Pandemonium,
takes their project to the next level with the addition of a half-dozen of
Southern Italy’s finest musicians to the group’s usual lineup.
TICKETS: $20: https://www.seetickets.us/event/Global-Music-Italy-IDRItalian-Doc-Remix-PANDEMONIUM/477803
2022 New Play Festival Week Two: Woman with a Parasol
WHEN: Friday, May 13, 2022, at 7:30 PM (ET- doors open at 7:00 PM)
WHERE: JCTC Studios, 165 Newark Ave., Jersey City (enter at Barrow St.)
New Play Festival Week Two showcases a full-length play, Woman
with a Parasol, written by Molly Kirschner, and directed by Hamutal
Posklinksy. A Q&A and discussion will follow the performance.
Woman with a Parasol tells the story of a neighborhood cat who frequents three
different households, taking the place of what is missing in each. It takes
strength for a couple to bring a child into a world like ours: a polluted world
with a limited lifespan. It requires strength for an abandoned young man to
love, particularly to love a cat that belongs to someone else, which he can’t
possibly keep. Strength is also what drives a woman’s decision to eschew a
conventional life to pursue her artistic dreams, even at the cost of forsaking
her child. In this tale of interconnectedness and unspeakable emotional
distances, the characters struggle to find the strength necessary to fulfill
their desires, and in the process, cause harm to those closest to them.
This event is part of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance 2022 Stages
Festival, made possible by support from the New Jersey State Council on the
Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts; Bank of America;
The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey; OceanFirst Foundation; New Jersey
Historical Commission.
TICKETS: free with $20 suggested donation: https://www.seetickets.us/event/New-Play-Festival-Strength-Staged-Reading/480723
To see a full schedule of Stages Festival events, please visit www.njtheatrealliance.org/stages.
About
Jersey City Theater Center
Jersey City Theater Center (JCTC) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) arts
organization committed to inspiring conversations about important issues of our
times through the arts. Co-founded by Executive Producer Olga Levina, an
immigrant from Belarus, Jersey City Theater Center (JCTC) produces and presents
universal yet locally relevant works, emphasizing social justice and human
rights.
Since 2006, JCTC has provided a platform for all artistic voices
to be heard. When we share stories through the arts, we spark meaningful
dialogue that leads to our ability to build a greater understanding of each
other, mutual respect, and better communities together.
Finally, JCTC joins 100 area nonprofits for the annual #HudsonGives
24-hour online giving event on Thursday, May 12, 2022. Donations can be made between now through May 18 at https://www.hudsongives.org/organizations/jersey-city-theater-center.
