EVENTS THIS WEEK @ The JOCUNDA MUSIC, FILM & THEATRE FESTIVAL

The JOCUNDA MUSIC, FILM & THEATRE FESTIVAL Presents A Virtual Play Reading of  SOUL TO SQUEEZE written and directed by Meagan Meehan NOTHING IN COMMON written by Natasha Cobb directed by Van Dirk Fisher  GLOBAL INFERNO written by Cliff Bergmann directed by Rhonda Goldstein  WHERE: on Zoom. Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_yyu4MDL4RaexF-DhYEvmNw  WHEN: SATURDAY, AUGUST 15TH, @ 8 PM EDT (U.S. and Canada).  DONATION: $15.00 To benefit the Riant Theatre. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. SOUL TO SQUEEZE takes place during the coronavirus pandemic, an ANGEL and a DEVIL vie for the soul of a quarantined human living under the COVID-19 lockdown. The cast includes: CHRISTINE SLOAN STODDARD, (who has performed at The Kennedy Center and Theatre for the New City) as the Angel and DONNA MORALES, (Film credits include: the Stepmother in Cyber Cinderella (Quail Bell Productions), as the Devil. NOTHING IN COMMON People always talk about how much women want to have children. But men have a biological clock too. Some men will stop at nothing to get what they want. The cast includes: KYMBERLY BURNS, whose Theatre credits include: The Last Train (Afrikan Women’s Rep) and Riding On Bald Tires (Best Actress Award, Strawberry One-Act Festival) as Kelli, CHAUNICE CHAPMAN, whose TV credits include: The Deuce (HBO) and Luke Cage (Netflix), as Shaunda and SPENCER COLLINS, (whose Theatre credits include: leading roles in The Potter’s House and The Great Baptism), as Jean. GLOBAL INFERNO takes place in London in 1613 in the recent aftermath of the destruction of Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre by tremendous fire.  At first thought to be a terrible accident or “act of God”, an impromptu investigation uncovers a surprising explanation which will eventually set in motion a course of history for the future of the British theatre. The cast includes: CHRISTOPHER DIEM, whose Theatre credits include: Charles Wallace in A Wrinkle In Time and James in James and the Giant Peach (Chance Theatre), as the Boy, MATT KOUTROULIS, (whose credits include: Major General Stanley in The Pirates of Penzance and Pozzo in Waiting for Godot) as the Magistrate, CHRIS SCARBOROUGH as the Stage Manager and MICHAEL WESTMORELAND as the Professor. There will be a TALK BACK afterwards with the Playwright and Cast after the reading. Van Dirk Fisher, Founder & Artistic Director of the Riant Theatre and producer of the JOCUNDA MUSIC, FILM & THEATRE FESTIVAL will be the moderator. The JOCUNDA MUSIC, FILM & THEATRE FESTIVAL Presents a Virtual Play Reading of  HOLY INTERVENTION by Shashone Lambert Short  Directed by Staxx Cordero  WHEN: Sunday, August 16th, at 8PM EDT.  Holy Intervention is a story about love, loss, lies, faith, hope, and redemption. What starts out as a routine night of just sex quickly turns into an evening that neither Bobby nor CC is prepared for. But who will be left standing: The Pastor or his Prostitute? The Cast includes: ANDRES SANTIAGO PINA as Bobby (Theatre credits include: Lord Capulet in Romeo and Juliet (Classical Theatre of Harlem), Shamrayev in The Seagull (Circle in the Square) and Lucius in Jesus Hopped the A Train (Columbia University) and TANYA FREEMAN as Cece (Theatre credits include: Pipeline and The Mountaintop (Marietta’s New Theatre in the Square), King Hedley II (New African Grove Theatre Co) and Things That Hurt (Resurgence Theatre).  Director REISHON “STAXX” CORDERO has been featured on Comedy Central, Starz, and most recently in The Needs, available on Amazon Prime. She’s had both lead and supportive roles in Cassidy, Mr. JayV’s Comedy Series and the hit series Bumrush. The off-Broadway theater community embraced her with lead/supportive roles in 20 plus productions including The Diva and The Rapper and AUDELCO nominated Circumstances.  Register in advance for this webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_UUKn704XSuCpnfQq2_-SdQ After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. There will be a TALK BACK afterwards with the Playwright and Cast after the reading. Van Dirk Fisher, Founder & Artistic Director of the Riant Theatre and producer of the JOCUNDA MUSIC, FILM & THEATRE FESTIVAL will be the moderator.

DRAMA ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH THIS SUNDAY ON ZOOM

The JOCUNDA MUSIC, FILM & THEATRE FESTIVAL Presents A Virtual Play Reading of

AT ALL COST
by Rashida Costa
Directed by Van Dirk Fisher

WHEN: Sunday, August 2^nd at 8PM EDT.
WHERE: Zoom. Register in advance for this webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_30AZQHC9SICXsAHlLiGC0A
DONATION: $15.00 to benefit the Riant Theatre.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Set in the South in 1945 after WWII, Wray Edmond, a Black soldier returns home in pursuit of a better life for his family and purchases a Casino after being denied the benefits of the G.I. Bill.

The cast includes: RUDOLPH SHAW as Wray Edmond, RASHIDA COSTA as Juanita Edmond, AMIR ROYALE as Sunny Edmond, HENRY DAVIS as Edison Brown, HELEN SANDERS as Grandma May, ARTHUR BROWN as Mr. Hughes and SHARON HOPE as IDA.

There will be a TALK BACK afterwards with the Playwright and Cast after the reading. Van Dirk Fisher, Founder & Artistic Director of the Riant Theatre and producer of the JOCUNDA MUSIC, FILM & THEATRE FESTIVAL will be the moderator.

Broadway World Article: THE BREAKING POINT by Karen Brown Tackles the Subject of Mental Health

JOCUNDA MUSIC, FILM & THEATRE FESTIVAL Presents Virtual Play Reading: CINDY SOUL

The JOCUNDA MUSIC, FILM & THEATRE FESTIVAL Presents A Virtual Play Reading

CINDY SOUL
by Kenike Miché and Directed by Casheka Forte

WHEN: THURSDAY, JUNE 25TH, @ 8 PM EDT (U.S. and Canada).
WHERE: Zoom
DONATION: $15.00. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Equal Justice Initiative as seen in the movie JUST MERCY.
Register HERE in advance for this webinar.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
jocundafilmfestival@gmail.com

CINDY SOUL is a Social Justice version of the old fairy tale Cinderella. It confronts police brutality, domestic violence and bullying head on.

Kenike Miché’s CINDY SOUL, is the new hit play featuring RAH DIGGA, female rap artist phenomenon, that responds to police brutality as the world slowly recovers from the devastating global pandemic of this century. In this remake of the ole’ classic fairy tale, ‘Cinderella,’ a young black girl who’s lost her mother is abused by her evil Step Mother and bullied by her Step Sisters. Her Father, seemingly blinded by her Step Mother’s seduction and deceit, does not rescue her from harm. As she struggles to survive in her newly blended family, Cindy (MARSHA-ANN HAY) makes a stand for JUSTICE against police brutality. Meanwhile, the proverbial Prince (SHARIFF SINCLAIR) and his crew also make a tribute to slain heroes. This stage reading is dedicated to the life of George Floyd and a portion of the proceeds from each ticket will go to the Equal Justice Initiative as seen in JUST MERCY.

Pictured on the backdrop of a fairy tale, some heavy issues will be explored in this play. As the whole town prepares for the big event, Cindy, already depressed, contemplates suicide. Who will rescue Cindy? Her Father, who was once her hero, sides with her wicked Step Mother to leave her home alone. Who will tell her where to find the dress, and what time to be home? It seems very bleak for Cindy. However, make no bones about it—in the twinkling of an eye everything changes—there WILL be a happy ending!

The cast includes: MARSHA ANN HAY as Cindy, KENIKE MICHÉ as Juanita, SHARIFF SINCLAIR as Tyler, IGNATIUS HINES as Arnold, RAH DIGGA as Jenny, HANNAH JACKSON as Miranda, TBD as Tank, TIEISHA THOMAS as Lucinda, BRAYAN ANGULO as Kyle, XAVON ROSS as Brent, KENSIWE MATHEBULA as Ethel, EVA BARRETT as Mrs. Wattley, JOY ILAGAN as Ms. Owens, T.B.D. as Messenger and HASHEKA FORTE as the Narrator.

Rabbi Elliott Tepperman, Author Marc Aronson and Islamic Networks Group at Luna Stage’s HEARTLAND

Heartland
by Gabriel Jason Dean
Directed by Ari Laura Kreith

WHEN: Now Running | Closes: Sunday, May 5, Thursday at 7:30 pm, Friday & Saturday at 8 pm, Sunday at 3pm
WHERE: Luna Stage, 555 Valley Road, West Orange, NJ
TICKETS: $16-39
LunaStage.org/Heartland
973 395 5551
Running time: 1 hour 45 minutes, no intermission
www.LunaStage.org | www.Facebook.com/LunaStage
The full schedule, including the schedule of talk-backs and events, is available at LunaStage.org/Heartland

Rabbi Elliott Tepperman of B’nai Keshet, the Islamic Networks Group’s Seham Abdala and Zainab Alam, and Maplewood author Marc Aronson will lead pre- and post-show conversations at Luna Stage’s Heartland this weekend. Now extended through May 5, Luna’s production has received audience and critical acclaim. Broadway World called it a “heartfelt masterpiece rife with comedic brilliance and the triumph of the human spirit.”

Set in Omaha and Afghanistan, Heartland weaves back and forth through time, unraveling a mystery that illuminates the cost of defending an American Empire. NJ Arts Maven described Heartland as “about compassion, responsibility, regret, redemption, forgiveness and, above all, love… [an] examination of the human heart…one you will talk about for days afterward.”

Upcoming special events include:

4/25 at 6:45pm | Pre-show LunaLit discussion of Mohsin Hamid’s Exit West with Rabbi Elliott Tepperman

4/26 | Post-show conversation with Seham Abdala and Zainab Alam of NJ Islamic Networks Group

4/28 at 2pm | LunaLit: Marc Aronson on his new Young Adult book Rising Water about the Thai cave rescue

The Star-Ledger, affiliated with NJ.com, praised Heartland as “a play that folds complex matters of international diplomacy and Western imperialism delicately into a tender, fraught father-daughter story.” The play is appropriate for family audiences. 12-year-old Maplewood Middle School World reviewer Jarrett Jackson wrote: “Heartland is filled with twists and turns that toy with your emotions, and has a powerful message about love, betrayal, and forgiveness.”

Rabbi Elliott Tepperman (top left) has been the spiritual leader of Bnai Keshet, in Montclair, NJ since 2002. His rabbinate embraces spiritually courageous Judaism and loving pursuit of shalom (peace) and justice for all people. He believes that Jewish practice is most transformational when deep internal work becomes a springboard for building community and engaging with the world.

Tepperman will facilitate a conversation about Mohsin Hamid’s novel Exit West. In a country teetering on the brink of civil war, two young people meet—sensual, fiercely independent Nadia and gentle, restrained Saeed. They embark on a furtive love affair, and are soon cloistered in a premature intimacy by the unrest roiling their city. When it explodes, turning familiar streets into a patchwork of checkpoints and bomb blasts, they begin to hear whispers about doors—doors that can whisk people far away, if perilously and for a price. As the violence escalates, Nadia and Saeed decide that they no longer have a choice. Leaving their homeland and their old lives behind, they find a door and step through.

Islamic Networks Group (ING) is a non-profit organization with affiliates and partners around the country that are pursuing peace and countering all forms of bigotry through education and interfaith engagement while working within the framework of the First Amendment’s protection of religious freedom and pluralism. Founded in 1993, ING reaches millions of individuals and hundreds of groups a year at the grassroots level by building relationships, understanding, and peaceful communities.

Zainab Alam (top right) is an American Muslim currently pursuing her PhD at Rutgers University in political science. Zainab also holds a Master of Science in Global Affairs from NYU. She is a peacebuilding consultant, a freelance writer and a social science researcher. Zainab lives with her family in Central New Jersey and enjoys painting and traveling in her spare time. She is a certified speaker for NJ-ING.

Seham Abdala (bottom left) is an American Muslim and an engineer by trade. She is married, and has three children who were all born and raised in the USA. She worked at Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, a Johnson & Johnson company, for over twenty years. She was one of the leaders who launched the first fully automated blood bank instrument in the world. She visited most European countries and worked with many colleagues from Europe, Asia, and Japan. Seham took early retirement from Johnson & Johnson and is focusing her efforts on NJ Islamic Networks Group. She is a volunteer acting as the executive director, serving on the board, and a certified speaker.

Marc Aronson (bottom right) is the award-winning author of more than 20 non-fiction books for children and teenagers. His works range from introducing readers to the latest discoveries in human evolution to how the story of sugar links together the histories of many peoples to the international effort to save the members of a Thai youth soccer team. Aronson has a doctorate in American History and teaches courses for future youth librarians in the Rutgers Master of Information program.

Aronson will discuss his latest book, Rising Water. On June 23, 2018, twelve members of the Wild Boars soccer team and their coach were exploring the Tham Luang cave complex in northern Thailand when disaster struck. A rainy season downpour flooded the tunnels, trapping them as they took shelter on a shelf of the dark cave. Eight days of searching yielded no signs of life, but on July 2 they were discovered by two British divers. The boys and their coach were eventually rescued in an international operation that took three days. What could have been a terrible tragedy became an amazing story of survival.

Islamic Networks Group (ING) is a non-profit organization with affiliates and partners around the country that are pursuing peace and countering all forms of bigotry through education and interfaith engagement while working within the framework of the First Amendment’s protection of religious freedom and pluralism. Founded in 1993, ING reaches millions of individuals and hundreds of groups a year at the grassroots level by building relationships, understanding, and peaceful communities.

Rising Water: The incredible true story of the twelve boys trapped with their coach in a flooded cave in Thailand and their inspiring rescue. On June 23, 2018, twelve members of the Wild Boars soccer team and their coach were exploring the Tham Luang cave complex in northern Thailand when disaster struck. A rainy season downpour flooded the tunnels, trapping them as they took shelter on a shelf of the dark cave. Eight days of searching yielded no signs of life, but on July 2 they were discovered by two British divers. The boys and their coach were eventually rescued in an international operation that took three days. What could have been a terrible tragedy became an amazing story of survival.

Exit West: In a country teetering on the brink of civil war, two young people meet—sensual, fiercely independent Nadia and gentle, restrained Saeed. They embark on a furtive love affair, and are soon cloistered in a premature intimacy by the unrest roiling their city. When it explodes, turning familiar streets into a patchwork of checkpoints and bomb blasts, they begin to hear whispers about doors—doors that can whisk people far away, if perilously and for a price. As the violence escalates, Nadia and Saeed decide that they no longer have a choice. Leaving their homeland and their old lives behind, they find a door and step through...

MULTIPLE TONY AWARD-WINNING COMPOSER, SINGER-SONGWRITER, PLAYWRIGHT AND AUTHOR TO MAKE SPECIAL LIVE APPEARANCE FOR THEATER TALKBACK

Conversation with an Artist: TALKBACK WITH RUPERT HOLMES

WHEN: immediately following the Sunday, September 23, 2 PM matinee performance. 
WHERE: Little Firehouse Theatre, Bergen Community Players, 298 Kinderkamack Road in Oradell
TICKETS: $24 for all performances; Advance discount tickets for students age 25 and under with proper ID are available for $14 by phone or walk-up only, and student rush seats can be purchased for $5 (cash only) starting 30 minutes before curtain at every performance, pending seat availability. There is a limit of one rush ticket per student.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.bcplayers.org, by calling 201-261-4200 or by visiting the box office at 298 Kinderkamack Road in Oradell during regular box office hours. The Mystery of Edwin Drood will be performed at the Little Firehouse Theatre in Oradell through October 6th, 2018.
Those interested in Group Sales or benefit theater parties can call (201) 261-4200 (mailbox # 

Bergen County Players, one of America’s longest-running little theater companies, recently opened its 86th season with the Five-time Tony Award winning musical, The Mystery of Edwin Drood.  With Book, Music and Lyrics written by Rupert Holmes, The Mystey of Edwin Drood is based on an unfinished novel by Charles Dickens.

Rupert Holmes, a former Bergen County resident and an ardent supporter of the Bergen County Players, is perhaps best known as author-composer of the Tony award-winning Broadway musical The Mystery of Edwin Drood and the Edgar award-winning Broadway comedy-thriller Accomplice.  He was the first person in theatrical history to be the sole winner of Tony Awards for Best Book, Best Music and Best Lyrics for Drood, which also won the Tony and Drama Desk Award for Best Broadway Musical. His comedy-drama about the life of comedian George Burns, Say Goodnight, Gracie, earned him a Tony nomination for Best Play.  His stage comedy-thrillers Accomplice and Solitary Confinement broke box office records, with both shows enjoying runs on Broadway, while the musical comedy Curtains won Holmes the Drama Desk award for Best Book of a Musical, as well as two further Tony nominations. In a unique collaboration, Holmes wrote the original comedy thriller Thumbs! expressly for BCP, which had its world premiere at the Little Firehouse Theatre in 2001.

Winner of five Tony Awards in 1986, including Best Musical, Best Book and Best Score, The Mystery of Edwin Drood is a musical comedy about a theatre company attempting to stage a musical comedy of the story Charles Dickens was writing when he died. Because the story was never finished, the mystery of who killed Edwin Drood is left to the audience to solve. Depending on the audience’s voice votes, shows of hands and ballots, the last half-hour of the show changes at every performance. There are literally hundreds of possible endings.

For over 20 years, BCP's "Conversations With An Artist" talkback series has provided the public with an opportunity to converse directly with the most seminal figures in theater. Past speakers have included Tony Award-winning actor Philip Bosco (Lend Me A Tenor, Moon Over Buffalo), Tony Award-nominated Rob McClure (Chaplin, Something Rotten!, Honeymoon in Vegas)  and Tony Award-nominated Beth Fowler (Beauty and the Beast, Sweeney Todd, The Boy from Oz), to name a few.

A new program is now available for qualified non-profit organizations to use one performance of each production as a fundraising event.  The group will book all 200 seats at a deeply discounted price and then resell the tickets at a price of their choosing, with the difference in price kept by the group. The available date is the Thursday of each show’s final weekend.  Interested groups can email fundraising@bcplayers.org for more information.

Parking is free for our patrons at the Park Avenue municipal lot, across the street, one-half block north of the theater, as well as street parking on Kinderkamack Road and various side streets, all within easy walking distance.

Further information can be found at www.bcplayers.org.

POST-SHOW TALK BACK WITH CAST & DIRECTOR @ THE THEATER PROJECT THIS FRIDAY

Post-show talk back with the cast and director, Friday, April 14. They have a lot to say! Click here to see video clips Photo by elisabethlynchphotography@gmail.com

The Theater Project is proud to introduce NJ audiences to the work of Ike Holter. We have post-show discussions every Friday night, and a special "dinner with the cast" after the final performance on Sunday, April 23. WEBSITE FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE

WHERE: The Burgdorff Center, 10 Durand Rd, Maplewood, NJ

Follow us on FB at Facebook.com/TheTheaterProject or Twitter @TheTheaterProj Maplewood Parking Information

SKYLINE THEATRE COMPANY PRESENTS FREE READINGS OF 3 1-ACT ORIGINAL MUSICALS

Skyline presents readings in New Jersey Theatre Alliances “Stages Festival”

It’s the premiere of 3 brand new and edgy musical works by 2 female American writers; Sophia Chapadjiev and Allison Leyton-Brown performed by 7 professional NY actors.

MOUTH PIECES
original one-act musicals by Sophia Chapadjiev and Allison Leyton-Brown
They will be performed as a staged reading followed by an audience talk back with the authors, performers and director. The piece is directed by Skyline Artistic Director, Sam Scalamoni.

WHEN: Saturday March 14, at 7 PM
WHERE: Ender Hall Lab Theatre at Bergen Community College, 4 Paramus Road, Paramus NJ
ADMISSION: FREE!

Mouth Pieces is a triptych of separate but intrinsically linked musicals exploring various aspects of the Mouth.

• Theory of Kiss: Level-headed Scientist Claire and like-minded Scientist Ray have spent their entire lives dissecting, examining and quantifying the results. But what happens when they are tasked with researching the latest scientific theory on kissing?
•  On Teeth and Longing: A man decays from the inside. A woman is unable to smile. Two kindred spirits both born with gums. If only he would look left. If only she would look right.
• Pilgrimage to the Mouth: Dia collects mouths. No, not literally. But when the Perfect Mouth whispers to her online, she feels an urge to follow her instinct and find that mouth.

ABOUT SKYLINE: Skyline is a professional, non-profit theatre company whose mission is to bring together professional artists to create quality theatre that entertains and inspires an audience. Skyline makes commitments to the education of young people in all aspects of the arts and to cultivating and nurturing new artists and their works.