2009 NJ State Council on the Arts' Literary Artist Fellowship Program Winners to Showcase Work in 2013

Winners of the 2009 New Jersey State Council on the Arts' Literary Artist Fellowship Program will present their work in Madison, Hoboken, Long Beach Island and Somerville over the next few months. Prose writers Iyanna Jones, Pamela Burke and Emil Draitser will present solo readings of selected stories at Monroe Arts Center on March 9, 2013 at 7:30pm. Playwright Dominique Cieri will have a reading of her play Count Down performed on March 16, 2013 at 7pm at Fairleigh Dickinson University. She also had a reading of her play The Baby Killer Play on December 18, 2012. Additionally, playwright, Pia Wilson, had a reading of her play The River Pure for Healing on December 14, 2012. Both readings were held at Fairleigh Dickinson University as part of Playwrights Theatre's FORUM Roundtable Reading Series. Poets Kathleen Graber and Peter Murphy as well as Young Adult Prose writer, Toni De Palma, will read their works at a site to be determined in Southern New Jersey. In May, prose writers Eson Kim and Roxanne (Ruchama) Feuerman will present selections from their works at a site to be determined. Admission is free but suggested donations are $10 at each venue.

The Literary Artist Fellowship Showcase began in 2001, with subsequent showcases in 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008. The State Arts Council and Playwrights Theatre cosponsor the series of readings by the poets, playwrights and prose writers that received Council Fellowships. The Fellowships, which may be used to support the professional development of the artist, are highly competitive. The awards are granted to New Jersey artists in 12 different arts disciplines (offered on a three-year rotation) and are awarded solely on the basis of an anonymous independent peer panel review of artistic quality. The program is carried out in partnership with the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation.

In the fall of 2001, as part of its overall mission to provide presentation and performance opportunities for Fellowship recipients, as well as other New Jersey artists, the Council partnered with Playwrights Theatre to present the works of the literary fellows.

For the poetry readings, authors will present their own work, for prose writing, authors are given the option of reading their own stories or having them read by a professional actor. Playwrights are provided with staged readings of their scripts, always presented with professional actors and a professional director, with a preference given to the wealth of professional actors and theatre artists living in the Garden State.

"When audiences hear the work of these writers, there is no doubt that New Jersey is home to some of the best writers working today. This program is unique in that we get to see works in three different genres, all of which are oral, as well as written, forms. And writers get to be heard in their communities," said John Pietrowski, Playwrights Theatre Artistic Director. "The New Jersey State Council on the Arts and Playwrights Theatre have been sponsoring this project for over 12 years, and we are always impressed with the large audiences and powerful performances that come out of theses evenings."

The New Jersey State Council on the Arts is a division of the New Jersey Department of State. It receives funding through direct appropriations from the State of New Jersey and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. Since 1966, its volunteer members and professional staff have worked to improve the quality of life in New Jersey by helping the arts to flourish. For more information about the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, please visit www.artscouncil.nj.gov. Further information regarding the arts is found on an interactive web site (www.jerseyarts.com) and available on a toll-free hotline (1-800-THE-ARTS).

Founded in 1986, Playwrights Theatre is a 501(c) 3 not-for-profit professional theatre and arts education institution dedicated to developing and nurturing the dramatic imagination of artists, students, and audiences. Our New Play Program creates development opportunities for professional writers through readings, workshops and productions, and invites audiences to participate in authentic feedback experiences. Our New Jersey Writers Project, Poetry Out Loud, New Jersey Young Playwrights Contest and Festival, and Creative Arts Academy programs provide a comprehensive and hands-on arts education experience to over 31,000 students, Pre-K through adult.

Writers in the New Play Program are drawn from across the country, including our affiliation with the National New Play Network, a nation-wide group of theatres dedicated to the development and production of new work. Teaching Artists in our Education Programs are professional artists working in their field in the New Jersey, New York, and Philadelphia metropolitan areas. From 2003-2013, we have been designated a Major Arts Institution by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts (along with only four other theatres: The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, George Street Playhouse, McCarter Theatre Center and Paper Mill Playhouse) as "an anchor institution that contributes vitally to the quality of life in New Jersey."

Playwrights Theatre is a member of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance, the National New Play Network, and Madison Arts & Culture Alliance.

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