Centenary Stage Company to Host THE NETHER Talkbacks

The world of technology and gaming was a major driving force in creation of Jennifer Haley's play, The Nether. In fact she openly admits to her time spent totally immersed, playing the popular World of Warcraft. In conjunction with the NJ Premiere of the award-winning play at Centenary Stage Company this month, the theatre will hold several events during the run to fully explore the direction in which that technology is heading. These events include guest speakers, talk backs with the cast and creative staff, and as well as tech demos of the latest virtual reality technologies (such as Oculus Rift), 3D scanning/printing and motion capture.

Talk backs will be held on Thursday October 15 (performance at 7:30pm) and Sunday October 18 (performance at 2:00pm) after the performances. Centenary Stage Company cast and creative team will be joined by guest speaker Anthony Ur, from the Picatinny US Army Armament Research and Development and Engineering Center's (ARDEC) Gaming and Interactive Technologies and Multimedia (GITM) team.

Ur is the Art Director and Animation Technology Lead ARDEC's Gaming and Interactive Technologies and Multimedia (GITM) team, a team dedicated to the development of Serious Games for training. Ur has worked on every area of the Game Development pipeline, from concept exploration, to game design, Motion Capture and level building. Recently he has taken his skills and knowledge of the video game realm and developed the Gaming Innovation Lab (GIL), a place designed to study the latest video game technologies and develop new ways of utilizing these technologies to aid in military training. Recently Ur has started Next Gen Imaging LLC, a company dedicated to 3D scanning, 3D printing, digital sculpture, rapid prototyping and motion capture development. Ur can be found on Twitter as @GodfatherUr.

In addition to adding his field expertise to the talk back sessions, Ur will be providing hands-on demonstrations pre/post show of latest technologies. Technologies include 3D modeling/printing and the latest in motion capture technologies. Additionally, several units of the highly anticipated next generation virtual reality gaming system, the Oculus Rift, will be available for hands on demonstrations. Audiences will have the opportunity before or after the show to explore these latest technologies.

Other events programmed in conjunction with this first production of the season include a Blood Drive, on Friday, October 16 from 3 - 7 pm, in memory of Centenary Stage Company friend, Gerard Vaessen, who passed away this summer. His wife, Sandi Vaessen, has been on the Centenary Stage Company Advisory Board for many years. Friends and patron wishing to donate can logon to GiveaPint.org, or call Catherine Rust at CSC at 908 979 0900 x5.

The Nether opens October 9 and runs until October 25 in the David and Carol Lackland Center. Tickets for The Nether range from $25.00 to $27.50 for adults. Performances run Wednesday through Sunday. Thursday evening performances offer a "rush" ticket special with a buy-one-get-one-free, available at the door. Centenary Stage Company is also offering a special Facebook ticket offer. To participate visit Centenary Stage Company on Facebook for full details.

For more information or to purchase tickets visit centenarystageco.org or call the box office at (908) 979 - 0900. The box office is open Monday through Friday from 1 - 5pm and two hours prior to every performance. The box office is located in the David and Carol Lackland Center; 715 Grand Ave. Hackettstown, NJ.

The 2015-16 season of performing arts events at the Centenary Stage Company is made possible through the generous support of the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, the NJ State Council on the Arts, the Shubert Foundation, the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, the Sandra Kupperman Foundation, and CSC corporate sponsors, including Premier Season Sponsor Heath Village Retirement Community, Silver Sponsors Hackettstown Regional Medical Center, Home Instead Senior Care (Washington), The Holiday Inn in Budd Lake, and Fulton Bank of New Jersey, and Centenary Stage Company members and supporters.

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