Amber Kusching Presents the 'Virtually Possible Theatre Festival'

The "Virtually Possible Theatre Festival" is a theatre festival made virtually possible by Zoom and the infinite imagination of New Jersey-based playwright Amber Kusching.

Amber Kusching is a theatre graduate from Montclair State University who has written over twenty plays. At 26 years old, her scripts have been performed more times than years she's been alive with over thirty productions of her plays throughout South-Jersey, Philadelphia and New York City. Kusching has been a featured artist at the New Jersey Fringe Festival twice, and her digital interactive play Oz.org will premiere on Zoom in September as a part of FringeArts' Philadelphia Fringe Festival.

With an expansive collection under her belt, Kusching has created a festival of some of her favorite original works to show virtually on Zoom. For $5 admission audience members will see 5 of Amber Kusching's original one act plays performed in succession live for the first time ever on a virtual platform. The line-up includes two world premiere plays, a quarantine original, and two classic Kusching productions all directed by fierce female directors. Kusching's "Virtually Possible Theatre Festival" includes an ensemble of 15 actors from Jersey to Georgia and from Philly to Florida.

The plays included in the "Virtually Possible Theatre Festival" are:

"A Light in Dark Places" - Directed by Amber Kusching

When Chaddington's father dies, his estranged mother takes him to his father's hunting cabin in the woods of North Dakota for some bonding time. The problem is, there's no electricity or heat, a blizzard is raging outside and everything in the cabin brings back some not-so-good memories. Desperate to illuminate the dark cabin as the sun sets, Chaddington's mother lights a candle that accidentally summons a ghost. But the ghost is no sinister specter, it is a woman who's been stuck between worlds and may know more about Chaddington's father than expected.

"When it Rains, Divorce" (World Premiere) - Directed by Carolyn Messias

They say rain on a wedding day is good luck, and it may be for Daniel's brother Todd who's just gotten married. But at Todd's reception, before Daniel's has to make the best-man speech, his mother, Karen, confronts him about how she disapproves of Daniel's wife, Lisa. Desperately attempting to persuade her son to leave Lisa, Karen mentions she distrusts her for her love of the color yellow. Daniel thinks this absurd, but in the end are the perceptions Karen makes about Lisa actually true?

"Crazy" (Zoom Premiere) - Directed by Melynda Morrone

An addiction to anxiety medication, the loss of a loved one, murderous rage, crippling depression, unmeasurable mood swings, auditory hallucinations, imaginary friends, stalking, paranoia, alcoholism, and murder. At what point do we draw the line between normal and deranged? "Crazy" gives an inside look into a psychiatrist's therapy sessions with five different patients, and delves into the question, what makes us crazy?

"Pushing Up Daisies" (World Premiere) - Directed by Megan Knowlton-Balne

Peter is an artist haunted by his past. Locked away in his studio overlooking the pool in the backyard, he repeatedly paints fields of daisies, trying to conjure in his mind the life he could have had instead of focusing on his expecting wife, Nicole. "Pushing Up Daisies" is a play that paints a picture of heartache and yearning with strokes of mystery and humor.

"Cloud Illusions" (Zoom Premiere) - Directed by Melissa Harnois

Mitchell, a middle-aged overworked lawyer, stumbles upon Joan, a bride in her wedding dress sprawled out on the grass in the park watching the clouds. He stops to make sure she is all right and what follows is a life-altering conversation for the both of them. In this play based on Joni Mitchell's 1966 folk song "Both Sides Now", two strangers find a way to help each other and decide instead of dwelling in the past or stressing about the future, the best thing to do is to relish the moment and just look up.

Each play in the line-up runs 10-15 minutes and the overall evening will run about an hour and a half.

Tickets for the festival are $5 and all ticket sales from this festival will be used for production costs associated with Kusching's Philadelphia Fringe Festival project Oz.org.

"Virtually Possible Theatre Festival" will stream live on Zoom Friday, August 7th and Saturday, August 8th at 7PM. To purchase tickets for the festival please visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/virtually-possible-theatre-festival-tickets-115557969999

NOTE: A Zoom account is not needed to access the show.

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