Award Winning Writers Showcase Their Work in NJ's Literary Arts Fellowship Reading Series

Playwrights Theatre is partnering with the New Jersey State Council on the Arts for two months of Artist Fellowship Showcases on Thursdays in October 2013 and March 2014. All readings will begin at 7:30pm in the Chase Room of the Madison Public Library on 39 Keep Street in Madison, NJ. Readings are free with a suggested donation of $10. All tickets will be available at the door on the evening of the readings.

"For anyone interested in great literature, these evenings will be a treat," said John Pietrowski, Playwrights Theatre's Artistic Director. "These are local writers with national credentials. We rarely get to see their works performed out loud, and certainly not in a single space on a weekly basis."

October 3, 2013
Claudia Burbank, Poetry (Bernardsville)
Jackie Clark, Poetry (Jersey City)
Catherine Doty, Poetry (Boonton)

October 10, 2013
Gaiutra Bahadur, Prose (Livingston)
Marina Budhos, Prose (Maplewood)
Ruchama King Feuerman, Prose (Passaic)

October 17, 2013
E.M. Lewis, Playwriting (Princeton)

October 24, 2013
Eson Kim, Prose (North Plainfield)
Lee Phillips, Prose (Montclair)

March 6, 2014
Deb Margolin, Playwriting (Mnotvale)

March 13, 2014
John Pietrowski, Playwriting (Long Valley)

March 20, 2014
Joanne Hoersch, Playwriting (Weehawkin)

March 27, 2014
Ben Marshall, Playwriting (Plainfield)

Individual biographies of the writers can be viewed at http://www.ptnj.org/pages/literary-artist-fellowship. Visitors to the site will also find interviews with the writers as well as a list of their favorite and most influential books.

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.

"These are beautiful evenings full of humor and intensity, we encourage you to come out and see all of them. All play readings will include a post-reading discussion, as well," said Pietrowski.

This program is made possible with by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State.

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