New Jersey State Council On The Arts and New Jersey Theatre Alliance Postpone Playwriting Fellowship Showcase

**Please Note: As a result of of the coronavirus and the recommendation from medical experts of the need for social distancing, the March 18 Playwriting Showcase has been postponed. We will share the new date as soon as we are able.**

New Jersey State Council on the Arts will partner with New Jersey Theatre Alliance, the statewide service organization for professional theatre in New Jersey, to showcase the work of this year's State Arts Council Playwriting Fellows. The free showcase readings will feature professional actors performing excerpts of the playwriting fellows' plays.

The first showcase will take place at Mile Square Theatre in Hoboken on March 18 at 7:30pm. It will feature writing by Joseph Gallo, Lesley Scammel, and Ruth Zamoyta, and will be directed by Cheryl Katz, co-director of The New Jersey Playlab. To RSVP, visit www.milesquaretheatre.org and click "Calendar."

The second showcase will take place at Premiere Stages at Kean University on May 28 at 7:30pm. It will feature writing by Deborah Brevoort, Benjamin V. Marshall, John Pietrowski, and Lia Romeo, and will be directed by Premiere Stages' producing artistic director, John J. Wooten. To RSVP, call 908-737-4077 or email premiere@kean.edu.

"We are thrilled to be working with top-notch theatre professionals to showcase the work of these extremely talented writers," said Danielle Bursk, Director of Artist Services at the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. "The fellowship showcases are a chance for writers to hear their work aloud in front of an audience and to introduce their plays to a wide audience in their home state."

Individual Artist Fellowships are financial support awarded to practicing New Jersey artists to help them pursue their artistic goals. The award recommendations are made through an anonymous, highly-competitive application process. New Jersey artists in 12 different arts disciplines are awarded fellowships solely on independent peer panel assessment of work samples submitted. The anonymous process is focused solely on artistic quality, and awards may be used to help artists produce new work and advance their careers. This program is carried out in partnership with the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation. Exhibition and showcase opportunities are available to Fellowship recipients every year, on a rotating schedule by discipline. The Playwriting Fellowship Showcase is a project of the New Jersey State Council on the Arts and New Jersey Theatre Alliance.

"We are grateful to the New Jersey State Council on the Arts for their support of theatre artists, and particularly playwrights, based in New Jersey," Said John McEwen, executive director of the Alliance. "We look forward to sharing the unique voices and talents of these award-winning writers through this partnership. We are also pleased that the writers will have the chance to build relationships with the extraordinary directors and staff at Premiere Stages, Mile Square Theatre, and The New Jersey PlayLab through this project."

The showcase readings are presented as part of New Jersey Theatre Alliance's Stages Festival, a state-wide spring festival featuring over 80 free and low-cost theatre events. For more information and a full listing of upcoming Stages Festival events, please visit www.njtheatrealliance.org/stages.