Actors' NET Stages Readings Of New Plays THE EVANGELIST & CICADAS 6/19

Two new one act plays by a New Jersey actor/playwright, THE EVANGELIST and CICADAS, get their debut Friday night, June 19 on the Heritage Center stage in Morrisville.

Produced by the Actors' NET of Bucks County, the scripts by Jack Bathke of Robbinsville will be performed script in hand as a staged reading directed by the playwright. His casts include popular NET actors Tess Ammerman of Arneytown, NJ; Tom Smith of Morrisville; Katie Skelly of Bordentown, NJ; and John Helmke of Trenton, NJ.

"The Evangelist can be summed up this way," Bathke said. "Night. Rain. A small, one-bedroom apartment in a college town in Texas. Immaculately clean. A loud knock at the door. Chuck, Beth's estranged brother of ten years, returns with news that will shake the very foundations of her family and God."

"Cicadas," he continued, "has a different feel: Moonlight, broken up by a large tree. A porch. A tire swing. Cicadas chirping. Two small people without dislike or suspicion. An old fashioned love story."

Following the staged reading, Bathke will lead a talk back session between the cast and interested audience members.

Cicadas and The Evangelist will be presented June 19 at 8 p.m. at the Morrisville Heritage Center, 635 N. Delmorr Avenue (Route 32), near the Calhoun Street Bridge. Suggested donation is $10. For reservations or information, phone the nonprofit Actors' NET at 215-295-3694 or email actorsnet@aol.com. The company's web site is www.actorsnetbucks.org.