Jersey Voices

Our 26th annual Jersey Voices One-Act Festival will feature five virtually streamed performances between August 27 and August 30. This year’s production will include six original short plays written by New Jersey playwrights.

We welcome you to join us as we explore the joys of (almost) live, original theater in The Chatham Playhouse, where Jersey Voices has provided a venue for New Jersey playwrights to showcase their work since 1995. There’s a risk in coming to see any author’s new work, whether you’ve heard of them before or not. It’s brave and courageous, and we’re grateful our audience trusts us enough to share the experience. Jersey Voices has presented the work of more than 85 authors in their 26 years.

This year, casting was left to the discretion of the directors, in lieu of the traditional audition process, to help maintain social distancing. Rehearsals were conducted throughout the summer both virtually and in mutually agreed upon (by the cast and director) spaces where social distancing was possible. Following cast and production team’s comfort levels, this year we will be presenting pre-recorded versions of all pieces, ranging from socially distant readings, to an “on location” outdoor performance, to fully staged pieces in the theatre with no audience present.

Performance dates are August 27, 28, 29 at 8 p.m., August 30 at 2 p.m., and a special “Pop-Up Video” performance, where the pieces will be shown with fun facts and cast/crew insights popping up on screen throughout, on August 30 at 7 p.m. Performances will be streamed via Zoom. Special cast/playwrights Talk Back will follow the Thursday and Friday performances. Suggested donation is $5 per viewer.

$5 Suggested Donation per viewer

To register in advance, click on the date(s) below.

JV Performance - August 27 at 8 p.m.

THU, AUGUST 27 @ 8 p.m.

JV Performance - August 28 at 8 p.m.

FRI, AUGUST 28 @ 8 p.m.

JV Performance - August 29 at 8 p.m.

SAT, AUGUST 29 @ 8 p.m.

JV Performance - August 30 at 2 p.m.

SUN, AUGUST 30 @ 2 p.m.

JV Pop Up Video Performance - August 30 at 7 p.m.

SUN, AUGUST 30 @ 7 p.m. - Pop Up Video

Each of the following pieces will be performed each night of the festival:

• “A Man Walks Into a Bar” by Nathan Christopher, directed by Kevern Cameron.  Starring: Dale Monroe and Spy Spiegel Monroe
  Why, she asks herself, is she still working behind this bar anyway, in this nothing-to-see-here town midway between two better places? And then a man walks in.

• “Date With Death” by Steven Hayet, directed by Lynn Polan
  Starring: Ali Archetti, Crystal Ann Bennett, and Ross Pohling
  Dating is hell. Rather than deal with the awkwardness of turning someone down, Angela takes a different route.
   
• “Free Range Cows” by Lynn A. Langone, directed by Joann Lopresti Scanlon
  Starring: Barb Haag and Anna McCabe
  Mom and daughter head out on a road trip, bonding through long stretches of the USA and the music they listen to along the way.
   
• “Never Will I Ever” by K.F. Lerner, directed by Elissa Strell
  Starring: Liza Harris and Jason Kruk
  A newly "empty nested" husband and wife look middle age in the face with sadness, with joy and without blinking.
   
• “Onward” by Lauri MacMillan, directed by Wendy Schibener
  Starring: Bridget Burke-Weiss, John A.C. Kennedy, Julie Anne Nolan, and Glen D. Post
  Two families, created through divorce, come together to celebrate the achievement of their son and reflect on their journey “onward.”
   
• “Amnesty Week” by Loretta Bolger Wish, directed by Christopher C. Gibbs
  Starring: Lisa Barnett and Terri Sturtevant
  In a library, two women discuss the mystery and the magic of falling in love...with a book.