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“Spring brings 'Spring Awakening'” plus 1 more

Posted: 16 Mar 2011 05:05 AM PDT

Published: Wednesday, March 16, 2011, 8:00 AM

How fitting that a production of "Spring Awakening" will arrive in New Jersey soon after spring has awakened around the state.

A lucky 13 days after the new season arrives, a new touring company of the 2007 Tony-winner for best musical comes to Middlesex County.

The musical by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater tells of an adolescent affair that leads to tragic consequences. Although the show is set in 1890 Germany, the writers decided to provide Frank Wedekind's classic play with a rock score. Kids often take microphones out of their inside jacket pockets before they start singing.

"Spring Awakening" plays April 2 at 2 and 8 p.m. at the State Theatre, 15 Livingston Ave., New Brunswick. Tickets are $32 to $67. Call (732) 246-7469 or visit statetheatrenj.org.

'Pray' Day

Financial problems have forced the Actors Shakespeare Company of Jersey City to postpone its production of "The Tempest," which was scheduled to open next weekend.

But that has freed Colin Ryan, the troupe's most valuable player, to take a role in a play that was written 399 years later.

It's "How to Pray," the winner of the 2010 Susan Glaspell Award for best new play written by a woman. Michelle Carter's drama tells of a man and wife who cannot have children, which leads them to ask his sister to be a surrogate for them. "How to Pray" receives its world premiere April 1 to 17 at Centenary Stage Company, Lackland Center, 715 Grand Ave., Hackettstown. Performances are Thursdays at 7:30 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and Sundays at 2:30 p.m. Special matinees take place on April 1, 6 and 13 at 2:30 p.m. Call (908) 979-0900 or visit .

And then there were four …

The judges at Premiere Stages in Union didn't mind that we had so much snow this winter. They were holed up in their homes anyway — reading more than 300 scripts that were submitted for its seventh annual New Play Festival.

Now they've narrowed their selections to four. As is Premiere Stages' custom, that quartet of plays will now be shown to the public at staged readings. After each play is read, the audience will get to give its views on each work. Audience opinions will help narrow the selections — two plays will continue being considered for a production this summer, while the two others will walk the plank.

The four plays: "Floodplains" by Gabe McKinley (to be read tomorrow at 7 p.m.) tells of a staunch army man whose daughter disappears in Iraq, forcing him to balance his views as a champion of the war and a father. "Transit" by Kait Kerrigan (Friday at 7 p.m.). deals with a transit worker who's confronted by a reporter about his connection with the death of a Muslim woman. "Egyptian Song" by James Christy (Saturday, at 7 p.m.) has a young gifted singer and her sensitive brother struggle to bridge social divides. "Follow Me to Nellie's" by Dominique Morisseau (Sundayat 3 p.m.) examines five women who deal with segregation in 1955 Mississippi.

Premiere Stages is at Kean University, 1000 Morris Ave., Union. Tickets are free, but reservations are recommended. Call (908) 737-4092 or visit kean.edu/premierestages.

And one more new play

Martin Dockery was an office temp, but he wasn't content to lay low. Dockery decided to go to Africa and trek from the Atlantic to the Sahara. En route, he hoped to find an epiphany.

Whether or not he did is the subject of "Wanderlust," his one-man show. It plays Friday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. It's all part of the Passage Theatre Company Solo Flights Series taking place at the Mill Hill Playhouse, 205 East Front St., Trenton. Tickets are $20. Call (609) 392-0766 or visit passagetheatre.org.

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St. John students get taste of Hollywood

Posted: 15 Mar 2011 03:16 PM PDT

Published: Tuesday, March 15, 2011, 4:50 PM Updated: Tuesday, March 15, 2011, 9:40 PM

In a classroom at Garyville/Mt. Airy Math and Science Magnet School on Monday, a trio of movie industry professionals tried to get a scene just right: "Face the camera," "Quiet on the set," "Background actors can't talk," "Put the snacks down!"

"This isn't play. This is for real. You have to rehearse," Angelique LaCour, of Jaq's Acting Studio, finally told the actors, fifth-graders at the school.

The students were filming a 22-minute movie. The making of the movie will be featured in "16 Weeks," a show Jaq's Acting Studio will help students put together.

O.J. Breech, River Region Multicultural Chamber of Commerce chairman, said she hopes the issues covered -- education and the challenges of a rural community -- will appeal to a producer who might want to make a reality show or documentary about the students' first taste of the movie industry.

"We plan to pitch it to different TV studios and distributors -- pitch the concept to them in the hope of them coming in and filming the project," Breech said.

Three schools in St. John the Baptist Parish -- Garyville/Mt. Airy, West St. John High School and West St. John Elementary School -- are participating in the project. Each school is filming its own mini-movie. This summer, the students will participate in a red-carpet premiere, viewers will vote on the best movie and the winning production will be filmed using the top talent from each of the three schools.

The project is being funded through a $300,000 grant awarded to RRMCC's Yes We Can 21st Century Community Learning Center this year by the U.S. Department of Education, as well as contributions from the chamber's community partners.

Breech calls the filming, as well as dancing and music classes and field trips, a crafty method of getting the 350 students participating in the program to learn.

"The filming is a sneaky way of trying to get them to do things that need to be done," she said.

That's because students, identified as at-risk by school administrators, can participate in the fun aspects of the after-school program only if they also attend twice-weekly LEAP tutoring.

"The principal and administrators identified kids who needed extra tutoring," Breech said. "They have to come every day to go on the field trips. It's not just about coming for the fun stuff."

And in the last big push before LEAP testing begins, Breech has upped the ante. Tutoring has been expanded from two to four days a week, extra sessions have been added for problem areas and students are required to raise their hands in class and ask a question at least three times to participate in the program's other components.

Breech said lessons are snuck in in other ways as well, such as working on literacy by reading and writing scripts.

The program also seeks to expand students' horizons beyond rural St. John Parish and expose them to cultural opportunities they might not otherwise experience.

"In our rural area, it's generational. You have some people who have never been to New Orleans, much less out of the state," Breech said.

Students who participate in the program all week qualify for Friday field trips. The students have traveled to New Orleans for a riverboat cruise, a visit to Sweet Lorraine's Jazz Club, a sit-down dinner in their "Sunday best" when they went to see "The Color Purple" and a Hornets game.

Parents also are invited.

"If we don't take the parents, who will they share it with when they get home?" Breech said. "Some parents tell me they've never done anything like this."

But Breech said it was when the RRMCC brought in Jaq's Acting Studio that the program went to a whole new level. The Metairie business is owned by Jaqueline Fleming, an actress who most recently finished filming "Contraband," shot in the New Orleans area, with Mark Wahlberg and Kate Beckinsale. Fleming plays the best friend of Beckinsale's character.

Fleming brought in her staff and started teaching the students how to operate cameras, edit film, take still shots, act and do makeup and wardrobe.

"These are jobs," Breech said. "Last year, Louisiana shot more movies than L.A. and New York. And all the behind-the-scenes people are brought in from other places."

Fleming said she wants to expose students to every aspect of the movie industry, from pre-production to post-production.

"If you train them young, that means the jobs stay in Louisiana. The money stays in Louisiana," she said.

Garyville/Mt. Airy fifth-grader Austin Scioneaux said he could envision a career in the movie industry. It took the 10-year-old three days to write the script for his school's movie.

"I keep them (the actors) on track, make sure they get the angle right and make sure they say the right words," he said. "I like to be creative. I'm just that kind of kid."

Breech said she has already reapplied for the grant to expand the program to more schools in St. John.

"It's educational, but it also gives them something to aspire to," she said. "A lot of these kids are at-risk. This gives them dreams."

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Jennifer Boquet can be reached at jboquet@timespicayune.com or 985.652.0952.

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Wednesday, March 16, 2011