Special Event

Leading Theologian Stanley Hauerwas to Speak at JTP Community Forum in February

Theologian Stanley M. Hauerwas speaks on how people of faith should respond to hatred, hostility, and violence at The Justice Theater Project’s February Community Forum.

In conjunction with its performances of Witness from February 18-20 and 24-27, 2005, The Justice Theater Project is pleased to welcome esteemed theologian Stanley Hauerwas to speak at its February Community Forum on Sunday, February 27 at 7:00 PM at the Catholic Community of St Francis of Assisi. The forum will include staged readings from the novel Witness by Newberry Award winner Karen Hesse and “Hauerwasian” insights around key themes from the play and novel including how people of faith should respond to acts of hatred, violence, and hostility increasingly present in the modern world.

In the Sept. 17, 2001 issue of Time magazine Hauerwas was described as “contemporary theology’s foremost intellectual provocateur.” He “has been a thorn in the side of what he takes to be Christian complacency for more than 30 years,” says Time author Jean Bethke Elshtain, a professor of social and political ethics at the University of Chicago. “For him, the message of Jesus was a radical one to which Christians, for the most part, have never been fully faithful.” Hauerwas, she goes on to say, challenges people of a variety of faiths to be committed to what they believe. “He urges people to be faithful Roman Catholics or Orthodox Jews or evangelicals or Muslims,” Elshtain said of Hauerwas. “It is faithfulness to a complex tradition that forestalls being overtaken by majoritarianism or convention.”

In April 2000, Christianity Today named his book, A Community of Character: Toward a Constructive Christian Social Ethic (Notre Dame Press, 1981), one of the 100 most important books on religion of the 20th century. Hauerwas was the first United Methodist theologian to deliver the Gifford Lectures in St. Andrews, Scotland. The Giffords are widely regarded as the world’s most distinguished lecture series in the fields of philosophy, natural theology and religion. His series of eight lectures, collectively titled With the Grain of the Universe, was published in 2002 by Brazos Press. Also in 2002, Duke University Press published The Hauerwas Reader, a 752-page collection of essays and book chapters written by the Duke theologian.

Hauerwas was born in 1940; raised in Texas; graduated with a bachelor’s degree in religion from Southwestern University in Texas and a doctorate from Yale Divinity School; taught for 14 years at the University of Notre Dame; joined Duke University in 1984 as the Gilbert T. Rowe Professor of Theological Ethics at the United Methodist-related divinity school where he also holds a faculty appointment at Duke Law School; and was named by Time magazine as “America’s Best Theologian”.

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Special Event

Thank you for supporting our Fundraising Gala - Jazz for Justice!

On Sunday night, October 7th, The Justice Theater Project took over the beautiful Lake Johnson banquet room and verandah for a night of good food, good friends, and fun!

This delightful evening featured Songs of Justice from our singing Board members and special guests.

During the night, patrons were entertained by pianist Ed Paolantonio, delighted by our delicious nibbles, tempted by our choice wines, and enticed to bid on fun raffle prizes.
THANK YOU to all of our patrons that were able to attend, and to those who sent their goodwishes in advance.

A special thank you to the UNC Chapel Hill Apples Service Learning students for all of their efforts throughout the evening. We could not have done it without you!

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Special Event

From the Artistic Director

"Somewhere between my home in Raleigh and the Farmworkers office in Benson, the earth changes color..."

Somewhere between my home in Raleigh and the Farmworkers office in Benson, the earth changes color.  The exact spot is neither a point of restriction nor a blemish…and I still do not know where it is.  My body has traveled over this spot on Saturdays and Sundays from April of 2007 to last Saturday, where we met as a group for a final time.  On those Saturdays and Sundays I traveled to the homes of the teens, picked them up, met with their parents, chattered and laughed away in the car moving from one home and then to another.  We wound our way through a rural country side – talking over the teens involved with this project, their lives and the latest songs and clothes.  The landscape changed significantly over the course of the ten months.

In the beginning the tobacco plants were in a growth stage, spring was pushing open and the barometer was just beginning to climb; June, July, August and September were hot.  Hazy sunsets on my way back home, sweat, disappearing tobacco leaves revealing naked stalks marked the fields where the hands of Farmworkers toiled under the sun, and returned to dwellings where air-conditioning does not run and water can be scarce.  Because I am the mother of three, a student, an instructor and an artistic director – often I was late.  We held our workshops and rehearsals inside the Farmworker office, outside in the park, the parking lot, anywhere that was available.

In September we began to present our work; these “community forum” performances, influenced by the work of Augusto Boal, have been created, developed and shared with migrant farm workers throughout eastern North Carolina.  The purpose of the work as envisioned by Student Action with Farmworkers was to get important information about health care and other basic rights out into the fields…but much more happens when you find yourself in the throws of work.  We sat together on front porches with Christmas lights, food and wafting music and on naked mattress springs under trees beside cinder blocked dwellings – bodies intermingled, aware, open, smiling, and connected regardless of language or societal separations….sharing with a community typically hidden in the shadows – quiet…invisible. 
The works objective - to empower and engage an isolated population, and to perpetuate awareness, understanding and discourse that explicitly renounces unfair, unjust and unsafe conditions; highlights the “work” still to be done.
The teens and I thank you for taking part in this discourse.

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Special Event

The Justice Theater Project’s 2ND ANNUAL FUND-RAISING GALA!

Live Jazz Trio, Great Food, Your JTP Friends and all in the Beautiful Murphy School Auditorium!

It's the Second Annual JTP "Friend-raising" gala!
Sunday, October 26th at 6:30 pm.

This year the Baron Tymas Trio with special guest vocalist Theresa Richmond will sooth your soul, while JTP entertains you with a night of yummy food and drink, a silent auction featuring vacation packages, area event tickets, jewelry, and great company.
All in the gorgeous setting of the new Meymandi Theatre at the Murphy School Auditorium, 225 Polk Street, downtown Raleigh. (Burning Coal Theater) Never been there? It's a gem of a theater space.
Plenty of convenient parking!

Support your favorite theater company and have a BLAST! Reservations will be accepted until October 25th.

Tickets: $45 per person

Reservations:
Melissa
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
or call 919-215-0889

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Special Event

Summer Theater Camp News!

The Sun will come out this Summer!

JTP will put on full productions of Annie Junior at our summer camps this year. Join us the weeks of July 6, 13 and 20th at The Franciscan School in North Raleigh.

The Emily K Camps will run the weeks of August 3 and 10.

There are NO counselor positions available at this time.


Please email marketing @ thejusticetheaterproject.org for information and updates.

Camps are open to rising 2nd through rising 8th grade students.  Camp is open to the public.

There is a two week minimum for The Franciscan School Camp.

Cost is $185 per week for all camps.

New this year!  There will be no extra for for before or after care at The Franciscan School.  You must make advanced reservations for this service.  Traditional camp is from 9 AM to 4 PM.  Before care begins at 8 AM and after care runs until 5 PM.

A CD of all the music will be given to every camper, but you might want to start humming along now!

2008 campers:  Want relive your camp experience? Go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxrTG-MAdb4

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Special Event

Auditions - Fences by August Wilson

Auditions will take place on Saturday September 12 from 1pm - 4pm at Saint Francis of Assisi Catholic Church located at 11401 Leesville Rd, Raleigh, NC 27613. You can visit the Saint Francis of Assisi website for directions: http://www.stfrancisraleigh.org. 

How to schedule your Audition:

Email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) for an appointment and Melissa Zeph will email you selected readings for the audition.

Please email your reservation request by midnight, September 10th.

Please call Deb Royals with questions or concerns about the actual audition at (919) 272-1551 or Barbette Hunter (336)-692-4002.

WHAT TO BRING:

Resume. Headshot we can keep.  Calendar with conflict information. 

Please be prepared to recite a contemporary monologue and conduct a cold reading.

Production dates are February 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, and 28 – 2010.

Rehearsals begin January 12, 2010.  Tech week begins Sunday, February 7, 2010.  Please be aware that you will need to attend every tech rehearsal starting February 7th.  At this point in the rehearsal process, every member of the cast is required to be in attendance

Story Synopsis
It is 1957 and Troy Maxson, a Negro Leagues homerun legend, works as a garbage collector in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A proud black man filled with regret and anger, Troy carries with him the death of his dream to play baseball in the major leagues. He grapples to fulfill the responsibilities of his everyday life as a husband and father. Corey, Troy’s second son, has his own aspirations to play college football. Determined to keep his son from suffering his own similar fate, Troy fights to protect him. As life unfolds, fences are built and eroded, and the audience witnesses a powerful family struggle to achieve their dreams in a changing society.

Cast of Characters
Troy Maxson – Former baseball star in the Negro Leagues, 53 year old Troy Maxson works as a garbage collector in Pittsburgh.  He is a strong, spirited man, and the focal point of his family.

Cory – Troy’s second son is strong like his father, and has dreams of playing college football.

Jim Bono – Friend to Troy for over thirty years.

Rose – Troy’s wife of eighteen years. She is the heart of their family.

Gabriel – Troy’s brother who suffered a severe brain injury while in the army and now believes he is the archangel Gabriel.

Lyons – Troy’s oldest son, whose mother Troy met before marrying Rose.

Raynell – Troy’s youngest child and only daughter.

All roles, except for Raynell, are paid positions .  The roles of Rose and for Raynell have been cast.

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Special Event

The Twiss Wrist Fund - Donate Now

The show must go on!

Local Triangle actress Andrea Schulz Twiss took the phrase "Break a Leg" and added her own "twist" on stage opening night during Working the musical.

While enthusiastically ogling the UPS man on stage, portrayed by Coty Cockrell, Ms. Twiss lost her footing and fell on her wrist. Not making a sound, she exited the stage during the next transition, and promptly asked the back stage crew to call 911.

Ever the theater professional, Ms. Twiss instructed the EMS respondents to "just wrap it in a splint, I've got to sing during the second act". Meanwhile, on stage, the ensemble seamlessly worked together to cover the missing actress for the final 10 minutes of act one.

EMS respondents ascertained the wrist was indeed broken, asked Ms. Twiss if she would like transport to the hospital, (which she declined again), and left after getting a verbal promise from Ms. Twiss that she would go directly to the hospital after her solo in act two.

After intermission, Ms. Twiss courageously sang "It's an art", the waitress song which includes the line "There's a twist to my wrist", which the audience enthusiastically responded to. After the show, it was confirmed at the hospital that Ms. Twiss' wrist is broken and will require surgery.

Andrea continues to perform in 'Working' - full arm cast and all. The show will run two more weekends and then it may be surgery for her.

Unfortunately, Andrea and her family are currently transitioning jobs and Andrea does not have medical insurance to cover these expenses. With an Emergency room visit, doctor visits, surgery, physical therapy--the expenses are going to be staggering.

Please help us raise money to off set those expenses for Andrea and her family.

Make checks payable to Andrea Twiss and send them to:

The Twiss Wrist Fund
C/O Julie Jones
110 Anamoor Drive
Cary, NC 27513

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Special Event

3rd Annual Gala For Justice!

Gala for Justice to benefit the performances and outreach of The Justice Theater Project

Sunday, November 1, 2009
Meymandi Theatre at the Murphy School
224 Polk St., Downtown Raleigh - Burning Coal Theater's gorgeous Murphy Auditorium

7:30 PM
THE FUND RAISING PARTY BEGINS!
$25 PER PERSON

The evening includes:

HEAVY HORS D’OEUVRES, YOUR FAVORITE BEVERAGES - maybe even some bathtub gin....
LIVE ENTERTAINMENT BY “ANYTHING BUT”, (Featuring Canady from "Laundry and Bourbon!")
SINGING FOR JUSTICE (SONGS FROM “WORKING”)
SILENT AUCTION

Finding Clara
6:00 to 7:30 PM
Free and Open to the Public
A staged reading before the gala!

Justice Theater proudly presents a staged reading, before the Gala, of selected scenes of an original award-winning play by June Guralnick. 
Finding Clara intertwines the parallel stories of a Southern mill worker and silent screen actress Clara Bow (Hollywood’s “It” girl) against the   explosive background of the infamous 1929 Loray Mill Strike.

The reading is free and open to the public; however, due to limited seating, advance reservations are recommended.

Reservations:
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
919-215-0889
http://www.TheJusticeTheaterProject.org

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Special Event

The Justice Theater Project to Win National Award for Advocacy

The Justice Theater Project will be honored by People of Faith Against the Death Penalty (PFADP) at the group’s 15th anniversary awards banquet in Greensboro on November 7.

PFADP will present The Justice Theater Project (JTP) with its Community Service Award, which recognizes outstanding efforts at educating and mobilizing people to act for alternatives to the death penalty. Deb Royals Mizerk, the organization’s artistic director, will accept the award.

PFADP’s banquet will be held at Temple Emanuel, located at 1129 Jefferson Rd. in Greensboro.
Tickets for the banquet are available at http://www.pfadp.org or by calling (919) 933-7567. 

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Special Event

Summer Camp Counselor Applications - Due March 15th

Must be post marked March 15th

Many previous counselors and parents are asking if they need to create an essay. The answer is YES. One page is fine. Why do you want to be a counselor? What was your favorite part? ("Read More" for all the specifics).

EVERYONE that would like to be a counselor at our summer camps is required to submit an essay and a $50 application fee in order to be considered as a counselor.

Even if you have worked with us before.

Click on "read more" below to find out all the specifics!

Every potential counselor must write an essay, submit the fee, tell us the dates they are not available during camp, and be there to break down the set after the final performances.

Even those who have worked for JTP before. There will be limited counselor positions at each camp this year, and not everyone will be selected.

We have put this new policy in place to help determine vacation schedules, skill sets, how to round out our camp staff, and to add participation and mentorship during our regular season of shows. It is possible that you will be given a part time position, if you can not be there the entire run of the camp.

MORE REQUIREMENTS:

Counselors will be required to volunteer for one production during The Justice Theater Project’s regular performing season, as well as have clearly defined attendance during our camps and must participate in the striking of the set at the conclusion of the camp.

  Many hands are needed to break down the camps, and to run our shows during the rest of the year.

ABOUT THAT ESSAY:

Essays and fees are due by March 15th, 2010.

The essay should address why the student would like to be a part of The Justice Theater Project’s Performing Arts Summer Series, what previous theater and volunteer experience they have, and how they feel they can help create a fulfilling camp experience for our campers.  Which camp are you interested in working?

  Essays should not be longer than one page.

Please mail all applications to 9650 Strickland Road, Suite 103-210, Raleigh, NC 27615.

Include your name, age, address, email address and phone number.

You MUST also include any dates that you will not be at camp due to family vacation or other obligations. Please consider the below performance dates in your schedule. Remember:  Striking the set during the final performance is required of counselors.

If you are a senior counselor and will be receiving compensation, you will not be paid for days that you are on vacation.

“Junior Counselors” are considered rising 9th Grade students and are not paid. 

The $50 application checks are payable to The Justice Theater Project.

Please email Melissa at marketing @ thejusticetheaterproject.org with any questions or concerns.

Summer camp dates:
Weeks of July 12, 19, and 26 at The Franciscan School
Mandatory Performances: July 29, 30 and 31st.

Weeks of August 2 and 9th, The Emily K Center
Mandatory Performances: August 13 and 14.

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Special Event

It’s time to sign up for Summer Theater Camp!

Interest Forms are now ready for our two popular summer theater camps!

Just email marketing @ thejusticetheaterproject.org for The Franciscan School camp,and we'll get the form to you by email. Go to http://www.EmilyK.org for the Emily K camp registration.

A $50 non-refundable deposit is required with the form.

The Franciscan School Summer Theater Camps Information:

 Scheduled for the weeks of July 12, 19 and 26 at The Franciscan School, St. Francis of Assisi.
 Open to children in rising second to eighth grades.
 Two week minimum. Students are encouraged to attend three weeks to experience becoming part of an ensemble. 
 The full day camp schedule is Monday – Friday, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm.
 Early morning (8:00 am to 9:00 am) and afternoon (4:00 pm to 5:00 pm) childcare is available.
 Information packets including registration and medical forms will be sent out upon receipt of the $50 non refundable deposit.
 Additional questions can be directed to Melissa Zeph: marketing @ thejusticetheaterproject.org
 Counselors must apply by March 15th

The Justice Theater Project is currently accepting registration for its Performing Arts Summer Series (PASS) for students that will be entering grades 2 to 8.  Students immerse themselves in all aspects of the craft and artistry of theatre.  In a supportive community, our participants exercise their powers of imagination, build self-confidence, and explore what it means to work in a creative ensemble. For three weeks, students work with professional theater instructors studying acting, dance, dialects, stage movement, character development, various forms of physical theatre, and design and production (costumes, makeup, props and lights) which culminate in the fully mounted production of “Fiddler on the Roof, Junior”.

The Emily K Dates:

This two week camp will create an exciting production of “Midsummer’s Night Dream”, set to hip-hop music with dance.

Weeks of August 2 and August 9, with performances on Friday, August 13 and Saturday, August 14.  Please contact the Emily K Center for applications.  http://www.emilyk.org

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