Current Production

Dancing at Lughnasa

Dancing at Lughnasa
By Brian Friel
June 11 - 27, 2010
Cardinal Gibbons Performing Arts Center, Raleigh

Five unmarried sisters in a small Irish village hope and dream of a better life, while music from their radio transforms and transports them. This haunting play is a tribute to the spirit and valor of family.
Winner of 3 Tony Awards.

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Past Productions

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

2009-2010 Season!

Each year, JTP explores in-depth a theme of social justice concern.

2009-10 finds us all turning back to the family .How family is affected when our fathers, sons, mothers and daughters come back from war. How a family of sisters so solidly held together all of their lives can be suddenly scattered to the winds on the breath of a radio wave. How a family desperately wanting more for their children can resent them for the opportunities that they themselves were denied. How families are made and remade after overcoming great obstacles.

Thought-provoking. Entertaining. Inspiring.

The Justice Theater Project is a non-profit theater company dedicated to the idea that art inspires change.

Marketing@thejusticetheaterproject.org
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Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Dancing at Lughnasa

Dancing at Lughnasa
By Brian Friel
June 11 - 27, 2010
Cardinal Gibbons Performing Arts Center, Raleigh

Five unmarried sisters in a small Irish village hope and dream of a better life, while music from their radio transforms and transports them. This haunting play is a tribute to the spirit and valor of family.
Winner of 3 Tony Awards.

Read more...

Friday, November 13, 2009

Fences

By August Wilson

Only ONE more show at 2:00 pm. today! Tickets may be purchased at the door. Box office opens 1 hour before curtain.

Please allow time for parking, purchasing tickets, or turning in your etix.

919-264-7089 for information.

Showtimes:
.
Sunday, February 28 at 2:00 p.m.

Saint Mary's School Pittman Auditorium, 900 Hillsborough St. Raleigh. (Corner of Hillsborough and Saint Mary's, enter on College Road, Gate 4)

SPECIAL EVENTS

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28 – 2 pm Audio Described Performance

When his rise through the Negro baseball leagues hit the ceiling of racial prejudice, Troy Maxson turned away from a world of unfulfilled promises and denied opportunities.

His son Cory, an emerging football star, sees the world through very different eyes, and his wife Rose yearns for an outlet for her love.

A story of four generations of African Americans that explores justice, fair treatment and social change during the 1950's

Winner of the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize. The role of Troy was originally portrayed on Broadway by James Earl Jones, and will be reprised in April by Denzel Washington.

Educational/Experiential guides available by accessing these web pages:

http://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-fences/further.html

http://www.enotes.com/fences

Cast:

Troy Maxson: John Rogers Harris
Jim Bono: Lester Hill
Rose: Barbette Hunter
Lyons: Tyrone Hicks
Gabriel: Thomasi McDonald
Cory: Jade Arnold
Raynell: Rachel Woods Barnes on Feb 13, 19, 20 and 26
and Maya Bryant on Feb 12, 14, 21, 27, and 28

The Artistic Team:

Artistic Director: Deb Royals
Stage Manager: Brett Stegall
Associate Director and Choreographer: Joy Williams
Costumer: David Serxner
Assistant SM: Liz Segre and Collin Ruffin
Marketing: Melissa Zeph
Technical Director and Lighting Designer: Dan Sepke
Sound Designer: Julie Jones
Assistant Costumer: Aislinn Murphy
Production Consultant: Herb Eley

Tickets: $15 Adults, $12 Students/Seniors, $10 Groups of 10 or more

Reservations: (919)-264-7089
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Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Gimme Five for Justice!

$5 can and DOES make a difference! Donate to JTP and get that warm, fuzzy feeling. (Oh, and get a $5 off coupon, too!)

Now we can tune the piano and present fantastic local singing talent to you during the run of "Working".

Spend $5 this spring AND get a $5 off coupon to a great local restaurant.

Just click HERE to go to our Fund Raiser Blog and Give us Five! (You can give us more than five, we won't mind)

Your printed receipt is also a coupon to either Bogart's American Grill or The Red Room Restaurant on Glenwood Avenue.

Want to tell us what you think? The Gimme Five for Justice Blog is a great way to let the world know how The Justice Theater Project has touched your life through theater, camps, outreach or education.

We can't wait to hear from you, and THANKS for giving us five!

Here are the GREAT things you will fund for next year:

A Forum Theater original event in collaboration with Passage Home. Three fantastic main stage plays that include "Laundry and Bourbon", "Dancing at Lughnasa" and "Fences". Three summer camps to provide area youth with a safe and fulfilling theater experience. Monthly FREE acting classes for adults and teens at Poplar Springs Christian Church.... and SO MUCH MORE!

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Sunday, August 02, 2009

Third Annual Gala for Justice!

Sunday, November 1
6:00 to 10:00 pm
Meymandi Theatre at the Murphy School
224 Polk St., Raleigh

6:00 PM - The Justice Theater Project will perform a staged reading of selected scenes from "Finding Clara"
during annual Fund Raising Gala.

"Finding Clara" is a play about lintheads, silent movie stars and lost love. Parallel stories of a fictional mill worker and the real life of silent screen star Clara Bow unfold against the explosive background of pre-depression 1929 America. Featuring area theater veterans Betsy Henderson, David Henderson, Barbette Hunter, Byron Jennings, Canady Vance Thomas,Susan Burcham and newcomer Lindsay Hayden.

Seating for the staged reading is limited and reservations are required.

"Finding Clara" has received numerous awards including a Silver Medal at the 2003 Pinter Drama Review Prize, winner of the Southern Appalachian Repertory Theatre New Plays Competition in 2001-02, North Carolina Arts Council Literature Fellowship in 2001-02, was a Finalist: Mockingbird Theatre New Plays Contest in 2001 and received a Piedmont Regional Artist Grant in 2000.

An after show discussion will be facilitated by Dr. Jacquelyn Hall, the Julia Cherry Spruill Professor of History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Director of the Southern Oral History Program. She is the co-author of "Like a Family: The Making of a Southern Cotton Mill World" and of many articles on working-class women. Dr. Hall will discuss the play and the related topic of the history of mill workers in the south.

7:30 PM - Directly following the free reading, JTP will host the third annual "Gala for Justice", a fund raising event. Admission: $25.00 Per Person - includes food, beverages and entertainment.
The Roaring 20s era of “gangsters, speak easies, prohibition back rooms, flappers, boas and maybe even some ‘bathtub gin’, will be juxtaposed against the staged reading of "Finding Clara".

Entertainment provided by "Anything But", speakeasy jazz performed by true southerners, features Canady Vance Thomas, Cody Cockrell and Jason Hedrick. 7:30 - 9:00 PM

SINGING FOR JUSTICE: Cast members from JTP's recent production of the musical "Working" will perform at 9:00 PM.

A SILENT AUCTIION benefiting the outreach and productions of JTP will take place, and the $25.00 admission fee includes food and drink.

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 home). 7:30 PM $25 PER PERSON.
For reservations please call 919-215-0889 or email marketing@thejusticetheaterproject.org.

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Friday, July 31, 2009

Laundry and Bourbon

THANK YOU for attending!


The reviews are in! Laundry and Bourbon is "... as potent as a Triple Shot"!
http://cvnc.org/reviews/2009/092009/Laundry.html

A comedy rich with humor and raw reality. Featuring Rachel Green, Betsy T. Henderson and Canady Vance Thomas.

Welcome to a back porch: Anywhere, USA.

It’s a hot summer afternoon in 1974. Elizabeth, Hattie and busy body Amy Lee are folding laundry, drinking bourbon and coke, gossiping, and exchanging insults while awaiting the return of Elizabeth’s wayward husband, Roy, who hasn't been the same since his return from Vietnam.

The dynamic combination of area theatre veterans and best friends Betsy T. Henderson, Rachel Green and Canady Vance Thomas gives a comfortable and playful feel to this 1970's back porch cat fight. The constant breeze on this sweltering summer night is not enough to cool down the heat amongst these girls as they compare husbands, bridge club rivalry, infidelity, the introduction of mahjong, how to raise children and how to pick the right door on Monty Hall's "Let's Make a Deal", which is blaring from the television in the background. The stoic optimism and patience Elizabeth shows for her missing Vietnam Veteran husband Roy melts the heart of even these caustic women.

There's plenty to laugh about and much to contemplate in this tender and lively comedy.

Photography by Paul Hurschmann


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Friday, April 10, 2009

Working - A musical by Studs Terkel

Working

The Reviews are in!

"Strong Performances found in Studs Terkel musical" - The News and Observer

"The Justice Theater Project scores big with WORKING..." - Triangle Theater Review,

Thank you for attending! See you in September for "Laundry and Bourbon".

We hope you enjoyed the ultimate People's Musical written by the late Pulitzer Prize winning oral historian Studs Terkel

"Working" is based on interviews with American workers from the book "Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do" by Studs Terkel.

"Working" features local professional singers and actors, with original music by James Taylor and Stephen Schwartz ("Wicked", "Pippin", and "Godspell").

CAST: LeDawna Akins, Susan Burcham, Bing Cox, John Honeycutt, Barbette Hunter, Byron Jennings, Kevin Lawrence, Andrea Shulz Twiss and Deb Royals.

See photos and bios at www.jptworking.homestead.com.

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Monday, March 02, 2009

Dignity Forum Theater Event

THANK YOU to the over 600 people who came to support the young adults, and to experience an interactive forum theatre event!

Join us for a final performance at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church as we become a part of The Franciscan Coalition's ongoing 'Sojourns for Justice' series.

What is Dignity? How do you define it? Can someone take it away from you? Can you give it to others?

These questions are being explored by the young adults of Poplar Springs Christian Church in Raleigh, with the help of JTP's artistic Director, Deb Royals.

This collaboration will culminate in a "forum theater" style performance on Wednesday, April 29th at 7:00 pm at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church 11401 Leesville Rd, Raleigh, NC 27613
(919) 847-8205 . www.stfrancisraleigh.org

This event is free and open to the public, and no tickets are needed.

Here's a web site with all the specifics about the show and the actors: http://jtpdignityforum.homestead.com/Index.html


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Tuesday, December 02, 2008

Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me

Thank you for attending!

Written by Frank McGuinness. Directed by Carnessa Ottelin

February 27 and 28 at 8 PM. March 1 at 2 PM

The Justice Theater Project concludes the critically acclaimed production of Someone Who'll Watch Over Me with a weekend of three final performances. This amazing collaboration combined with a stellar script is what the Independent Weekly calls "clever directing by Carnessa Ottelin and the well-cast, dynamic trio of performers... by the final curtain, the audience has fallen in love with these men."

The News and Observer says "...the production entertains and enlightens, showcasing three fine talents."

The Triangle Theater Review calls it a "...must see drama... Don't miss it.".

Witness the emotional, intense and trusting interaction between David Henderson as Edward the Irish journalist, Ryan Brock as Michael the English professor, and Byron Jennings as Adam the American doctor.

Inspired by the true account of former prisoner Brian Keenan, Someone Who'll Watch Over Me won the New York Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Play, the Writers Guild Award for Best Play, and was nominated for Best Play at the Tony Awards.

Saint Mary's School Pittman Auditorium, Raleigh.

Based on Irish playwright Frank McGuinness' Tony nominated play, "Someone Who'll Watch Over Me" explores the relationship between three men trapped together as hostages in a basement somewhere in Lebanon. One American, one Irishman and one Englishman struggle to maintain their sanity, humanity and hope. visit www.jtpsomeone.homestead.com for all information about the show.

The Reviews are in!

The Independent: http://www.indyweek.com/gyrobase/Content?oid=oid%3A287865

The News and Observer: http://www.newsobserver.com/105/story/1411462.html

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Thursday, June 05, 2008

The Line in the Sand: Stories from the US/Mexico Border

Questions or reservations: 259-6936 or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Reservations not required.

The Line in the Sand was written by a group of actors and writers from Catholic Relief Services (a national organization based in Baltimore, MD), who visited areas on both sides of the border between Mexico and Arizona in 2005 and interviewed citizens of both countries, immigrants and non-immigrants.

The play presents the dire situation that those people find themselves in. Not only is the story line compelling and moving, but it is told in the voices of real people and shows the various ways that many people, again not just immigrants, are affected by the lack of practical and humane immigration legislation.

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Thursday, March 27, 2008

Still…Life

SATURDAY NIGHT PATRONS:
Please Park in the Rosemary Street Public Parking Lots. You can then take a shuttle bus to Memorial Hall and walk across the street to Swain Hall.

"Still...Life", an original play written by members of The Justice Theater Project and directed by UNC's Joseph Megel, will be performed at Swain Hall on the UNC Chapel Hill campus as part of the Carolina Performing Arts Criminal/Justice. The Death Penalty Examined. year of death penalty discussion.
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Friday, January 18, 2008

Expresate : To Express.  The Price You Pay.

TONIGHT'S SHOW CANCELED: SATURDAY, JANUARY 19.

DUE TO THE SLOW MOVING WEATHER SYSTEM HEADING OUR WAY, AND TEMPERATURES DIPPING BELOW FREEZING, WE REGRET THAT WE ARE CANCELLING TONIGHT'S SHOW.

Thank you to all the patrons that were able to come out on Friday night and interact with the teens. The teens did a magnificent job and we are proud of their accomplishments.

The Justice Theater Project presented one evening of interactive performances based on scripts created by local farmworker teens. A facilitator guided the audience as they asked questions, stopped the show, and became a part of the event. Rooted in Augusto Boal's Forum Theatre model, The Justice Theater Project's objective is to create discourse around issues of social concern, firmly situating JTP as the only theater company of its kind in Central North Carolina.


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Friday, August 31, 2007

The Grapes of Wrath

The Justice Theater Project began a year-long exploration of displacement and migration by presenting Frank Galati’s Tony Award-winning adaptation of the Steinbeck classic, "The Grapes of Wrath".
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Friday, April 13, 2007

Still… Life.

Thank you to every one that was able to attend the workshop performances of Still...Life. Your valuable comments and questions have directly impacted the ultimate full production that will take place on April 13 and 14, 2007, at the Cardinal Gibbons High School Performing Arts Center.
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Wednesday, February 01, 2006

Dead Man Walking

The Justice Theater Project presented Dead Man Walking at the Cardinal Gibbons High School Performing Arts Center from February 1 to February 10, 2007.
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Friday, February 18, 2005

Witness

Based on Newberry Award winner Karen Hesse's moving novel, Witness is the quietly moving story of a small Vermont town in the early 1920's. On the edge of tragedy when the Ku Klux Klan moves in, Revelation Falls is a community torn apart as it learns about racism, bigotry, and human kindness.
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Friday, December 24, 2004

A Lesson Before Dying

The News and Observer Arts and Entertainment article, "A Year in the Arts: Best Theater" (Sunday, December 25, 2004) named The Justice Theater Project's production of "A Lesson Before Dying" one of the top 10 best locally produced shows of 2004. Our most recent production of "Nickel and Dimed" was also mentioned in the article as a "timely issue with strong political resonance".
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Saturday, November 13, 2004

Nickel and Dimed: on (NOT) Getting By in America

Playwright and director, Deb Royals-Mizerk directs Joan Holden's theatrical adaptation of social critic Barbara Ehrenreich's best selling book, Nickel and Dimed.

Nickel and Dimed "…helps us make sense of the looking glass land that exists alongside our own, one that we interact with everyday but which so few of us really take the time to see." —Anchorage Press
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