Part of the annual Stages Festival

Our virtual Plays By People event was this past weekend! It was a great event and we are so grateful for everyone who attended, those who worked both in front of the screen and behind the scenes here at Arts Access and at Premiere Stages at Kean University, the New Jersey Theatre Alliance for organizing the Stages Festival, and of course Mike Cornely, Luis Rodriguez, Chris Saglimbene, and Paul Santo, this year’s featured playwrights.

Upon signing into the virtual event, attendees were greeted by a virtual lobby. Images of paintings by Mike, Luis, Chris, and Paul were shown as the audience waited for the show to begin. John Wooten of Premiere Stages was the producing director of the event and our MC for the evening. He introduced the work that was being presented and told the audience a little more about the New Jersey Theatre Alliance’s annual Stages Festival.

First up was Mike Cornely’s play, “Amy Finally Visits Mike,” which was about a young couple traveling to meet the family for the first time at Thanksgiving. After that was “The Game Show Affair,” by Paul Santo. This play was about a game show fanatic who gets the opportunity to audition for her favorite show and then falls for the host. Next up was Chris Saglimbene’s play, “Castlevania: Bloodlines,” which was about a university professor with an unusual secret and one of his students who gets drawn into a supernatural conflict. Finally, “Hawaii Play” by Luis Rodriguez was presented, with Luis acting alongside the Premiere Stages actors. In this play, the protagonist discovers that falling in love can be tricky, especially if it’s not with the woman you’re dating.

The event concluded with a Q&A session with the featured playwrights, Art Access’ Director, Eileen Murray, and Performing Arts Coordinator, Heather Williams. The playwrights talked a little about their processes, inspirations, and work, answering questions and basking in the praise from the audience.

A big thanks goes out to everyone who worked together on this event! Not only was it a lot of fun, but it was a wonderful opportunity to highlight the work Mike, Luis, Chris, and Paul, as well as the rest of the work being created at Arts Access every day. Special thanks to John Wooten, Premiere Stages at Kean University, and this year’s phenomenal actors, Ali Rose Dachis, Andrea Morales, Eric Phelps, Gabriel Lawrence, and John Anthony “JT” Torres.

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This event is part of the New Jersey Theatre Alliance 2022 Stages Festival, made possible by support from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts; Bank of America; The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey; OceanFirst Foundation; New Jersey Historical Commission; and Fund for the New Jersey Blind. www.njtheatrealliance.org/stages

2022 Stages Festival Sponsors