Passage Theatre Company, Inc.

Passage Theatre Company is committed to creating and producing socially relevant new plays and arts programming that deeply resona...Learn more

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Foundations for Passage's Future
As humanity resurfaced from the global shutdown, Passage Theatre searched for its identity within the new parameters of society, New Jersey, Trenton, and beyond. We learned that Passage's work is strongest when we bring communities together, but we cannot do that without your help!

In 2021, as we welcomed our audiences back to live theater, we embarked on our TrentonMAKES season, which included stories written with, about, and for Trentonians. That season, Passage mounted three world premiere productions in under 100 days, including The OK Trenton Project, Janet Wide Awake: The Hedgepeth-Williams Dream, and Group! A New Musical. These brand-new, socially charged plays were based on real Trenton issues and events. We showed that part of what "Trenton Makes," are deeply moving stories that deserve to be told.

This season, our shows and programs continue to reflect our community, as we focus on the theme of Foundations for Our Future. As we move forward from two very difficult years, we want to acknowledge and reflect on how the lessons we learned from the past will help to shape what’s to come. Our first production of the 22-23 season was Blues in my Soul: The Legend and Legacy of Lonnie Johnson. This show brought new and old patrons alike to The Mill Hill Playhouse, including audiences from Candle Light Events, who served as our production partner.

We still have two productions in store! James Armstrong's two-person version of A Christmas Carol will play from December 10-12 and we will be co-producing a world premiere musical with Rider University entitled Clean Slate that will run at Rider's Yvonne Theatre from February 24-26 and at the Mill Hill Playhouse from March 10-12. Our educational programming is making an even deeper impact on the community this season, as we now offer adult Studio School classes and a robust professional internship program with numerous opportunities for early career theatre makers. Both of these programs are in addition to the Student Matinees and pre- and post-show workshops that we offer to local schools. We continue to reach new audiences and engage new artists through our Community Dialogues Panels, post-show discussions, and new play development workshops that encourage artist and audience conversations while highlighting stories that reflect Trenton's diverse and unique population.

Now, more than, ever, we need your help to aid in our mission of creating and producing socially relevant new plays and arts programming that deeply resonate with our community. Your donation today will help us to maintain staff and provide them with professional development opportunities. It will allow us to pay our artists a fair wage while continuing to guarantee high-quality productions. It will allow us to spend more time with local students and teachers, reach more audience members, and collaborate with the artists who share in our vision.

Help Passage Theatre as we build a foundation for our future. Help us to continue to bring live theatre to the Trenton community and beyond.

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16 supporters
Passage Theatre Company is fundraising
Passage Theatre Company's COVID-19 Fundraiser
Now heading into our 35th season, Passage Theatre Company's mission is to create and produce socially relevant new plays and arts programming that deeply resonate with and reflect our community. Through professional productions, educational programs, and community engagement, we present diverse perspectives and new voices that inspire audiences and invigorate the art of live theatre.

In the wake of the COVID-19 era, we are committed to continuing to provide new and engaging programming for our community. The arts are vital to this moment in our country's history, and at Passage, we believe that we now need theatre more than ever. Our plan for our 20-21 programming is based upon the themes of CONNECTION and CAREGIVING.

At Passage, we believe that theatre has the power to transform its participants; to inspire understanding of the rich diversity of the human experience, and to serve as a passage between our own lives and the empathy we can feel for others. Each production is a shared experience that we can carry into the world and use as a catalyst for inclusive conversation, connection, and change in our community.

Passage's home, the Mill Hill Playhouse.

In a time when we are all glued to our computer and television screens, many people are desperately missing in-person, human CONNECTION. At Passage, we are making plans to return to live performances as soon as possible to ensure that the members of our community do not lose the valuable, in-person connection that can be brought to us through the arts. We believe that a return to physical gatherings is necessary for the mental health of our community, and it allows for the non-verbal connection that makes us human. By participating in a shared experience, we are connecting to our neighbors on a more personal level that encourages understanding and empathy in our community. With this in mind, we are making every effort to ensure that live shows at the Mill Hill Playhouse will be able to resume in a safe and healthy way in February of 2021 and are asking our community to help us raise the extra funds needed to take all health and safety precautions necessary.

While in-person gatherings are still on hold, we are also taking care to create new, online programming to keep our audiences connected in the virtual world as we navigate the COVID-19 era. Artist interviews, education classes, professional play readings, and behind-the-scenes features on our new play development program, PlayLab, have all been planned to begin in September and run throughout the 20-21 season.

Artists from Passage's PlayLab show in development, THE OK TRENTON PROJECT, take a break to smile for the camera. (From left to right: Richard Bradford, Aleksandra Kostis, Kara Jönsson, Ryanne Domingues, Sol Madariaga, Felicia Leicht, and Kevin Bergen)

As we promote the idea that theatre is necessary for community connection, we are also well aware that a certain amount of healing will need to take place as we head into 2021. Therefore, all of the shows we are producing this coming season deal with the topic of CAREGIVING. This can refer to caring for oneself, one's family members, one's friends, or one's community. In February, we will present a live production of the Solo Flights show, MOTHER (AND ME) by Melinda Buckley, which focuses on how a woman cares for her mother as her parent's health declines. In March, we will produce our third Theatre for Families and Young Audiences production, SURELY GOODNESS AND MERCY by New Jersey playwright Chisa Hutchinson that addresses caregiving in one's community. Caitlin Parrish's hit play, A TWIST OF WATER, will be produced in May and tells the story of a widowed history teacher and his adopted daughter as they find new ways to care for each other in the midst of redefining their own identities. All of this live programming is in addition to a variety of online readings and new play offerings that we are excited to share with audiences online and at the Playhouse. As always, Passage will continue to partner with nonprofits and community members in our area who can help us shed additional light on the topics addressed in our plays, and give our audiences additional resources as to how they too can aid in caring for our community.

Passage's Community Engagement Consultant, Stelline Howard, prepares our panelists (From left to right: Alex Basseches, Senior Manager, Community Development, American Cancer Society; Janet Porter, Community Member; and Patty Hutman-Parker, RWJ Oncology Nurse) for a Community Dialogue session concerning breast cancer awareness, in connection with our 2019 production of DAUPHIN ISLAND.

We are incredibly excited to share this innovative and exciting programming with our audience, but we will not be able to do so without your help! With reduced seating capacity at the Playhouse (due to necessary social distancing measures), and extra needs linked to lost foundation support and added safety measures, we need to raise additional funding to bring this programming to our community. Passage Theatre is an integral part of Trenton's arts and culture scene. Our shows are specifically chosen to lift up and enlighten those in Mercer County, and we hope YOU will join us in making a difference today!

For more information, please visit our website.

Passage Board Member Jim Gordon and Artistic Director Ryanne Domingues are excited to show off their Passage pride.

Director Amina Robinson (center) and actors SJ Hannah (left), and Shadana Patterson (right) begin work on Passage's 2019 production of DAUPHIN ISLAND,
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127 supporters
Kacy O'Brien is fundraising
Help Continue Youth Playmaking/Education
As many of you may know, Passage Theatre Company (New Jersey) has had an outreach program aimed at Trenton's youth, ages 8 to 22, since 1995. The education program matches Trenton's young people with professional artist-mentors in playwriting, performance, spoken-word, and technical theatre classes. Throughout the year, Passage provides after school arts programs through a number of local partner organizations, including (in recent years) Trenton Central High School, the Emily Fisher Charter School, the Boys & Girls Club, the Ellarslie Museum and the River City Community School. The program is well known for its "Playmaking", a writing process which can be adapted to teen and pre-teen students, based on a model developed by New York's 52nd Street Project.

These students have gone on to do wonderful things in their communities. Many of them have also graduated high school with honors and some have gone on to pursue their career interests with full scholarships as a result of their outstanding work with this program.

However this year, the program (generally funded by grants) has suffered a major blow. It has lost a good portion of its funding -- 80%. We're asking you to please help us continue this wonderful outreach effort by donating just a few dollars and sharing this with your friends.

Check out the attached video for their amazing story on 'State of the Arts'.
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91 supporters

About Passage Theatre Company, Inc.

Passage Theatre Company is committed to creating and producing socially relevant new plays and arts programming that deeply resonate with and reflect our community. Through professional productions, educational programs, and community engagement, we present diverse perspectives and new voices that inspire audiences and invigorate the art of live theatre.

205 E Front StTrenton, NJ 08611-1717

Find Passage Theatre Company, Inc. at

Causes

Theater

Established

1988

Tax ID

22-2679031

NTEE code

Theater

Passage Theatre Company, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity, EIN 22-2679031. Donations are tax-deductible. Select content is provided by GuideStar.

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