About KALEIDOSCOPE KABARET

Featuring plays by YOUNG PLAYWRIGHTS
Brennan Columbia-Walsh, Alejandro Espinal, Ryan Rosenthal, and Julian Martin,
and WORKSHOP MEMBERS Lynn Marie Macy, Mike Sockol, and Joseph Vitale

The short play, an art unto itself, can also be a sketch book for writers developing themes and characters that will appear in future work. In the seven plays in this year's KABARET, audiences sample the work of many different actors, writers and directors in the same program.​ ENJOY!

The Theater Project presents Kaleidoscope Kabaret, its annual showcase of new work, Friday and Saturday, November 19 and 20 at 7:30 PM on Zoom. Audiences are invited to see a variety of new work from authors whose plays have been performed in Canada, Great Britain, New York and around the US. This year’s event also includes four plays by high school playwrights, winners of The Theater Project’s 2021 Young Playwrights Competition.

Each play will be prerecorded; a live playwrights forum will cap each evening, where audiences can dialogue with playwrights Lynn Marie Macy of Cranford, Joseph Vitale of Denville, and Mike Sockol of Holmdel, all published and/or produced playwrights, members of The Theater Project’s Playwrights Workshop. Joseph Vitale is a recent recipient of a fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.

Four student playwrights will also see their work showcased: Brennan Columbia-Walsh of Montclair Kimberley Academy Upper School, Alejandro Espinal of Academy for Performing Arts Scotch Plains, Ryan Rosenthal of Cranford Senior High School, and Julian Martin of Scotch Plains Fanwood-High School.

“The Kabaret is nearly 20 years old – this is the second time it has been presented online,” says Theater Project artistic director Mark Spina. “We haven’t allowed our commitment to supporting new work to be interrupted. We are proud to offer virtually all of our programs on virtual platforms.” The company plans to resume face to face performances in 2022.

The Theater Project

Gaining regional recognition as an incubator for new work and as a showcase for NJ artists, The Theater Project is known for its ongoing projects during the pandemic—including its annual Young Playwrights Competition, ARK (Actors Reading with Kids) program and its recently launched “The Theater Project Thinks About” podcasts. The company was just one of 22 organizations in New Jersey receiving prestigious NEA grants for the 2021 fiscal year.

In the beginning ...

The Theater Project was founded in 1994. For over twenty years, under the leadership of Mark Spina, Artistic Director, we have provided well-rounded programs on a relatively small budget to audiences who relish and seek out stimulating, new theater. 

Providing a forum to express ideas that spark the imagination, and challenge the mind is what we strive to do. Encouraging our audiences to think beyond the status quo and elevate the discourses around important contemporary issues is germane to our purpose. 

Most importantly, our audience is willing to take a chance on a title or author they have never encountered before, knowing they will be engaged, challenged and entertained.