Mission
ASC serves our Hudson County and wider northern New Jersey audiences by bringing the transformative, human truths of classical theatre directly into their classrooms and communities. Through production, education, scholarship and community activities, ASC seeks to both reflect and transform the minds and hearts of its audience and its artists, shining a light on our human frailties and our human potential, and serving as a cultural hub to a growing community.
With Shakespeare as our foundation, ASC at NJCU engages our community in classic theater through clear, vibrant, and affordable productions and educational programs, in order to entertain, inspire and empower audiences, students and artists of all ages and backgrounds.
History
Fall 2000 - Spring 2003: ASC was founded in Hoboken, NJ by an intrepid group of actors and musicians who were (and are) all in love with theatre and with Shakespeare in particular. Under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Colette Rice, over its first three years the young company created a whirlwind of activity, producing twelve plays in brief runs while growing its membership, artistic approach, a vibrant in-school educational program christened WINS! (Will in Neighborhood Schools), and a NJ-NYC board. ASC’s rapid development in its first years earned early Associate Membership in the New Jersey Theatre Alliance, Equity status as a Small Professional Theatre, and a first major grant from the New Jersey Council for the Arts. NJSCA has been one of ASC’s supporters ever since.
Fall 2003-2004: In ASC’s fourth season, a change in its Hoboken venue’s direction sent the company to the Jersey City Museum for interim performance space while searching for a new mainstage home. The Museum was the first host for ASC’s free-admission Bare Bard staged readings, a program that has continued without interruption to the present and that provided the doorway to ASC’s partnership with New Jersey City University.
Spring 2005 - Present: With 2005’s debut production of Romeo & Juliet in NJCU’s West Side Theatre, ASC found a new home. Each season since has seen mainstage Shakespeare plays and several Bare Bard and other projects, including new and lesser known play readings under the heading The Play’s the Thing and experimental stagings under the new ASC Lab. The Education Department has expanded to include fourth grade through high school programs, and WINS has continued to bring hundreds of young people to the theater each season.
Since 2007, ASC has become an official program at NJCU as a Theatre in Residence, has been promoted to Senior Member status within the New Jersey Theatre Alliance, and has received its first major press reviews, including glowing assessments of As You Like It, The Three Musketeers and Henry V in the Star Ledger. The Ledger also awarded the “New Jersey ‘Tony Award’ for Best Costumes - 2008” to long-time ASC Costume Designer Eva Lachur Omeljaniuk for The Merchant of Venice.
In the current season, Season Ten: Foolish Mortals, Jennifer America has been promoted to Managing Director, and the role of Operations Associate will be taken over by ASC founding member Cindy Boyle. We also welcome company member Elizabeth Belonzi as Interim Director of Education. Elizabeth is continuing the expansion of ASC’s vibrant educational programs to include a variety of one-day and ongoing workshops, as well as in-school and after-school classes for area youth including the disabled population.
Season Ten will culminate in our mainstage production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in March 2010, followed by a Bare Bard staged reading of Measure for Measure in April, to be performed at our West Side Theatre venue and will include a special performance at our neighborhood congregation, B’nai Jacob. We’ll wrap up the season with an ASC Lab project of Shakespeare’s dark and bloody Scottish play, Macbeth. The Lab is a five person exploration of character and theme which will include public presentations in June 2010.
