Black Box Studios kicks off its inaugural professional theater season this August in its new and constantly evolving home in the heart of vibrant Teaneck: The Black Box Performing Arts Center (BBPAC). In tandem with its acclaimed student productions, this August and September Black Box Studios unveils a professional repertoire that includes a staged reading of Fifth of July by Landford Wilson, a full production of Bad Jews by Joshua Harmon, as well as a Saturday late-night run of Evil Dead: The Musical. BBPAC will also showcase improvisation in its monthly Uncensored Adolescents and Improv Bowl shows.
The Black Box Performing Arts Center is located at 200 Walraven Dr. (just off Palisade Ave.) Teaneck, NJ 07666. Tickets vary in price for each show, and are available in advance at www.blackboxnynj.com and at the door.
The BBS August performance schedule is as follows:
Improv Bowl, August 17
Live, team-format improvisation that is entertaining, engaging and safe for all ages. Hosted by Huey Esquire. Tickets: $7.00 (at the door only).
A Staged Reading of Fifth of July by Landford Wilson, August 22–23. Directed by Matt Okin.
Set in 1970s rural Missouri, Ken Talley has just returned from the Vietnam War, legless, and is due to become a teacher again, but instead becomes stressed and hopeless. Ken invites his relatives and friends to his family homestead, hoping to sell it. The results are bidding wars, family tension and the revelation of long-kept secrets.
Mon, August 22, and Tues, August 23, at 8 p.m. Tickets: $15.
Uncensored Adolescents, August 24
Live, group improvisation performed by teenagers, but targeted to more mature audiences. Anything can happen and you never know what you may hear (or see), so viewer discretion is strongly advised. Hosted by Huey Esquire.
Tickets: $7 (at the door only).
Bad Jews by Joshua Harmon, September 7–24. Directed by Matt Okin.
A dark comedy inspired by Harmon’s visit to a service featuring grandchildren of Holocaust survivors, Bad Jews is the story of a family searching for a beloved heirloom hidden during the Holocaust and fighting their cultural appropriation and morals.
Wed, Sept. 7 (preview); Thurs, Sept. 8; Fri, Sept. 9; Sat, Sept. 10; Thurs, Sept. 15; Fri, Sept. 16; Sat, Sept. 17; Thurs, Sept. 22; Fri, Sept. 23; Sat, Sept. 24. All performances at 8 p.m. Tickets: $20 adults/$18 students/seniors.
Evil Dead: The Musical by George Reinblatt, Frank Cipolla, Christopher Bond and Melissa Morris. September 24–October 31. Directed by Matt Okin. Musical Director: Huey Esquire.
In this modern horror musical, a group of college friends decides to go camping in the woods. With an unexpected turn of events, demons are given free reign on the campsite and evil spirits are unleashed.
Sat, Sept. 24; Sat, Oct. 1; Sat, Oct. 8; Sat, Oct. 15; Sat, Oct. 22; Sat, Oct. 29: performances at 10:30 p.m. Mon. Oct. 31 at 7:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. Tickets: $18.
Based in Teaneck, BBS offers collaborative theater workshops and performances for adults, teens and children. Cutting-edge professional productions and innovative programs for students of all ages, experience levels and backgrounds run year round. BBS teaches using an improv-based method that BBS’s founders developed during their years working in theater in New York City. BBS also teaches acting classes and runs drama clubs in private and day schools in Bergen County and the Greater New York area. BBS offers private coaching in acting, singing and musical theater, and has popular summer intensive theater programs for kids and teens. The experience of Black Box’s professional teaching artists covers all disciplines—acting, singing, dancing, music performance and composition, directing, producing, writing, managing and lighting—and comes from Broadway, off Broadway, film, concerts, television and new media.
Visit them on Facebook at bbsnynj or online at http://www.blackboxnynj.com/.
