A Night with Theater Folk

A play, fried food and inspiration with Art House Productions

My friend David Ribyat told me that he was in this new play. The play was part of the Hudson County One Acts Festival at DeBaun Auditorium (Castle Point on Hudson). My friend Aileen called me a couple of days before the play to see if I was going. Good thing she did too, because I know me. I would have mixed up the dates and missed it for sure. I’ve tried using a date book, but I usually forget to write things down in the first place. This time I went right to my computer, got online and reserved our seats.

I was curious to see David in a play. I’ve known him as a very talented musician for many years. Now I would get to see this different side of him. And, contrary to what some may believe, a one-act play is more than simply one act extracted from a larger piece. Sure it can be. A couple tonight were, including ‘Watermelon’, which was the play David was in. However, what ‘Watermelon’ had was a complete cycle. A beginning, middle and end which made it work as a one-act offering that stood on its own.

‘Watermelon’ was written by Jersey City native Ed Schroeder as part of a larger piece ‘Water Is Strange’. This excerpt is a multi-media exploration of the future. Or more specifically, the unknown question of what comes next in life. The recurring theme here is one of throwing life’s baggage over your head and letting the wind ‘woosh it away forever’. Visually it was a treat with the use of video and eccentric choreography. Wonderful performances by David who played Ed, Katherine Damigos who played Rie and Judy Nunez and Trish Szymanski who were Rie’s ‘controllers’.

I’m not going to write critiques of each of the plays because, for me, the individual efforts were outshone by the symbolism of this whole event. The fact that there even was this type of event in Hoboken was historic to say the least. In a town with such a rich cultural history, it can be frustrating trying to track down any real art or theater here. That is all starting to change with the building of Water Music’s new Performing Arts Center, the continued expansion at Monroe Center for the Arts and an influx of art and theater in neighboring Jersey City.

That’s not to say the other plays didn’t hold their own. I enjoyed some more than others of course, but all each impressive in their own way. The most important thing for me actually happened after the plays were over. There was talk of an after party. This was the second year this one-act play festival took place at DeBaun and the various groups wanted to celebrate. I was looking forward to spending time getting to know the casts and crews, but something went awry. Aileen and I were walking with the Art House troupe when we realized that the address we were given for the party was incorrect.

This caused a few minutes of uneasy panic but this was soon settled as we walked into The Gaslight (400 Adams St). In the end, this would turn out to be perfect. I got to talk and laugh with these amazingly talented people while inhaling a plate full of Fried Calamari. More importantly, I got to finally meet someone who my friend Roland calls ‘a force of nature’. Christine Goodman is not only a spoken word artist, professional actress and the director of ‘Watermelon’ she is also the founder and Grand Poobah of Art House Productions.

We had been friends on MySpace, but never met. She is an absolute delight and inspiration to talk to. I’ve wanted to branch out of my typical bar/band scene into more art and theater type events. Through talking with friends like Roland and David, I found that Cristine is the person to know. If there is anything remotely artistic or theatrical happening in Jersey City, you can bet Christine and Art House have a hand in it. So as I put more bits of fried squid in my tummy, I took every opportunity I could to talk to her tonight.

The party was to continue at David’s apartment, but I was tired and Aileen had to work in the morning. Since we live near each other, we figured it would be good to take the long walk together. This was a really nice night. I got to see a series of plays performed by devoted theater folks who are working hard to better the cultural landscape of Hudson County, NJ. Better still, I could casually get to know them in a restaurant I’d never been in before. Not for any reason mind you. It seems like a decent enough place. It’s just with so many places to choose from in this town … a guy is likely to miss a few.

See Also:
DeBaun Auditorium
Gaslight Restaurant

The Theater Groups:
Art House Productions
The Theater Company
_gaia
The Attic Ensemble
Hudson Exploited Theater Company
J CITY Theater