Community Playmaking
Free Adult Playwriting Workshops Culminating an Evening of Short Plays Performed by Professional Actors
Two River Theater, in partnership with Project Write Now, has launched an engagement program called Community Playmaking. Run in collaboration with local non-profits, it is open to adults from diverse, under-resourced communities free of charge. Participants engage in a series of free playwriting workshops fostering their creativity to write their own original short plays which are then performed by professional actors. Community Playmaking requires no prior experience—just a desire to learn and share stories.
Community Playmaking is made possible in part by support from The Mary Owen Borden Foundation and Senator & Dr. Joseph and Susan Kyrillos.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
PLAYWRIGHTING WORKSHOPS
Participants attend 8-10 weeks of playwriting classes onsite at their organization to learn the basics of dramatic structure, form, and character. Then they write their own original monologues, interludes, or 10-minute plays.
STAGED READINGS
Each iteration of Community Playmaking culminates in a staged reading of the newly minted playwrights’ plays performed by professional actors.
PREVIOUS COLLABORATIONS
MARCH - JUNE / 2026
Members of HABcore in Red Bank worked with PWN’s Jennifer Devi Chauhan, TRT’s Brie Butler, and teaching artist Iraisa Ann Reilly for eight weeks to imagine and write their plays. The staged reading, held at Lunch Break in Red Bank, was directed by Iraisa Ann Reilly and featured Carmen Balentine, Maggie Bofill, Thomas DellaMonica, Fernando Mercado, Heather Velazquez, and Sondra Weimar.
JAN - MARCH / 2026
Members and staff of Shore House worked with PWN’s Jennifer Chauhan and Lisa Hartsgrove and TRT’s Kate Cordaro for eight weeks to write their plays. The staged reading, held at the Long Branch Arts and Cultural Center, was directed by Bailey Dumlao and featured Thomas DellaMonica, John DeSilvestri, Fernando Mercado, Iraisa Ann Reilly, Heather Valasquez, and Sondra Weimar.
OCT - DEC / 2025
Staff, volunteers, and clients of Lunch Break worked for eight weeks to write their plays with PWN Executive Director and Co-Founder Jennifer Chauhan and TRT Director of Education Kate Cordaro. The reading was directed by Kate Cordaro and featured John DeSilvestri, Annie Henk, Fernando Mercado, Aigner Mizzelle, Reynaldo Piniella, and Iraisa Ann Reilly.
AUG - SEPT / 2025
Community members from Asbury Park Public Library worked with PWN’s Jennifer Chauhan, and TRT’s Brie Butler and Kate Cordaro for seven weeks to write their plays. The staged reading, held at Parlor Gallery in Asbury Park, was directed by Kate Cordaro and featured Carmen Balentine, Marìa Bilbao, Brie Butler, Hiram Delgado, José Espinoza, Sondra Weimar, and Lauren Worsham.
FEB - APR / 2025
Members of Shore House worked with PWN’s Jennifer Chauhan, Lisa Hartsgrove, and Chloe Scardino, and TRT’s Kate Cordaro for eight weeks to write their plays. The staged reading, held at the Long Branch Arts and Cultural Center, was directed by Kate Cordaro and featured Bailey Dumlao, Tiffany Francés, Alex Lin, Reynaldo Piniella, Triney Sandoval, and Sondra Weimar.
OCT - DEC / 2024
Staff, volunteers, and clients of Lunch Break worked for eight weeks to write their plays with PWN Executive Director and Co-Founder Jennifer Chauhan and TRT Director of Education Kate Cordaro. The reading was directed by Kate Cordaro and featured Brittany Bellizeare, Laura Dadap, Hiram Delgado, Duane Noch, Reynaldo Piniella, Heather Velasquez, and Sondra Weimar.
PROGRAM PARTNER
