Arthouse Productions, the downtown Jersey City theater company, is back with a new play this month.
“The Constant Never,” according to its director, Christine Goodman, is about Angelo, a dying man in his 30s who finds himself forced to confront the choices he’s made and the people in his life.
Goodman said the five-character play, which is running for the next two weekends, is not just simply live performance but also employs various mediums such as video feeds and electronic music to engage the audience. The featured performers are Rafael Cruz, Amy Elise, Alana Jackler, Richard Kirkwood, and Megan Wagner.
“It was definitely the most technically challenging piece we have done.” – Christine Goodman
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Goodman adds, “And it’s about giving people a reason to turn off their TVs and come see the play.”
Those who have willing to venture out of their houses and take in the one-hour production have offered Goodman significant praise and feedback for this work.
“A lot of people related to the characters, and were even asking me if I was writing from my own experience,” Goodman said. “It was great to see that it resonated.”
Goodman gives credit for the success of the play to all of her collaborators on this project including the production manager, Jack Halperin; video designer, Sara Wentworth, and music and audio designer Michael Flinck.
“It was definitely the most technically challenging piece we have done,” Goodman said. “But it was easier by working with the talented cast and crew, who made the whole process gel in a wonderful way.”
A constant at being different
Goodman, a downtown Jersey City resident for the past nine years, is used to bringing unusual and interesting theater to the masses under the Arthouse Productions banner.
One is reminded of past productions such as last year’s Heavy Craft/Soft Landing, or as far back as 2006’s Art Heist, theatrical renderings that have challenged audiences to think out-of-the-box while viewing what is being displayed.
That, Goodman says, is not just a product of her theatrical training at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts but also the theater companies, particularly those in Lower Manhattan that she has admired over the years. She said some of them “push the envelope,” such as Richard Foreman, the Wooster Group, and Three-Legged Dog.
“These are people whose work inspires us to want to create theater that is a product of our time, which speaks to the audience today,” Goodman said.
And as for the future, Goodman said Arthouse Productions has “some ideas floating around” but the focus is on the current production.
The next dates are May 20-22 at 8 p.m. with May 21 featuring a sign language interpreted performance. The location is Art House Productions, Hamilton Square, 1 McWilliams Place, sixth Floor, Jersey City (SE Corner of Hamilton Park near Erie Street /Eighth Street).
Tickets are $20 general admission. To purchase, visit: www.brownpapertickets.com.
For more information, call (201) 915-9911 or by emailing: info@arthouseproductions.org.