Lure of the Beach at Long Branch; Back by Popular Demand
July 13, 2022
AVS Awards Annual Academic Scholarships to Ava Calzone and Jacob Juliano
July 14, 2022
LONG BRANCH – New Jersey Repertory Company, located at 179 Broadway in Long Branch is proud to present “The Hummingbirds: A Comedy of Menace” written by Garret Jon Groenveld. Performances are August 4th through August 28th, Thursdays & Fridays 8pm; Saturdays 3pm & 8pm; and Sundays at 2pm. Patrons can purchase tickets by calling NJRep at 732-229-3166 or from our website www.njrep.org. Please be advised, in order to maintain a safe space for our audience and our staff, we encourage our audiences to wear masks.
The Hummingbirds Synopsis: Been unemployed too long? At the Unemployment Bureau, we can place you in a job you may not be qualified for or a job that’s not safe, but you will do it. Because if you can walk, you can work! A comic-drama set in the future, which may be closer than you think.
The Hummingbirds won the 2012 Global Age Project and the 2012 Internationalists Global Playwriting Prize (7 Presentations in 7 countries – US, Romania, Spain, Mexico, The Netherlands, Germany and Singapore).
The Hummingbirds has not received an English language production, but is on tour in Romania (in Romanian) and has been produced in Spanish in Zaragoza, Spain and two acclaimed productions in Mexico City, Mexico.
Michael Pollard
Michael returns to NJ Rep after previously appearing in LUCKY ME, HAPPY, RELEASE POINT, NIGHT TRAIN, YANKEE TAVERN, DEAD RINGER, APPLE, TEN PERCENT OF MOLLY SNYDER and BIG BOYS as well as several Theatre Brut festivals and numerous staged readings. Other regional credits include performances at Shadowland Stages, Centenary Stage Co., Forestburgh Playhouse, Seven Angels Theatre, The Theater Project, the Adirondack Theatre Festival, Writer’s Theatre of NJ, the Depot Theatre, the Pioneer Valley Summer Theatre, George Street Playhouse and the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park where he was a member of the professional actor training program. In New York city Michael performed most recently in Pan Asian Rep’s critically acclaimed production of DAYBREAK and is best known for his work in improvisation and sketch comedy, with performances in various venues including the West Bank Café, the West Side Arts Center, the Avalon Theatre and the Pearl Theatre.
Sophia Parola
Sophia was born and raised in New Jersey. She started her training at Brookdale Community College and has since studied at Stella Adler Studio, HB Studio, and privately. Some of her favorite theatrical roles include Demetrius in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Lady Anne in Richard III with Hip To Hip Theatre, and Trish in The Promotion, here at New Jersey Repertory Company. Sophia has also recently appeared on FBI: Most Wanted, and stars in indie films Marijuana Minutes, and Last Known Location. Sophia is also a professional Red-Carpet Host for Garden State Film Festival and Cinequest Film Festival. Sophia would like to thank her family, friends, and mentors who continue to support her. www.sophiaparola.com
Garret Jon Groenveld is a poet and playwright living in San Francisco, CA with an MFA in Poetry and an MA in Playwriting from San Francisco State University. He also studied with Edward Albee at the University of Houston. He’s a founding writer of PlayGround and an inaugural member of the Writers in Residence program at the Playwrights Foundation. His play “Missives” had well received productions in San Francisco and New York. His play, “The Hummingbirds,” is a winner of the 2012 GAP Festival from the Aurora Theatre in Berkeley and the winner of the Internationalists Global Playwriting Prize. This prize included six presentations in six countries (including New York, Berlin and the Netherlands) and has led to productions worldwide, including an ongoing tour of Romania and an extended run in Mexico City, Mexico. “The Hummingbirds” had a workshop with Olympia Dukakis at the Lark and was in the Theatre Resources Unlimited (TRU) Reading Series in 2015 (with Ellen McLaughlin). His play, “The Empty Nesters” was in 2014’s Theatre Resources Unlimited Reading series and had a production workshop in San Francisco in 2015. An open ended tour of the show premiered in San Francisco in 2016 and a tour is planned for 2019 with stops in LA, Chicago and New York.
SuzAnne Barabas (Director/Artistic Producer), has been the Artistic Director of NJ Rep for the past 23 years. SuzAnne is a member of Actors Equity Association, the Dramatist Guild, and the Society of Directors & Choreographers.
