Also this issue:

Fit To Print
The self-publishers converging on Zine Fest resist the rise of the machines.
-Patrick Rapa

Chinese Ceramics Today Hide Sadohara: New Work
Chinese ceramicists reflect the country’s changing cultural climate. A local artist complements their vision.
-Susan Hagen

Swoosh
-Lori Hill

E. Lynn Harris
-A.D. Amorosi

Nrityagram Dance Ensemble
-Deni Kasrel

Puppetry of the Penis
-Deni Kasrel

1776
-Steve Cohen

Mao in the Boardroom: Marketing Genius From The Mind Of The Master Guerrilla
-Andrew Parks

July 10-16, 2003

artpicks

Bridging the Gap

by Dana Procaccino

Brett Marston's lifelong dream was not just to start a community theater company, it was to launch a professional organization that raises the bar for theater by putting on thought-provoking productions and promoting new talent -- while also developing drama-based community outreach and educational programs. Whew! Not too easy an undertaking. And that's not all. The Bridge will make charitable contributions to a nonprofit organization relevant to the theme of each production. "So much of what we want to do is connect community, and theater is our way of doing that," Marston says. "It's not just a company putting on a show but connecting to the community and being a viable part of it on many levels." Using his master's degree in social work, Marston plans to collaborate with a psychodramatist to identify issues prevalent among disenfranchised groups, adolescents, senior citizens and others and to use drama to work through those issues. The debut production, Three Days of Rain, by Tony Award winner and Pulitzer Prize nominee Richard Greenberg, is a three-character play that begins with some thirtysomethings attempting to unearth the secrets of their parents' past. The play then goes back 35 years, with the younger characters as their parents, to portray what actually took place. It is indicative of the type of work to come: complex productions that use local talent as much as possible. Ten percent of the proceeds from the July 20 performance will benefit Artsbridge, a nonprofit committed to promoting Delaware Valley artistic projects. Martson hopes to have a successful five-show season -- and, of course, to have entertained and challenged his audience.

Three Days of Rain, July 11-27, $18-$20, Studio 3, Center Club, 80 Lambert Lane, Lambertville, N.J., 215-862-6115.