About Us
Mission
A creative forum for young adults in Somerset County, New Jersey, Tragoedia Theatre was a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the development of quality musical theater productions within an original curriculum-based program.
Our goals included:
- Providing a professional production environment for young performers
- Utilizing theater as an avenue to insightful social critique
- Encouraging democratic decision making and collaboration
- Strong communities emerge from hard work and shared experiences
- All young adults deserve respect and encouragement
- Learning and artistic growth stem from ownership, mindfulness and engaging material
History
A curriculum-based musical theater program for high school and college students, Tragoedia Theatre's summer production spanned roughly
seven weeks in July and early August. Founded in 2004 to eliminate the absence of fee-free summer musical productions in the
Somerset County area, Tragoedia sought to encourage and inspire young talent by introducing unique theatrical pieces within
a collaborative educational environment. An emerging educational arts organization, Tragoedia offered acting, dance, voice, movement,
and technical play rehearsals weekday evenings during our summer season. Additionally, our character development and
scene study sessions required in-depth analysis of the plays' political and historical context. Novels and films were introduced to participants to help examine characters and time periods more deeply, and improvisational techniques generated original work. In early August the program culminated
with a free senior citizens' matinee and six public performances.
Each year, Tragoedia Theatre organized an educational trip to New York City for the cast and crew of our production. In 2005 the
cast of Zombie Prom enjoyed a performance of the hit Broadway musical RENT; in 2006, we partnered with
New York University's Educational Theatre
department to host a Bat Boy performance workshop with Off-Broadway composer/lyricist Laurence O'Keefe. In 2007, the cast of Side Show traveled to Brooklyn, New York to visit Coney Island.
Tragoedia's goal was to nurture young artists while maintaining a professional rehearsal and performance environment. We sought to
initiate a dialogue with theater professionals as well as develop an original curriculum based on our carefully chosen source material.
Tragoedia's program was made possible, in part, by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, and administered by the Somerset County Cultural & Heritage Commission through the State/County Partnership Local Arts Program.