Berrie Center for Performing and Visual Arts

The Big Unknown/1.5
2020-03-11 20:00 - 22:00 (America/New_York) | Adler Theater, 505 Ramapo Valley Road, Mahwah, NJ, United States
A Devised Theatre Workshop Production
Directed by Terra Vandergaw
What happens when a group of Ramapo students, faculty, staff, and alumni embark on a journey into the unknown territory of their collective creativity? Will sparks fly? Will buried dreams and magical stories be unearthed? Will courageous acts of splendor and grace collide with wild feats of imaginative storytelling? United by the common goal of generating an original piece of collaborative theatre that dares to address the critical crisis of our time and effect change, the creators of The Big Unknown/1.5 invite you along for the ride.

CANCELED - Ellis Island: Gateway to a Dream
2020-03-18 10:00 - 11:00, 2020-03-18 11:45 - 12:45 | Sharp Theater, Berrie Center for the Arts, 505 Ramapo Valley Road, Mahwah, NJ, 07430, United States
This musical celebration of the multicultural foundations of our nation return to the Berrie Center, highlighting the courage and challenges of immigrants as they adjusted to the customs and language of their new country.
Grades: 3-8 Links: Immigration Studies, Social Studies, Multicultural Studies, Music, Language Arts, Theater
SOLD OUT

CANCELED - Mack Brandon’s Gospel Explosion
2020-03-28 20:00 - 22:00 | Sharp Theater, Berrie Center for the Arts, 505 Ramapo Valley Road, Mahwah, NJ, 07430, United States
Share the joy of gospel music as Mack Brandon brings his fabulous choir back to the Berrie Center for another unforgettable interactive experience. A music professor at Ramapo College for the past 20 years, Brandon was the pianist and/or musical director for Ben E. King, The Drifters, Average White Band, and the Supremes. Brandon’s choir features the best voices from around the state, including Ramapo College students.
Tickets: $30/27/24
Ramapo Faculty/Staff: $20* Ramapo Students: $8*
*Must present Ramapo ID at Box Office. Ticket limits apply.
ALL TICKET SALES ARE FINAL. NO EXCHANGES. NO RETURNS.

Postponed Until November 2020 - Flora The Red Menace
2020-04-17 20:00 - 22:00, 2020-04-18 20:00 - 22:00, 2020-04-23 20:00 - 22:00, 2020-04-24 20:00 - 22:00, 2020-04-25 20:00 - 22:00 | Sharp Theater, Berrie Center for the Arts, 505 Ramapo Valley Road, Mahwah, NJ, 07430, United States
Book by David Thompson
Based on the novel “Love is Just Around the Corner” by Lester Atwell Originally adapted by George Abbot
Music by John Kander; Lyrics by Fred Ebb
Directed by Maria Vail; Music Director – Lisa Lutter
Before Cabaret, before Chicago, the legendary musical theater duo Kander and Ebb created Flora the Red Menace. Flora Meszaros is a headstrong individualist taking on the world by storm. As an up- and-coming fashion designer in the 1930s, Flora leads an artists’ cooperative of bohemian artists struggling to find work during the Great Depression. She falls in love with a quirky and charming organizer for the communist party who enlists her to unionize her co-workers. With a healthy dose of humor and skepticism, this musical pokes a fun at all those who take themselves and their causes too seriously. Filled with show stopping numbers and delightful lyrics, Flora the Red Menace promises to be a unique and exciting version of this rarely produced gem.
Ticket prices for all Theater Program Productions:
$5 for Ramapo Students, $15 General Admission

Postponed Until November 2020 - Flora The Red Menace
2020-04-19 20:00 - 22:00 | Sharp Theater, Berrie Center for the Arts, 505 Ramapo Valley Road, Mahwah, NJ, 07430, United States
Book by George Abbott and Robert Russell
Music by John Kander
Lyrics by Fred Ebb
Before Cabaret, before Chicago, the legendary musical theater duo Kander and Ebb created Flora the Red Menace. Flora Meszaros is a headstrong individualist taking the world on by storm. As an up-and-coming fashion designer in the 1930’s, Flora leads an artists’ cooperative of bohemian artists struggling to find work during the Great Depression. She falls in love with a quirky and charming organizer for the communist party who enlists her to unionize her co-workers. With a healthy dose of humor and skepticism, this musical pokes a fun at all those who take themselves and their causes too seriously. Filled with show stopping numbers and delightful lyrics, Flora the Red Menace promises to be a unique and exciting version of this rarely produced gem.
Directed by Maria Vail
Music Director – Lisa Lutter

CANCELED - LaChanze
2020-05-02 20:00 - 22:00 | Sharp Theater, Berrie Center for the Arts, 505 Ramapo Valley Road, Mahwah, NJ, 07430, United States
Described as volcanic and a spontaneous force of nature with the unfailing ability to leave audiences breathless, Tony and Emmy Award Winner, LaChanze and her band bring her Feeling Good tour to our stage, with a long list of Broadway credits, including Summer: The Donna Summer Musical, The Color Purple, and Once On This Island.
Tickets: $35/32/25 Children Under 17: $18
Ramapo Faculty/Staff: $20* Ramapo Students: $ 8*
*Must present Ramapo ID at Box Office. Ticket limits apply.
ALL TICKET SALES ARE FINAL. NO EXCHANGES. NO RETURNS.

Leaning into the Unknown: An Artist's Response to COVID-19 Act I
2020-09-19 20:00 - 21:30 | Virtual
Leaning into the Unknown was a call to NJ-based artists in the performing arts to share work they were creating in response to the COVID-19 global health pandemic. Six artists were chosen to perform their new works in a FREE two day virtual event. Three artists will perform in Act I on September 19, 2020 and three artists in Act II on September 26, 2020.
Link to the event below under “website.”

Act One will feature: Nai-Ni Chen Dance Company, Marina Carreira, and Christy E. O’Connor

"Life After the 'Po"- Theater and Alumni Showcase and Panel Discussion
2020-09-25 20:00 - 21:30 | Virtual
Moderated by Terra Vandergaw and Jaquair Gillette ‘07
Invited alumni share work and discuss their perspectives on being professional theater artists in these turbulent times. This event is free to the public. Link to be posted closer to the event date.
Registration link is below

Leaning into the Unknown: An Artist’s Response to COVID-19 Act II
2020-09-26 20:00 - 21:30 | Virtual
Leaning into the Unknown was a call to NJ-based artists in the performing arts to share work they were creating in response to the COVID-19 global health pandemic. Six artists were chosen to perform their new works in a FREE two day virtual event. Three artists will perform in Act I on September 19, 2020 and three artists in Act II on September 26, 2020.
Link to the event below under “website.”

Act Two will feature: The Moving Architects, Dimitri Reyes, and Mignolo Dance

Improvisation Workshop
2020-10-02 20:00 - 21:30 | Virtual
Led by Maria Vail
Learn more about improvisation and see participants dive right into improv exercises.

Registration link is below!

“Life After the Po”- Theater Alumni Showcase and Panel Discussion #2
2020-10-09 20:00 - 21:30 | Virtual
Moderated by Terra Vandergaw and Jaquair Gillette ‘07
Invited alumni share work and discuss their perspectives on being professional theater artists in these turbulent times.

Registration Link Below!

The Diaries of Adam and Eve
2020-10-23 20:00 - 21:30, 2020-10-24 20:00 - 21:30, 2020-10-25 20:00 - 21:30 | Virtual
Adapted by Ron Fitzgerald
Directed by Rebecca Glincman
This fresh adaptation of the story by Mark Twain is a hilarious exploration of the relationship between men and women.

Registration Below!

The Marple Academy of Dramatic Arts and Investigation
2020-10-30 20:00 - 21:30, 2020-10-31 20:00 - 21:30, 2020-11-01 20:00 - 21:30 | Virtual
It is your first semester at Marple Academy, you have no friends, and are uncertain about the insane workload that is surrounded by ridiculous requests that seem to have very little to do with your dual goals of becoming both a famous actor and a respected detective. AND you are unprepared to take Professor N.C. Drew’s Blackmail 101 midterm with Professor N.C. Drew. Can you guess the obscure answers to Professor Drew’s video puzzles? Will your powers of detection impress your fellow classmates? Will you reward yourself by having pizza bagels for dinner or end up crying into a pint of ice cream? Can you beat the clock to save your scholarship, overcome your imposter syndrome, and potentially save a life?
Directed by Dan Ciba
Drawn from writing exercises from the Basic Playwriting class, this interactive performance, based on virtual escape room and puzzle experiences, encourages teams of participants to work together to answer questions while following a series of original stories.
Link to the Game Below!
https://forms.gle/MBQ8KsGsWXAf86jP9

“Virtual Voices” - An Evening of Solo Performance and Devised Virtual Theater
2020-11-06 20:00 - 21:30 | Virtual
“Virtual Voices” – An Evening of Solo Performance and Devised Virtual Theater
Directed by Terra Vandergaw

Registration Link Below!

In Real Life: An Evening with Liz Magic Laser
2020-11-18 19:00 - 20:00 | Virtual
Liz Magic Laser is a cutting-edge artist whose career and success should be inspirational for the Ramapo community. Her performances and video-based installation work has involved collaborations with political strategists, market researchers, journalists, actors, dancers, therapists, surgeons, and motorcycle gang members. Her most recent projects, In Real Life (commissioned by FACT, Liverpool, UK) and Handle / Poignée (commissioned by Centre Pompidou, Paris), explore the efficacy of new age techniques and psychological methods used in both corporate culture and political movements. These works examine the techno-utopian logic of the scientifically managed self and the sociality that hyper-productivity forges.
Click Here for Liz Magic Laser’s Biography
Watch the Presentation Here on Wednesday, November 18, 2020 at 7:00pm!

Photo credit:
In Real Life , Liz Magic Laser, 2019, 5-channel HD video with sound (112 minutes, looped); custom seating (dimensions variable). Commissioned by FACT, Liverpool, UK. Photo by Rob Battersby.

Baltimore
2020-11-20 20:00 - 21:30, 2020-11-21 20:00 - 21:30, 2020-11-22 20:00 - 21:30 | Virtual
By Kirsten Greenidge
Directed by Lisa Strum
Sharp, funny, and searing, Baltimore is a timely drama about racism on college campuses.
Click This Link at Showtime to Join Us for the Production!

Basic Directing Final Scenes
2020-12-04 20:00 - 21:30 | Virtual
Scenes directed by the Basic Directing class

Registration Link Below!

Made In Jersey: Elizabeth Walsh
2020-12-10 20:00 - 21:00 | Virtual
Made in Jersey will feature a series of New Jersey based performing artists sharing new works-in-
progress. After each broadcast, audiences will be able to join the artist in a live chat where they can ask
questions.
Microtonal musician, Elizabeth Walsh presents her multi-disciplinary work “Dream Window” using video
projection, spoken word and percussive instruments. In this piece, Walsh revisits a work from 2010:
“Dream Window” where she looked at dreams as experienced by several different people. Now, ten
years later, she explores her own dreams. While the pandemic has driven us all inside, it has
encouraged Walsh to look inward as well. Lately, she sees a geography to her dream universe. She states
“I revisit the same locations over and over again; they are essentially real places, but with a very
different look. Here, I examine a few of the places in my dreams, and ask myself why I keep returning to
them over again.” Walsh sees comfort these days by living in an alternative universe – dreams, gaming,
books – but feels it’s so important to be awake and focused too, so that we can all move past the current
nightmare and into our dreams of the future.
Click Here on December 10 at 8:00pm for the Performance

Faculty Film Series- "Loyalty Code"- Kelly Dolak
2021-02-02 19:00 - 22:00 | Virtual
Loyalty Code is an inquiry into our universal struggles between loyalty and doing what’s right. The feature documentary provides an inside look at the Penn State family and the lengths they go to protect their family, preserve their traditions, and restore the legacy of football coach Joe Paterno. Four Penn State students with clashing perspectives on loyalty and belonging navigate us through the moral codes of loyalty, morality, and self-interest. This film will make you rethink loyalty.
Kelly Dolak is a writer/ director who began her career in NYC working in cable television for MTV, Nickelodeon, AMC and The Discovery Channel. The show she worked on for AMC, “Behind the Screen” won a daytime Emmy award. She also produced segments for Al Jazeera English and her short film work has appeared on PBS. Her first documentary feature, POSTCARDS FROM TORA BORA, about the impact the wars in Afghanistan have on an individual family, premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and screened at more than 30 other festivals worldwide. She produced the documentary OUR LIPS ARE SEALED that won the audience award at the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. Most recently she won a Zeiss Lens Best Cinematography award for her short film RELENT. LOYALTY CODE, about loyalty and the Penn State child sexual abuse scandal, is her second feature film and is available on Amazon Prime.
* This film is currently available on Amazon Prime. If you have an Amazon Prime account, please feel free to view in advance.

Register Here for the Live Q&A and for Link to Film
