on the lawn at the
Summer Solos 2021
(formerly Monologues@MONDO)
We'll be back in person - outdoors - this July for our weekly solo reading series!
July 7, 14, 21, 28 @ 6:30PM
All tickets $20, advance or in person
Visual Arts Center of NJ (on the lawn)
68 Elm Street, Summit, NJ 07901
Bring your own blanket or lawn chairs, picnic or snacks!
Rain dates for all performances are the Thursday following the scheduled date.
Summer Solos 2021 Schedule
Wednesday, July 7, 2021 at 6:30 pm (rain date Thursday, July 8 at 6:30 pm)
Donna Orbits the Moon by Ian August
Something is not quite right with Donna: She's a loving mother, a devoted wife, and a minor celebrity to all the bake sale planners in town--but something is making her spacey, and she's not sure what it is. Therapy is out of the question--and church isn't the place to share one's distress. Donna will need to pass through space and through time--all the while listening to an unlikely voice--and try to break free from her gravitational pull to learn just how she can land.
Featuring: Laura Ekstrand
Wednesday, July 14, 2021 at 6:30 pm (rain date Thursday, July 15 at 6:30 pm)
I Hate This (a play without the baby) by David Hansen
David and his wife Toni learn at her 30 week check-up that their unborn child has died. Jumping back and forth between two timelines, David tells the story of the 36 hours between learning this truth and the birth of their first child, as well as the year that follows - detailing the frustration, recrimination, guilt, sorrow and ultimate acceptance of their son's death.
Featuring: Jason Szamreta
Wednesday, July 21, 2021 at 6:30 pm (rain date Thursday, July 22 at 6:30 pm)
Harry Clarke by David Cale
Harry Clarke is the story of a shy midwestern man who feels more himself when adopting the persona of cocky Londoner Harry Clarke. Moving to New York and presenting himself as an Englishman, he charms his way into a wealthy family’s life, romancing two family members as the seductive and sexually precocious Harry, with more on his mind than love. With his spellbinding and emotionally nuanced storytelling, Cale has created a riveting story of a man leading an outrageous double life.
Featuring: Clark Carmichael
Wednesday, July 28, 2021 at 6:30 pm (rain date Thursday, July 29 at 6:30 pm)
Forever by Dael Orlandersmith
Inspired by her experiences in Paris at the famed Père Lachaise Cemetery—the final resting place of such legendary artists as Richard Wright and Jim Morrison—award-winning playwright/performer Dael Orlandersmith explores the strange way we form powerful bonds with people who, though unrelated to us by blood, come to feel like family. Orlandersmith investigates the complex legacy she received from her mother—a legacy of bitterness, abuse, and frustration, but also of poetry, music, and art.
Featuring: Nicole Callender