AUGUST 2019 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 85
SHTARK CONTRAST
THEATRE GROUP DEBUTS
BY NAAMA DIANE
Can theatre save the world? The newest
Long Island theater group thinks so.
With the sorely needed kinship that
theater fosters in mind, the founders of
Shtark Contrast recently ushered in a
new community theatre in Woodmere.
It will debut with J.B. Priestley’s An
Inspector Calls on August 13, six weeks
after inception.
“Not just for the audience, but for the cast
and crew,” says Jennifer Winkler, a local
high school drama director. “Examining
life in others’ skin is transformative for
cast and crews who deploy skill sets
toward emphasizing character drives
and universal themes through creative
slights of hand. Students develop empathy,
confidence, and community.”
Hannah Mari, a senior at SUNY Purchase,
stars as Sheila Birling in the play.
She describes how theatre can help save
the world, one performance at a time.
“Theater is rooted in connection, communication,
and empathy — all traits
that begin in our local communities,” she
says. “In today's political and cultural
climate, where issues escalate to divisiveness,
polarization, and alienation,
An Inspector Calls reminds us that, for
better or for worse, we are not alone.”
The plot centers on a bourgeois family
celebrating the engagement of their
daughter, when an inspector arrives
with devastating news that may or may
not change their lives. Set in 1912, but
written with the cognizance of a post-
War playwright, the play is dripping
with eerie and timeless dramatic irony.
The play’s producers found it an ideal
debut performance.
Playwright Matthew Goldstein, an
advisor to the theatre group, sums up
the goal in Shtark Contrast’s
mission statement.
“We're dedicated to giving
the Five Towns' aspiring
writers, actors, dramaturgi,
and designers a place to reinvent
the world,” he writes.
“Shtark Contrast welcomes
everybody — regardless
of beliefs and background.
In a world prioritizing efficiency
over empathy, Shtark
Contrast fosters our shared
humanity. Some say theater
is an escape. Shtark Contrast
says it’s home.”
An Inspector Calls will debut
at Rock Hall Museum, 199
Broadway, Lawrence 6:30
p.m. and 9 p.m. Aug. 13. Text
516-476-9219 or email shtarkcontrast@
gmail for more
information.
COMMUNITY THEATRE
Elijah Greenberg stars as Arthur Birling.
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