The Uptown Festival of New Plays (June 21-24) is a celebration of the People’s Theatre Project’s 2011-2012 Resident Professional Playwrights’ Unit. These talented playwrights work together over the course of 8 months to develop new works with a focus on social consciousness, inspired by the Washington Heights community.

The festival provides an opportunity for the playwrights to share their works-in-progress with community members who may witness aspects of their own reality reflected and see creative approaches to understanding the meaning of their struggles. Admission to the festival is pay-what-you-can and each performance will be followed by a discussion with the playwright, director and actors.

Play Descriptions & Times:
An Alien in Inwood
Thursday, June 21st at 7:30pm.
When an old stargazer from Inwood believes he has found mankind’s salvation in a homeless traveler, the stranger turns out to be a different sort of “alien.”

Waiting for the “D”
Friday, June 22nd at 7:30pm.
An existential look at life and death, guilt and forgiveness, desperation and redemption, and the connections that we make along the way.

ON THE 1 TRAIN
Saturday, June 23rd at 7:30pm.
A day in the life of subway riders in Washington Heights. As people rush to their final destination the journey is always filled with the unexpected. The piece is about what happens when we can longer ignore the roles (both big and small) that we play in each other’s lives.

The Juxtaposition of Gladys Ricart
Sunday, June 24th at 2pm.
A bride marches to find her wedding, her best friend tries to put the pieces of the puzzle together, her fiancé is lost, and her ex-boyfriend wants to hold tight. Based on Gladys Ricart’s tragic story that inspired the March of the Brides, this play explores the things we don’t see in domestic violence.

Choose Your Own Adventure – Revolutionary War Style
To further enhance the Educator’s section of our website, we created an online game drawn from the historic events of the Battle of Harlem Heights and George Washington’s stay at the Mansion. The game allows users to select one of eight characters and choose their own adventure, to navigate through the events of the battle. The interface for the game utilizes historical documents, artifacts and artwork from the permanent collection.
Morris-Jumel Mansion has been awarded an exciting new opportunity as part of a re-grant through the Historic House Trust, with funds provided by the New York Community Trust.

Specifically developed for the fourth grade curriculum, the web experience can be used as a pre-visit or post-visit activity for educators. It also stands alone as an interactive, electronic field trip for classes outside the immediate New York area.

Reserving for Events Just Got Easier
Ever missed the chance to attend one our lectures, wine tastings or concerts because it was sold out by the time you called? Don’t let that happen again!

A key feature of the newly designed MJM website allows you to reserve your place at all our public programs online by going to http://www.morrisjumel.org/visit/reservations/event/ .

House Hours & Guided Tours
Morris-Jumel Mansion is open Wednesday through Sunday 10:00 am until 4:00 pm and Monday & Tuesday by appointment. Self-guided tours are always available with information in 11 languages.

New Fall Exhibitions
In celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, the Morris-Jumel Mansion Museum is pleased to present two concurrent exhibitions by Mexican-born, Washington Heights-based artists Andrea Arroyo and Felipe Galindo. The exhibit will be on display from September 15, 2012 through January 7, 2013. An opening reception (free and open to the public) will be held on Saturday, September 15 from 4pm-6pm.
Andrea Arroyo has been exploring notions of identity, gender, class and social prejudice throughout her career. In her project “Women Unbound,” the artist connects the past with the present, as she investigates how women navigated life within the boundaries of the late 1700s and early 1800s society. “Women Unbound” features works inspired by the female inhabitants of the Morris-Jumel Mansion, as well as additional female characters from world history and literature.
The works are executed in a variety of media, including her paintings, books, sculptures, mixed media and installations. The artist will also make use of some historical objects and furniture from the Morris-Jumel Mansion Museum collection. Felipe Galindo found inspiration for his project –“George Washington Revisits Washington Heights” — from the history of the neighborhood. It is where major battles took place. George Washington based his headquarters at the Morris-Jumel Mansion during the Revolutionary War in 1776 and commanded the colonial troops.
Galindo’s project presents an imaginary visit of America’s first president to the present-day neighborhood that bears his name.
Influenced by historical imagery from the 18th century, the artist creatively interweaves the past and the present in a series of whimsical images, creating a unique world in which George Washington interacts with the community residents while exploring the neighborhood, learns about new customs and ultimately enjoys the amazing mixture of cultures in uptown Manhattan.

House Hours & Guided Tours
Morris-Jumel Mansion is open for self-guided tours Wednesday through Sunday 10:00am until 4:00pm and Monday & Tuesday by appointment. Guided group tours for adults and students are available – reservations required