writing at Monmouth University
and also taught the initial play-
writing classes for New Jersey
Repertory Company’s West End
Arts Center. Currently, he is the
literary manager for NJ Rep.
New Jersey Stage spoke with
Stone about his new play and
about his long-standing rela-
tionship with NJ Rep which
dates back almost to the begin-
ning of the company.
The Calling is billed as a heart-
pounding, mind-bending psy-
chological thriller, peppered
with comic relief. What can you
tell us about the play without
giving away too much?
Well, that’s the problem. With
thrillers, the less you know the
better. It’s hard to describe, but
I’d say it’s pretty much a comic
psychological thriller about a
priest who finds a man sleeping
amongst his Church pews after
a funeral service. It turns out
NJ STAGE - ISSUE 42
Photo of Joel Stone by SuzAnne Barabas
that this man is in need of spiri-
tual guidance and things turn
into a dangerous battle of wits
between the priest and the man
who is an Intensive Care Unit
(ICU) nurse.
Was it difficult to find places for
comic relief? Or did they sort of
reveal themselves on their own?
The humor arose quite naturally
from the interplay between my
two characters. So many thrillers
are just grim and without a little
bit of comic relief they can be
hard going. The comic relief is
also a way of providing the au-
dience with temporary release
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