New Jersey Stage - September 2014 | Page 85

Watch their 2014-2015 season announcement could use the Church basement. So he did. They organized a reading of Paprzycki’s play, “Last Rites.” The play is set 1967 when the Camden shipyard closed, leading to a major loss of jobs and an exodus from the city. Ironically, the play takes place in his grandfather’s old bar, which was located across the street from the Church. The reading raised about $800, which helped purchase the materials used to build the theater’s original stage. One year later, the company staged “Last Rites” as their first official production. His grandfather’s bar had been boarded up and abandoned for at least a decade. It was sold several times since his grandfather and the current owner had died, leaving behind a federal tax lien on the property. To Paprzycki, the building — heavily damaged from years of water pouring in — stood as his dream site for a theater. He mentioned the idea to Michael Visit us online at http://www.NewJerseyStage.com pg 85