Staged Reading of “Smoke” by Zelda Patterson to Take Place in Jersey City



(JERSEY CITY, NJ) — Jersey City Theater Center, in partnership with I Love Greenville, Jersey City Public Library, and Greenville Arts Crossroads will present a staged reading of Zelda Patterson’s Smoke, directed by Ravin Patterson. Smoke will premiere at Jersey City Free Public Library/ Earl A. Morgan Branch (1841 John F. Kennedy Blvd, Jersey City, NJ 07305) on Saturday, July 22, 2023 at 2:00pm. Tickets are free and available at www.JCTCenter.org.

Smoke is a full-length play about Alana Phillips, a young white girl who enters a psychiatric institution burdened with her brash, angry, manipulative, and racist feelings. She encounters her newfound caregivers of recent African descent, who carry their own preconceived notions of patients diagnosed with psychiatric illnesses. Alana is committed and is forced by law to stay and take the treatment that others feel will bring her into compliance with the rest of the world. She is also told the state has stopped allowing patients to smoke while committed to the institution, one of the small pleasures Alana engages in and is determined to keep.  However, she must comply with this mandate first if she expects to be discharged.

“July is National Minority Mental Health Month, a time that reminds us of the profound impact of storytelling and the healing arts,” said Olga Levina, Executive Director. “At Jersey City Theater Center, we thrive to serve our diverse community with food for the soul- the arts, weaving connections and fostering unity. With unwavering support from I Love Greenville and Healthier Jersey City, Department of Health and Human Services, we bring this reading to the Public Library, Morgan Branch, ensuring that people of diverse backgrounds have unhindered access to the magical healing power of storytelling. Written by Zelda Patterson, a gifted playwright and a medical professional from New Jersey, this play holds the potential to shine truth on the state of our health care and, by doing so, bridge the divides between communities. We must prioritize the invaluable gifts of listening, sharing, and healing together. We shall discover immense strength in these collective moments and heal together as one community.”

As a writer Zelda Patterson has written several plays including, a Luna Stage Production of “An Invitation to The Blues” depicting the lives of three Black women who traveled the old, segregated blues circuit in the South and the off-Broadway production of “Here in My Father’s House”, detailing the lives of five African American women and their relationship with very different fathers.

She and her husband Ralph are partners in their company, Griot Storyteller media.  The company has produced several film projects. In 2010 Zelda presented the short film “Better, One Woman’s Journey in and Out of Seclusion and Restraint” at the National Conference of Clinical Nurse Specialists. That same year “Better” which she wrote, co-produced and directed was honored by receiving finalist status in the Roy W. Dean Foundation competition.  She co-produced “Spirit Children” a documentary arising from her travel to Ghana where there is a custom of killing children born under certain circumstances.

Zelda holds a master’s degree in mental health nursing and has taught at both Fairleigh Dickinson and Seton Hall Universities. This past year her company was funded to create a four-part podcast following one Black man in his journey to overcome the stigma of mental health treatment during the time of COVID.  Her love for the arts continues, as well as her goals to utilize this tool to entertain and educate.

Jersey City Theater Center (JCTC) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) arts organization committed to inspiring conversations about important issues of our times through the arts. Co-founded by Executive Producer Olga Levina, an immigrant from Belarus, Jersey City Theater Center (JCTC) produces and presents universal yet locally relevant works, emphasizing social justice and human rights.  Since 2006, JCTC has provided a platform for all artistic voices to be heard in Jersey City, with the aim of sparking meaningful cross-cultural dialogue that helps build a greater understanding, mutual respect and better communities in New Jersey.

Programming made possible by numerous supporters, including the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts, the Hudson County Office of Cultural & Heritage Affairs/Tourism Development, Hudson County, the City of Jersey City, and the Office of Cultural Affairs. For those who are interested in attending any of the performances, sponsoring any of the upcoming productions, or purchasing tickets for large groups, please email info@jctcenter.org.