The Pegasus Theatre Project, the new resident theater company of the West Windsor Arts Council that was co-founded by Ewing resident Judi Parrish, just completed its first production in collaboration with the arts council last month.
Parrish was also the director of the production, Proof, which was performed on the weekends of Sept. 9 and Sept. 18.
Earlier this year, it was announced that the Pegasus Theatre Project would be the resident theater company of the West Windsor Arts Council.
Proof is the winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play.
Parrish and two other local theater veterans—Peter Bisgaier of West Windsor and Jennifer Nasta Zefutie of Cranbury — founded the Pegasus Theatre Project in the summer of 2015. Together, the founders have more than 85 years of experience in all aspects of theatre production and serve as co-producing artistic directors.
Parrish has been involved in theatee for more than 45 years, as a director, musical director, lighting designer, set designer, sound designer, technical director, stage manager and actor.
As a director, she has staged plays, musicals and operas, including The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Diary of Anne Frank, Agnes of God, Master Class, The Laramie Project, The Miracle Worker, Steel Magnolias, Godspell and Faust.
Her technical design credits include set designs for Camelot, Jekyll & Hyde, Assassins, Godspell, The Miracle Worker, Fiddler on the Roof, Agnes of God, and A Streetcar Named Desire; lighting designs for Hello, Dolly!, Fiddler on the Roof, Camelot, Urinetown, Ragtime and Pippin; and sound design for Amadeus, Agnes of God, The Miracle Worker, A Streetcar Named Desire, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, Lend Me A Tenor and Master Class.
She has performed a variety of roles, including in The Drowsy Chaperone (Superintendent), Company (Sarah), The Fantasticks (Mortimer), Black Comedy (Clea), The Musical Comedy Murders of 1940 (Helsa), The Crucible (Ann Putnam), The Music Man (Ethel Tofflemeier) and La Boheme (Musetta.)
Parrish is the former lighting designer at Hamilton High School West, where she also mentored students in lighting design. She holds a degree in Music Education from Trenton State College, has taught music education and is retired from the state Department of Transportation, where she worked for 31 years. She also has served as adjunct faculty at Mercer County Community College teaching Entertainment Technology.
Berdecia appointed to nonprofit board
The Princeton Area Community Foundation appointed Ana Berdecia of Ewing to its board of trustees.
Berdecia, who is the senior fellow/director of the Center for the Positive Development of Urban Children at the John S. Watson Institute for Public Policy of Thomas Edison State University, was appointed for a three-year term.
She previously served as the executive director of the Puerto Rican Community Day Care Center in Trenton. Her research has been presented at national, state and local conferences. She also serves on the Board of Professional Impact New Jersey and the New Jersey Council for Young Children.
Yoga for breast cancer survivors
Ewing resident Sandy Kimbrough is once again holding her African American Breast Cancer Survivors Yoga series at the Ewing VFW starting this month.
Kimbrough said she helped start the program last year, “as a self-funded pilot to engage traditionally underserved African American breast cancer survivors in holistic yoga to support their recovery.”
This year, the program will run throughout the fall and spring on Mondays from 6:15 to 7:15 p.m. (except on second Mondays, when it will be held from noon to 1 p.m.)
Kimbrough is also partnering with the Trenton Quaker Friends Meeting church in Trenton for an Inner City Breast Cancer Survivors Yoga program for people of all backgrounds who may be financially challenged.
A $20 kick-off Breast Cancer Month event and fundraiser is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 1, from 9 to 11 a.m. at Galilee Baptist Church in Trenton, followed by the first Inner City Breast Cancer Survivors Yoga class at the Trenton Quaker Church, from noon to 1 p.m.
The cost for both programs is $7 per class, or $50 for a 10-class package. For more information, call (609) 638-1662.
Earlier this year, Kimbrough hosted a Black Clergy Wellness initiative, in which 16 black women clergy from eight different area churches visited Chickadee Creek Farm in Pennington to learn first-hand about local agriculture and organic farming and discuss healthier food choices.
The purpose of the program is educate members of the clergy about healthy eating and wellness so they can deliver the message to their congregations.
Smith receives Army commission
Ewing High School graduate Shane Smith was recently commissioned as second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He was offered his first salute in the rank by Ewing resident Specialist Richard Soto, who is stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Smith was commissioned following his graduation from High Point University. Both Soto and Smith are graduates of the Class of 2012.
Pisetzner presents research
Andrew Pisetzner, of Ewing, was one of 31 students from Susquehanna University who recently presented research at the 30th Annual National Conference on Undergraduate Research at Asheville, North Carolina.
Pisetzner’s research, titled “Determining the Presence of Beta-Lactamase Resistance Genes in Centralia Soil” was supervised by Tammy Tobin, professor of biology at Susquehanna.
Csillian receives award
David Csillan, the athletic trainer at Ewing High School, was recently selected as one of the recipients of both the National Athletic Trainers’ Association’s 2016 Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award and the Athletic Trainer Service Award.
The Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer award recognizes NATA members who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to leadership, volunteer service, advocacy and distinguished professional activities as an athletic trainer. The Athletic Trainer Service Award recognizes NATA members for their contributions to the athletic training profession as a volunteer at the local and state levels.
Schafer honored
Shannon Schafer, owner of the Ewing-based Schafer Sports Center along with her husband Jon, was honored by the Women of Prayer and Power Ministry at its annual Prayer Luncheon on Sept. 24 for her work with special needs children.
Schafer, who recently opened the new 39,000-square-foot facility on Graphics Drive, works closely with children with Autism and other disabilities.
Women of Prayer & Power works to “empower women to move forward in their talents and gifts to serve and reach others locally and globally,” said Pastor Bobbie J. Brown who founded and also serves as president of the ministry.
In the last year, Women of Prayer & Power distributed more than 100 gifts to Homefront in Ewing during the Christmas holiday, shared gifts and sang songs at Royal Senior Citizen Center in Trenton and awarded a scholarship to a graduating senior from Hamilton Township.
Brown works under the leadership of her husband, Bishop John Brown, who is senior pastor of Deeper Life Family Worship Center in Trenton. The Browns live in Ewing Township.
College News
Albright College: Tonia Deacon-Bradnock, a freshman English/secondary education major, was named to the spring semester dean’s list.
Clemson University: Lauren Oberon Osgoodotis, a major in Mechanical Engineering, was named to the dean’s list for the spring semester.
University of Akron: Jeffrey Ludwig, who is majoring in Emergency Management and Homeland Security, made the spring dean’s list.
Please send any news regarding people from Ewing Township to appear in the Ewing Observer to news@mercerspace.com.
Judi Parrish of Ewing, far right, with Aylin Green, executive director of the West Windsor Arts Council, Peter Bisgaier and Jennifer Nasta Zefutie. Parrish, Bisgaier and Nasta Zefutie are the co-founders of the Pegasus Theatre Project, the WWAC’s resident theater company.,
