Playwrights Theatre Celebrating 25 Years in Madison

John Pietrowski, artistic director of in Madison, isn’t one to look back.

As the creative force behind New Jersey’s premier professional developmental theater, his life revolves around taking new plays in their present form, presenting them to audiences and helping the authors shape them for a successful future.

But every 25 years or so, you have to pause and smell the roses, especially in the Rose City. On Saturday, Playwrights will host a 25th anniversary celebration and benefit from 6 to 9 p.m. at the newly-renovated .

“I’m not very sentimental, but I do have a sincere respect for history,” Pietrowski said. “I do teach theater history at . And if you think about where this little company was 25 years ago, it’s been quite a journey. Being part of a company like this is something I’ve wanted to do since I was 17.”

At this significant milestone, Playwrights finds itself at a crossroads. Pietrowski spoke while he was visiting his company’s former longtime headquarters at the Green Village School Building, which the company vacated earlier this year as the borough advances its plans to redevelop the valuable property. Playwrights moved its offices to the on Walnut Street earlier this year.

“Right now, we’re just tearing through everything here, some of which we may sell in a rummage sale,” he said. “To be honest with you, what a relief it is to get rid of it all, to not have to worry about the past and to move ahead with a clear slate. I’m looking forward to not having a space, which may sound counterintuitive for a theater company, but sometimes the massive physical commitment to running a space can be distracting.”

Pietrowski also is excited about the future, which he says may include a new residency at FDU’s Florham campus. If all goes well, Pietrowski has outlined a schedule of two summer productions there in 2012, plus a new-play reading series and a workshop production designed to include FDU students.

“Part of our mission is education, and we’ve always had programs for kids and adults,” Pietrowski said. “So doing this with college students helps us fill a gap in that mission.”

Pietrowski, who joined the company shortly after it was founded by professor Buzz McLaughlin, also credited the artistic community of Madison for supporting his efforts.

“If it wasn’t for community support, we wouldn’t be here,” Pietrowski said. “And in turn, we support the community and bring people into the town. For me, that’s how it’s supposed to work.”

The community will have another chance to support the company at Saturday’s benefit. In addition to live music, a silent auction and dinner by of Madison (with desserts from Woodland Bakery of Chatham and Madison Chocolatiers West), the benefit will feature professional actors in a reading of short plays by “improbable playwrights” Madison Mayor Mary-Anna Holden and Assemblyman Jon M. Bramnick.

“We’re also going to do a Mad-Libs-style collaborative play,” said Dani Pietrowski, wife of John and a stage manager and teaching artist for the non-profit company, who is organizing the event. “Richard Dresser (the award-winning playwright who wrote “The Last Days of Mickey and Jean,” which Playwrights is co-producing later this month at the Bickford Theatre in Morris Township) has written the first two lines and guests will be invited to take turns writing the next lines. At the end of the night, it will be read by two professional actors (Bev Sheehan and Duncan M. Rogers, stars of “Mickey and Jean”). We did this before at one of our benefits and it was hilarious.”

Musical performances will include a few numbers by the “Moms” of “MoM A Rock Concert Musical,” which Playwrights produced in 2010. Also performing will be Sahirah Johnson, a teacher in the company’s education program, and local jazz pianist Jerry Vezza.

Silent auction prizes include a gift certificate to , notable props from past productions and scripts signed by notable playwrights such as Dresser and David Wiltse, who have developed some of their most popular plays in Madison.

The Playwrights Theatre 25^th Anniversary Benefit will take place from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday, at the Hartley-Dodge Memorial Building, 30 Kings Road, Madison, Tickets are $75 and can be purchased by calling 973-514-1787, ext. 10, or online through Eventbrite at http://ptnj25.eventbrite.com.