Founded in 1988 by David Crespy, Wendy Hammond, Rosemary McLaughlin, and Andrew Young, New Jersey Dramatists/Waterfront Ensemble is a professional nonprofit theatre dedicated to developing plays from conception to production.  An Associate Member of New Jersey Theatre Alliance, we have developed or produced over 500 plays including off-off Broadway productions in both New York and New Jersey and supported the work and artistic development of over 50 playwrights and 350 actors & directors. We received the Off-Off Broadway Review award and have participated in the annual Samuel French Festival Short Play Festival for eleven straight years, winning on four occasions.

In 2007, New Jersey Dramatists lost its performing and rehearsal space due to the closing of the Victory Hall Cultural Center.  In 2008, New Jersey Dramatists announced two new creative partnerships: at the Cultural Arts Center in Hackensack and at the Puffin Cultural Forum in Teaneck.  The next Public Event will be this October when NJD presents "Homegrown", staged readings of four new full-length plays by New Jersey Playwrights.  Following that will be "Living in a State of Perpetual War" at the Puffin Foundation in Teaneck this November 8th.

In the future, New Jersey Dramatists will do what it has always done – which is bring together local artists to work on new plays.  Our goal to create an atmosphere where artists take risks.  We encourage actors to try directing and writing, playwrights to act and direct, directors to act and write, but most of all we encourage all our artists to step out of their artistic boxes and types and try something that is new for them.

The Weekly Play Lab, where invited actors, directors, and playwrights come together to work on new plays, is scheduled to resume in January 2009.

If you want to contact New Jersey Dramatists/Waterfront Ensemble, call 201-708-6535 or write njdramatists@hotmail.com.