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Opening night for ONAJE is sold out! Four performances left, Oct. 16–21. ONAJE explores the fallout of violent racism, ultimately finding hope. Don't miss it! Great #theatre @FringeNYC Click To TweetONAJE is about the long journey from violent racism to the seed of a hopeful future. Don’t miss the premiere of a great #NewPlay! #theatre @FringeNYC October 13th–21st Click To Tweet
Help us spread the word…
Opening night for ONAJE is sold out! Four performances left, Oct. 16–21. ONAJE explores the fallout of violent racism, ultimately finding hope. Don't miss it! Great #theatre @FringeNYC Click To TweetONAJE is about the long journey from violent racism to the seed of a hopeful future. Don’t miss the premiere of a great #NewPlay! #theatre @FringeNYC October 13th–21st Click To Tweet
About the Play
Exploring the fallout of violent racism, ONAJE is set in two worlds: the open road in Maryland 1980, and the civil rights riots in the Eastern shore in 1967. It features a trio of characters inextricably linked through long-buried secrets of their past and forced to return to everything they escaped. ONAJE is about one mistake that could forever steal a hero’s soul, his humanity, and his path toward redemption.
Historical Background
The Cambridge riot of 1967 was one of 159 race riots that swept cities in the United States during the “Long Hot Summer of 1967.” This riot occurred on July 24, 1967, in Cambridge, Maryland, a small town on the Eastern Shore. Check out the award-winning video below, created by high school students of the Eastern Shore.
More plays by Robert Bowie, Jr…
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From the Page to the Stage at FringeNYC
The beauty of FringeNYC is that it demands creativity from the start at every level.
By way of example, I want to introduce you to the creativity and resourcefulness of our director, Pat Golden, and producer, Sue Conover Marinello.
ONAJE has set directions that specify a convertible with working lights, horn, and doors, a picnic table that might weigh several hundred pounds, and a working kitchen in a waterman’s house next to the Chesapeake Bay on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
FringeNYC is similar to a film festival in that a new performance goes up in the same space with only half an hour in between. Each play is given 15 minutes to set up and 15 minutes to break down the set. Obviously, we cannot assemble and deconstruct and store a set that contains a car, a big picnic table, and a kitchen in 15 minutes!
Nonetheless, ONAJE’s creative team is embracing the challenges as an opportunity to increase the impact of an already dramatic play — using light and sound and imaginative props to create a set that will be constructed in the minds of the audience.
Their ideas are already better than what was originally called for in the script.
Come see for yourself this October! We should know our venue and performance dates soon. If you’d like to secure advance tickets you can do so by helping us with a contribution: http://theplayonaje.com/contribute.
ONAJE’s creative team is embracing the challenges as an opportunity to increase the impact of an already dramatic play — using light and sound and imaginative props to create a set that will be constructed in the minds of the audience. Click To TweetOur Director is Golden
I am continually humbled by the amazing talents of the people who have come together to help bring ONAJE to life at FringeNYC. Two standouts are our tenacious, indispensable producer, Sue Connor Marinello, and our inspired, insightful director, Pat Golden. I am...
read moreONAJE Staged Reading in L.A. a great success
ONAJE Staged Reading in L.A. a great success ONAJE received a new staged reading at Theatre 40 in Beverly Hills on April 15th, superbly directed by Adrian Cohen and featuring an amazing cast: Travon McCall, Annalee Scott, Cathy Tomlin, David Hunt Stafford, David...
read moreFringeNYC and Beginnings
On May 24, 2018, at 3:25 pm I received an email from the New York Fringe Festival (FringeNYC.org) telling me that my play, Onaje, was accepted for production in New York in October. At the heart of the play is the Civil Rights riots and burning of Cambridge, Maryland...
read more
About Robert Bowie, Jr.
Playwright and Poet Robert Bowie, Jr. of Baltimore, Maryland has had nine plays produced, including “There Ain’t No Wyoming” and “Naked House Painting Society” through The Baltimore Playwrights Festival, and has several more scripts in development. Bowie’s political farce “Crash & Burn P.A.” was the only submission selected by the 2016 Festival Committee for a full production at Theatrical Mining Company, Baltimore. Bowie’s plays are focused on social justice and span a broad spectrum between drama and comedy. His subject matter ranges from plays about racial prejudice and civil rights to political farce. Bowie is a graduate of Harvard University and is the Poet Laureate of The Harvard Alumni Association (HAA).
“Without the arts, we are a rudderless boat.”
— Robert Bowie, Jr.