Aurway Our way.
History
The connected history of the cofounding members coming from Arts High School in Newark, NJ led Lawrence Dandridge and Veronica Gonmiah to produce the first original piece, Something Like A Fairytale in 2016. From there, the desire of having their own theater company was birthed. [But the how-to was not as apparent.] In 2016, after a 2-week workshop with director Jordan Murphy, they took Fairytale to the New York Theater Festival, where it won multiple awards, including Best Director and Best Score. In 2017, during a stint in Los Angeles putting the second original piece, Red, A New Musical, on its feet is when the confidence to start a particular niche of storytelling was watered. The technique, the shape, the process, the sound, and feelings were to be unique to a Black lens [and including people of color]. The aspiration evolved into creating a Broadway-caliber repertoire, but done “our way”. Returning to New Jersey in 2018 for the second production of Red, A New Musical is when Aurway was conceived.
Aurway is
a network of emerging and professional artists dedicated to the pursuit, creation, and presentation of art, that highlights the experiences of black and brown people.
Who is Aurway?
Aurway Repertory Theatre is a non-profit theatre company that produces original theatrical and musical works with an emphasis on black and brown voices and talent in the greater Essex county area. Through our active company, we annually produce a season of original works, offer arts educational residences to local schools and community organizations, and provide low-cost artistic classes and workshops to artists of all ages and levels.
