This ceremony celebrates the construction of the first 99 seat theatre in Camden, which has been called a “temple of inspiration in Waterfront South” by Monsignor Michael Doyle, pastor of Sacred Heart Church. The facility will be used not only by the theatre company but also by local high school and elementary school programs and creates a space for theatre, music and art in the center of the Waterfront South redevelopment.
The ceremony will take place on Friday, April 25th, 2008 at 10 AM. and will be led by South Camden Theatre Company Artistic Director Joseph M. Paprzycki and will include Msgr. Doyle, Domenica Foundation’s Pepe Piperno, local school children, Heart of Camden’s Executive Director Helene Pierson, and local dignitaries.
The South Camden Theatre Company has been staging productions for over three years across the street from the site in the basement of Sacred Heart Church and plans to move its performances into the new 99 seat Waterfront South Theatre in the fall of 2009. Located at the corner of 4th and Jasper Streets in Camden New Jersey, the new building is being constructed at the site of the a former bar named “Walt’s Café” an establishment previously owned by Paprzycki’s grandparents and is the setting for his first play, “Last Rites”.
The Waterfront South Theatre will be built thanks to the Domenica Foundation as the principal funder; combined with contributions from The John and Mary Louise Scanlan Foundation, Ignarri-Lummis Architects, and Franchi Demolition as well as efficient work on the part of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and ongoing support from the South Jersey Building Trades which have all been instrumental in bringing the project to fruition and making the start of construction possible.
The story of the Waterfront South Theatre and South Camden Theatre Company has been featured in “New Jersey Monthly” and “South Jersey” magazines as well as the “Courier Post”, “Philadelphia Inquirer” and “Retrospect”
About Heart of Camden
The Heart of Camden's mission is to restore the dignity and quality of life of the community through programs for housing restoration, economic expansion and human development. For more information please visit www.heartofcamden.org.
