Theatre and Ritual: Bringing Past Traditions into Theater for our Times Monday May 4th, 2026 7pm-8:30pm White Eagle Hall in Jersey City Join Garden State New Play Festival International Artist, award-winning South African Theatermaker Palesa Mazamisa for a free interactive workshop around how artists in South Africa are using the integration of ritual and tradition to decolonize South African Theater. This event is offered free of charge and open to all as part of The Garden State New Play Festival, a partnership between Jersey City Theatre Center and The New Jersey Play Lab. The event is offered free of charge, with a suggested donation of $10 to cover artist costs, but registration is required. About the Artist Palesa Mazamisa is an award-winning playwright, dramaturg, director, and producer with a distinguished career spanning over two decades across theatre, television, and literature. She is best known for her critically acclaimed play Shoes & Coups, which won the Naledi Theatre Award for Best New South African Play and has become a featured text in university drama curricula. A versatile creative force, she has directed and provided dramaturgy for notable productions including most recently Dancing the Death Drill, an adaptation of acclaimed and award-winning novelist Fred Khumalo, Dusk by Mark Scheepers, I Am A woman by acclaimed novelist Nthikeng MohleleBubbly Bosoms, featuring industry legends, and stage adaptations of works by noted writers like Nthikeng Mohlele. In television, Palesa made a significant contribution as a writer for the groundbreaking series Queen Modjadji, the first of its kind in the Kelobedu language. Her literary work is published in respected anthologies such as Open, and she has served as guest editor for Wordsetc. magazine. Committed to fostering new talent, she has also played a key role in initiatives like the Mzansi Women’s Film Festival, underscoring her dedication to elevating underrepresented voices in the arts.