Valley Stream playwright receives grant to produce play at Baha’i Center

Jonathon Ward, a long-time resident of Valley Stream, has been awarded funds from the Huntington Arts Council through the New York State Council on the Arts Community Regrant Program. These funds will support the production of his play, A Dream Beyond This Pain, set to be performed in Valley Stream from October 18-20.

The play, set in Levittown in 2010, explores the struggles of three generations of a family as they navigate a tumultuous decade marked by terrorist attacks, housing crises, recession, and the rise of medication and recreational drug use.

Ward, who has lived in Valley Stream for nearly thirty years, raised his two sons there, both of whom graduated from South High School. During his career, he worked at the Henry Street Settlement Abrons Arts Center and later at the NYU Graduate Acting program in Manhattan. Since retiring, Ward has been passionate about fostering community professional theatre in Valley Stream. He believes that the arts enrich communities by bringing together audiences and artists to reflect the joys and sorrows of life.

This project will unite audiences, artists, and theatre supporters from Nassau County and New York City to depict a period in the life of the Freedman family in Levittown, America’s first suburb.

Produced by Attention Theatre!, A Dream Beyond This Pain focuses on themes that communities either strive to address or tend to ignore. The play was developed with support from the Huntington Arts Council and ThriveLI, a recovery program in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. Valley Stream actors interested in participating can find the casting notice on Actors Access, with a deadline for submissions of August 4, 2024. Callbacks are scheduled for August 8, 2024, in New York City.

Performances will take place at the Valley Stream Baha’i Center, located at 11 West Jamaica Ave, on the following dates:

Friday, October 18 at 7pm (preview performance)

Saturday, October 19 at 2pm and 7pm

Sunday, October 20 at 2pm

Each performance will be followed by a discussion about the play and its themes. Admission is free. For more information or to arrange group attendance, please contact Jonathon Ward at 516-263-0408 or via email at jonathonward47@gmail.com.