Nadine Bernard

Playwright, Nadine Bernard is a playwright and drama therapist in Montclair, New Jersey and an adjunct professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance at Montclair State University. In 2016, she collaborated with award winning director Andy Sandberg (Application Pending and Straight, Off-Broadway) on her play, Opportunity of a Lifetime which had an industry reading in NYC and was a semi-finalist for the Women’s Project Playwright Lab in NYC. Her award winning play about the origins of Valentine’s Day in America, Miss Valentine, had it’s premiere at Wells College on Valentine’s Day 2020 and is currently in development in New with Ivy Austin, Associate Producer at SunnySpot Productions. Nadine’s web series, about the pandemic, Cells of Quarantine, was nominated for Best Ensemble cast by...

Playwright, Nadine Bernard is a playwright and drama therapist in Montclair, New Jersey and an adjunct professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance at Montclair State University. In 2016, she collaborated with award winning director Andy Sandberg (Application Pending and Straight, Off-Broadway) on her play, Opportunity of a Lifetime which had an industry reading in NYC and was a semi-finalist for the Women’s Project Playwright Lab in NYC. Her award winning play about the origins of Valentine’s Day in America, Miss Valentine, had it’s premiere at Wells College on Valentine’s Day 2020 and is currently in development in New with Ivy Austin, Associate Producer at SunnySpot Productions. Nadine’s web series, about the pandemic, Cells of Quarantine, was nominated for Best Ensemble cast by the New Jersey Web Festival, for Best Dramedy and Best Director by Asia Web Festival, and won Exceptional Merit for Writing by the WRPN International Film Festival. Her play, In the Shadow of My Son, appeared at the New York International Fringe Festival in 2007 and has been produced throughout the USA and Canada. A monologue from the play is published in the Smith and Kraus The Best Women's Stage Monologues of 2008. Other plays include, The Way to Summer, which she developed during a year-long writing residency at CAP21 in NYC, working with Artistic Director Eliza Ventura (Directors Company with Tovah Feldshuh and Russell G. Jones, Staged Reading, 2012; August Wilson Center, Pittsburgh, Staged Reading, 2011; Lark Play Development Center, 2011; New Play Festival, Jewish Ensemble Theatre, Staged Reading 2009) Waiting For Fame to Come, (Downstage, 2005), The Almost Baby, (Kitchen Theatre, 2001), The Jizo Story (Creative Theater, 1995). Veils, about a group of New Jersey women in a belly dancing class who get caught up in the mystery and past of their belly dancing teacher; The play appeared in the HB Studios Playwrights Foundation staged reading series (also June Havoc Theatre and Manhattan Movement and Arts Center, NYC, Staged Readings, 2014). Her play, Then Let the Fish Go appeared as a reading at the Meet the Artist series at Dreamcatchers Repertory Theater in Summit (May 2014), and her short piece, Female Factor, appeared as a staged reading in 2017 in Dreamcatcher Ensemble's evening, Continuing the Conversation. Her play, Seize the Day After, about a mother finding the balance between science and spirituality as she raises a special needs child, was developed with Director, Jane Mandel, Founding Artistic Director Emerita of Luna Stage. The play was first developed at a workshop at Luna Stage in West Orange, NJ, and the play has had developmental reading at Dreamcatchers in Summit, NJ and at Drew University and staged readings at The Theater Project in Maplewood, NJ, Cornerstone, Montclair and for Julia’s Reading Room held by the League of Professional Theatre Women. She is collaborating on her most recent play, The Ivy Railroad, with playwright Della Brown, and they are invited to bring a reading of it to Drew University in March, 2022. Nadine has a BA from Cornell University and an MFA in Theater from Sarah Lawrence College and is currently an instructor in the Montclair State Department of Theatre and Dance. She has toured hospitals in New Jersey with her solo version of In the Shadow of My Son, raising awareness about postpartum depression. She is a member of the Dramatists Guild, The League of Professional Theatre Women, and the Screen Actors Guild/AFTRA. Contact Nadine at [email protected], (917) 364-4538.

Scripts

In the Shadow of My Son

by Nadine Bernard

Synopsis

Centering around and following the experiences of two mothers in the USA who underwent postpartum depression, the play includes personal essays and interview material. It addresses the isolation, the loss of power and sense of self, and the shame these women experience – while including humor and messages of hope.

Centering around and following the experiences of two mothers in the USA who underwent postpartum depression, the play includes personal essays and interview material. It addresses the isolation, the loss of power and sense of self, and the shame these women experience – while including humor and messages of hope.

Then Let the Fish Go

by Nadine Bernard

Synopsis

Then Let the Fish Go is an off-beat comedy about three seekers from different walks of life, who become embroiled in pyramid schemes as they search for a better life. It is about the courage it takes to run from our life’s limitations and chase our dreams, despite the greater traps that may lie ahead.

Then Let the Fish Go is an off-beat comedy about three seekers from different walks of life, who become embroiled in pyramid schemes as they search for a better life. It is about the courage it takes to run from our life’s limitations and chase our dreams, despite the greater traps that may lie ahead.

Seize the Day After

by Nadine Bernard

Synopsis

SEIZE THE DAY AFTER is about a mother who stretches the boundaries of her scientific and religious beliefs to find a cure for her son’s medical condition. Peggy and her husband Matt have a young child with a seizure disorder, but they are not seeing eye-to-eye about which way to turn next. Peggy becomes pulled in different directions by their fanatical, Pentecostal neighbor and their Goth rocker chick...

SEIZE THE DAY AFTER is about a mother who stretches the boundaries of her scientific and religious beliefs to find a cure for her son’s medical condition. Peggy and her husband Matt have a young child with a seizure disorder, but they are not seeing eye-to-eye about which way to turn next. Peggy becomes pulled in different directions by their fanatical, Pentecostal neighbor and their Goth rocker chick babysitter who offer their own zany solutions to the situation. As Peggy goes on her personal journey of mental and spiritual healing, we realize that the lengths a person will go to heal a loved one in need brings personal and societal boundaries into question.

Miss Valentine

by Nadine Bernard

Synopsis

Miss Valentine is a romantic and empowering tale inspired by the life of Victorian era entrepreneur Esther Howland, "Mother of the American Valentine." Esther popularized the custom of exchanging Valentines by individually crafting cards containing mottos of love which are still sought after by collectors today. By pursuing her passion and staying true to her vision, Esther became one of the first successful...

Miss Valentine is a romantic and empowering tale inspired by the life of Victorian era entrepreneur Esther Howland, "Mother of the American Valentine." Esther popularized the custom of exchanging Valentines by individually crafting cards containing mottos of love which are still sought after by collectors today. By pursuing her passion and staying true to her vision, Esther became one of the first successful business women in America. Esther’s personal story is interwoven with the legendary tale of Saint Valentine. The result is a charming, classic-style play reminiscent of a Jane Austin novel, peppered with the love poems from Esther’s Valentines.

Veils

by Nadine Bernard

Synopsis

VEILS is a serio-comedy about a group of suburban women in a belly dance class who learn to see beyond the narrow focus of their interpersonal problems and come to the aid of one who faces a much more imminent and dangerous struggle. Leslie’s husband has just run off with the kindergarten teacher, and her Aunt Miriam and best friend Christine bring her to a belly dancing class to cheer her up. Veils depicts...

VEILS is a serio-comedy about a group of suburban women in a belly dance class who learn to see beyond the narrow focus of their interpersonal problems and come to the aid of one who faces a much more imminent and dangerous struggle. Leslie’s husband has just run off with the kindergarten teacher, and her Aunt Miriam and best friend Christine bring her to a belly dancing class to cheer her up. Veils depicts, with humor, how these three suburban New Jersey women unveil the truth of their own lives and become swept up into the life of their belly dance teacher and her haunting past.