ICS Theatre

08/24/2026

Ande Ke Chhilke – Play Reading & Discussion on August 12th

We had a wonderful reading of Mohan Rakesh’s Ande Ke Chhilke, a witty yet beautifully layered Hindi play that explores the small contradictions, secrets, and unspoken understandings that exist within an Indian joint family.

What makes the play so endearing is how these little “secrets” are often not really secrets at all. Family members know more about one another than they admit, yet sometimes choose to look the other way. Behind the teasing, disagreements, traditions, and generational differences is an unspoken acceptance of each other. It reminds us of how families stayed together not because everyone always agreed, but because relationships were often more important than differences.

Living in the US as immigrants, the play felt especially nostalgic. It took us back to homes filled with extended family, shared spaces, little arguments, inside jokes, compromises, and those everyday moments around which relationships were built.

After the reading, we had a lively discussion about what we found interesting, what we enjoyed most, and what we found challenging in the play. Sharing our different interpretations and perspectives made the experience even more engaging and gave us a deeper appreciation of the many nuances in this seemingly simple story.

08/16/2026

08/11/2026

🎭 DALDAL is back!
After a wonderful and successful performance at Natya Darpan 2026, New Jersey, we are honored and excited to be invited to perform once again — this time in the Washington, DC area!
With a small change in our cast but the same passion and intensity, we’re ready to bring DALDAL back to the stage.
If you missed us in New Jersey, here’s your chance! ❤️
📅 August 15, 2026
📍 Bender JCC of Greater Washington, Rockville, MD

08/02/2026

August Online Play Reading Workshops with ICS Theatre on Zoom.

We are offering 2 sessions in August.

Limited spots available. If spots fill up, please add yourself to the waitlist and if a spot becomes available, you will be contacted.

Registration Is Open Now

Workshop Dates:

Wednesday August 12th
7:30 pm-9:30 pm EDT
(HINDI)

Thursday August 20th
7:30pm-9:30 pm EDT
(ENGLISH)

If you are interested in attending any of these workshops, register at the link below:

https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/online-play-readings-with-ics-theatre-131839

Hope to see you there!

07/29/2026

Congratulations to the ICS Theatre’s Emerging Artists Playwriting Contest 2026
*WINNER*
*Pradnya Vaidya*
Grade 9
Churchill Junior High School, East Brunswick. Pradnya's play 'Intricacies of a Trivial Conflict' was selected by a panel of 6 eminent theatre practitioners.
ICS Theatre will be recognizing the winner at our upcoming festival, scheduled for October 17.
Congratulations to Pradnya and thank you to those who participated!
We wish you a rewarding creative journey in the future! Indian Cultural Society of East Brunswick East Brunswick, NJ Churchill Junior High School

07/26/2026

Congratulations, Seema Shahane, on your Hindi directorial debut for Dal Dal at Natya Darpan July 11th, 2026.❤️🎭

As one of ICSTheatre’s Artistic Directors, you’ve led Dal Dal with vision, sensitivity, and heart, bringing an important conversation about mental health to the stage with authenticity and impact.

We are incredibly proud of you and grateful to our talented cast, dedicated crew, and volunteers whose passion and teamwork brought this production to life.
Here’s to bold storytelling, meaningful theatre, and many more memorable productions.

Congratulations to the entire Dal Dal team! ❤️👏

07/21/2026

Our English play reading session on Thursday, July 16th read Ayad Akhtar's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Disgraced. It is a powerful play that sets out to make its audience uncomfortable, deals frankly with Islamophobia, religious identity, and racial prejudice among educated, "enlightened" people. The tension in the play made for a great reading session, with interesting post reading discussion. With 8 readers bringing the script to life (Amir and Emily's roles shared between two readers each across different scenes, which gave us some interesting shifts in energy and interpretation), we dove into the play where a dinner party unravels into something much bigger.

We talked through the different ways this play has been staged over the years, some of the most charged scenes, and the cool sets that some productions had created.
The reading workshop was conducted by Debjani Banerjee.

Stay tuned for more such sessions! Follow our page here to stay updated with all our future sessions, and all that happens at ICS Theatre.

07/16/2026

On Wednesday , July 8th 2026, the ICST Hindi Play Reading Workshop, led by Soma Vyas, brought together a spirited group of creative individuals for an engaging online reading of a hilarious satire on the corruption embedded in our police system and society - “ Seeta Apaharan Case by Dr. Prem Janamjey.
A serious issue, presented beautifully in the form of a satire and layered complexities of human behavior. Readers did an amazing job playing multiple, gender-free roles and thoroughly enjoyed the radio adaptation of this play.

We were happy to see many new faces mixed with our regular readers:)
Please stay tuned for more such interesting readings and thought-provoking after-discussions. Do not forget to follow our FB page and remember to register for the next reading sessions. We look forward to read with you!!