Its house may be dark, but a New Jersey theater company is finding new ways to put on performances during the pandemic.

“Any nonprofit theater knows it’s nothing but trouble. So, why we do it, I’m not sure,” says Dreamcatcher Repertory Theater co-founder Laura Ekstrand.

But Ekstrand says that it is her love of live storytelling that has kept her and the tiny theater company in Summit going for the past 26 years.

“Because we are small, we actually have this ability to be extremely nimble and responsive,” she says.

Ekstrand says that because Dreamcatcher Rep has had to relocate several times, build a new local audience each time and has survived economic downturns in the past, those challenges are helping it tread the COVID-19 crisis while staying true to its mission.

“It’s highly personal, really intimate stories of relationships between people,” she says.

Now, instead of staging original works in its 120-seat theater located inside a former church, Dreamcatcher Rep has streamed performances and plans to produce an audio play this fall, employing a full cast and selling tickets to listen online. Actors have even recorded a special message for the audience to preview the piece.

More information about the audio play can be found on the Dreamcatcher Rep website.