South teacher writes two off-Broadway plays BY DAN NEWMAN Staff Writer MIDDLETOWN - As if putting in a long day teaching students and commuting back and forth from Jersey City isn't enough, Alexis Kozak is also going to be producing two of his one-act plays off-Broadway. In addition to producing "A Graveyard Where Dead American Playwrights Go" and "Dog Papers," Kozak, an English and drama teacher at Middletown High School South, will star in both as well. "As a writer, I usually like to keep myself apart from the play, to be able to see it objectively," Kozak explained. "But I really like to act and so I wanted to do this." In "A Graveyard Where Dead American Playwrights Go," an unknown playwright wakes up in a cemetery with legendary playwrights such as Arthur Miller and August Wilson, each of whom has died within the last 18 months. The mission is for the unknown playwright to compose a play all on his own. In "Dog Papers," a young female college professor tries to break off her relationship with her boyfriend. The only problem is that she is pregnant and does not want to get fired from her teaching position. Kozak says this play is loosely based on the early stages of his parents' relationship. " 'Dog Papers' is a project I have very strong feelings for," Kozak said. "I play my father and I certainly don't want to demonize him. I feel like both plays were written well." "Playwrights," starring Philip Filiato, Nancy Finn, Herb Foster Quebec, Lindsay Davis and Kozak, is directed by Kozak's girlfriend, Barbara Panas, while "Dog Papers" is being directed by an old friend. "A high school friend of mine, Andrew Henry, came to see me in a play last year and afterward we talked and we decided we wanted to work together," Kozak said. "It's really interesting how we reconnected again after not having seen each other since high school, but I'm glad it worked out." Kozak says he's still rewriting a few things but is looking forward to continuing his preparations for the productions. Some people in his position probably try to find a quiet spot where they won't be distracted. But over the course of a commute, a lot can happen. "Some of my best ideas for my plays come while I am driving on the [New Jersey] Turnpike, but I don't write them down until I get to the [Garden State] Parkway. It's much too dangerous to write stuff down with all of those big trucks going by," Kozak said. "At the end of the school day I write some more stuff, so really it's an all-day process, in addition to the four-hour rehearsals. So it really is a lot of work." The show runs Friday and Saturday Dec. 15 and 16 at 8 p.m. at Polaris North, 245 W. 29th St., fourth floor, New York, N.Y. Tickets are free, reservations are highly recommended. For further information call (732) 207-5573.