Dovere for Camden - A Documentary
Full Film

Dovere is an Italian word for responsibility, respect.   Joseph M. Paprzycki and Pepe Piperno felt a responsibility to deliver the respect that their beloved, broken city - Camden, New Jersey - deserved. Once a thriving city, Camden fell on hard times in the 1960s and 1970s. Drugs, crime, and corrupt politicians brought the city to its knees. Joe, Pepe, and a small group of folks came together to breathe life into Camden by investing their creativity, hearts, souls, and treasure to turn what used to be Joe’s grandfather’s abandoned bar into a professional theatre.

Their dream of providing a point of light, a beacon of hope to heal a neighborhood was met with challenges. However, because Joe and Pepe were once Camden city kids themselves, tenacity and passion pulsed through their veins. They felt a great responsibility to return much needed respect to Camden. Thanks to Pepe’s generosity, Joe’s dream, and the help of a few important organizations, the 96-seat Waterfront South Theatre opened September 10, 2010.

The auditorium was named after Pepe’s mother (Domenica) and Joe was successfully running the theatre as the Producing Artistic Director. Camden’s only theatre was adding value to the neighborhood and theatre goers living in the surrounding suburbs were coming to Camden to see plays at the venue.

And then internal politics came knocking on the theatre’s door…