New two-hour dinner format, with multiple events throughout the year, is selling out
By Dan Jacobson, Publisher, TriCityNews, AsburyPark, NJ
7 October 2026 - 6p Dinner - 7p Curtain - Triumph Stage
RED BANK — TED Talks are now well established as part of the world’s intellectual and cultural landscape, built around “ideas worth spreading.” The first TED conference took place in 1984 in Monterey, California.
About 15 years ago, the TED organization began licensing the program to local groups under the TED banner, allowing the concept to spread further internationally. Videos of TED speakers are now ubiquitous online.
Locally, TEDxAsburyPark was founded 13 years ago by Atlantic Highlands resident Brian Smiga, a TED veteran and former sponsor. Initially called TEDxNavesink, its first conference was held at Brookdale Community College, and subsequently at Two River Theater and the Pollak Theater, West Long Branch.
The organization then moved in 2017 to Asbury Park’s Paramount Theatre in Convention Hall and rebranded as TEDxAsburyPark. But it has been nomadic since COVID and the closing of the Paramount Theatre.
After selling more than 1,000 tickets annually in 2017, 2018 and 2019 at the Paramount, TEDxAsburyPark moved to Red Bank’s Two River Theater in 2022 for a program called Joy. It launched the Bell Theater at Bell Works in 2024 with a show called Unity.
This year, TEDxAsburyPark adopted a new format: two-hour dinner programs held multiple times a year at the Triumph Brewing Company’s theater space in Red Bank.
There are two notable developments here. One is the emergence of Triumph as a promising new local venue. The other is TEDxAsburyPark’s response to changing tastes and attention spans by shortening its programs and presenting them throughout the year.
Adam Rechnitz, Triumph’s designer and owner, built the 80-seat theater after being inspired by Joe’s Pub, the intimate music venue and restaurant at the Public Theater in lower Manhattan.
In a recent TEDx event at Triumph, Rechnitz said, “I’m happy. This room was designed to be this theater that you’re all in.”
He should be happy. The space is beautiful, with strong sightlines and seating both in front of the stage and in the balcony above. Rechnitz began quietly, without heavily advertising the venue, but it is now seeing increased use.
“We want Triumph to become a recognized Red Bank venue, right up there with The Vogel at the Basie Center for the Arts and the Two River Theater just across the plaza,” Rechnitz said.
In addition to TEDxAsburyPark’s multiple annual events, the Jersey Shore Jazz and Blues Foundation has hosted performances at Triumph. Musicians are also renting the space to present and produce their own shows, Rechnitz said.
Other groups see its potential as well. Generation Women New Jersey has presented a live storytelling series there, featuring six women from different decades of life — from their 20s through their 70s and beyond — sharing original, true personal stories.
But TEDxAsburyPark has so far made the most extensive use of the theater.
Its first two dinner events at Triumph this year sold out quickly. In February, TEDxAsburyPark produced Fool’s Paradise, featuring comedy, improv, TED Talks, comic scenes from Shakespeare and Beckett, and original music by Renee Maskin.
In May, TEDxAsburyPark sold out Cakes and Ale: Why We Drink & Party, with TED Talks on drink in poetry, whiskey and feasting. The event featured original songs by Arlan Feiles, as well as late-night scenes from Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
“The Triumph Stage provides us an intimate theater to produce two-hour shows along with dinner and drinks,” said Smiga, TEDxAsburyPark co-founder and producer.
“Our audience gave us our highest rating ever for our May 6 show, Cakes and Ale.”
“For the audience, it’s intimate and relaxed,” Smiga said. “You’re often seated with other people at a community table. A two-hour show is where people’s attention spans are. Dinner is at 6 p.m., with a two-hour show from 7 to 9. It’s not an all-day conference. It’s also a great date night.”
“For us, these two-hour performances are more agile than one big event,” he added. “We can respond to what’s interesting as it emerges.”
Dinner is served before the programs and is a separate charge. Tickets for the events are $49 for reserved seating and $39 for general admission.
On Monday, Sept. 28, TEDxAsburyPark will host a fundraiser performance of Christopher Durang’s comedy The Actor’s Nightmare. Durang, a New Jersey-born playwright, also wrote Beyond Therapy, Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You, and dozens of other comic plays.
Tickets are on sale at TEDxAsburyPark.com, with a recommended donation of $19 and a two-drink minimum. Curtain is at 6:30 p.m.
On Oct. 7, Smiga said TEDxAsburyPark expects to sell out UNLABEL INTELLIGENCE, a program intended to “rethink our stereotypes and labels of both human and artificial intelligence.”
Comic Chris Gethard will host the evening and deliver an original TED Talk. Original music will be composed and performed by Asbury Park artists Kuf Knotz and Christine Elise. The program will also include seven new live TED Talks by authors and experts including Rick Smolan, Sadie Dingfelder and Aransas Savas.
Tickets and information are available at TEDxAsburyPark.com. Dinner begins at 6 p.m.; the show runs from 7 to 9 p.m.
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