Got an email today about a production of the Shades Repertory Theater, a group I’d never heard of, that operates out of the Central Presbyterian Church on New Main Street in Haverstraw.

Starting Sept. 11, they’ll open their season with “The Key to Al-Saheed” by Shades’ artistic director Samuel Harps, a one-act drama set in Afghanistan in 2002. The action, the email notes, involves the courts martial of five American soldiers accused in the death of a suspected insurgent.

“The Key to Al-Saheed” will be directed by Forest Hamilton, who was involved with the Blueberry Pond Theater Ensemble at one point.

It stars Brenda Petite, Nicole Masi, Mel Hancock, Steve Allen, Mike Hilliard and Stacey Cretekos. The play will be performed on Sept. 11, 12, 18 and 19 at 8 p.m. at Shades Repertory Theater, in the Haverstraw Youth Theater, in the Central Presbyterian Church, 64 New Main St., in Haverstraw.

According to the release, Shades Repertory Theater is a collaborative arts venue that hosts visual art, films, music, dance, performance art, theater, and arts education in an accessible, intimate setting. 845.675.8044 or visit www.shadesrep.com

The Web site also mentions an upcoming production—Aug. 7 and 8 at 8 p.m.—of “Seven Jewish Children” by Caryl Churchill, which is described thusly: “The play is built on seven scenes in which parents and relatives discuss how much children should know about their history from the Holocaust up to the invasion of Gaza. At first, the actors show the deep divisions within the Jewish society but at the end they attempt to show a justification for the preservation of the state of Israel.”

The cast: Alex Alcheh, Steve Andresen, Jim Coakley, Dena Koplovich, Suzanne DuCharme, Catherine Hogan and Jeff Jackson

The play will be followed by a showing of the documentary “Promises,” directed by Carlos Bolado; B Z Goldberg and Justine Shapiro. The Web site reads: “This is a documentary involving seven children from Israel and Palestine. The directors filmed them for 3 years while they tell of their lives growing up in Jerusalem. The film shows just how intractable the problems in the Middle-East have become.“

All donations are for the benefit of Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP), a humanitarian aid agency with over 25 years of experience working on the ground across the Middle East.