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Get In on the Act
Dramashop's One Act Festival
April 12, 2023 at 8:00 AM
Contributed photo
Pictured is a rehearsal for local playwright Brenna Thummler's play *Single Book Store, which joins three other one act plays that are written, directed, and performed by local talent for Dramashop's One Act Festival.
FRIDAY, APR. 21
The one-act play can be traced to ancient Greece, when Euripides wrote a satyr play called Cyclops as a humorous conclusion to three emotionally heavy multi-act plays. The art form really grew in popularity during the 19th and 20th centuries, though, and are now a regular part of the standard theater repertoire — and Dramashop is bringing four to the stage, all of them written by local playwrights, directed by local directors, and performed by local actors.
The festival features Long Lost by Matthew Crays, directed by Matt Fuchs; Would You — How My Roommate Turned Into a Hotdog! by Howard Lang, directed by B.J. Waide; Take My Hand by Margo Wolfe, directed by Lisa Simonian; and Single Book Store by Brenna Thummler, directed by Alycia Olivar and Anna McJunkin.
Seasoned playwright Margo Wolfe, who wrote Take My Hand, lent some insight into her piece, which describes the unique relationship between Death and a Death Doula, who helps to ease humans' passage into oblivion. On writing the play, Wolfe said, "I began the process during lockdown, so I had a lot of time to write and think about death. I mostly thought about the uncertainty and how we often try to hide or run from it, pretend it's not going to happen or that we will be saved somehow." She continues, "We may not know much about death, but we better get comfortable with it, because she is sitting at the bus stop waiting for us, patiently, and our fear of her will not save us."
All the one-act plays are set to intrigue, immerse, and inspire — both live audiences, on subsequent Fridays and Saturdays starting April 21 through April 29, as well as virtual, with the entire festival available online beginning May 1 through May 15.
Premiering Friday, Apr. 21 // 8 p.m. // 1001 State St., Suite 210 // For full performance information and ticket pricing, visit: dramashop.org/one-acts