One-act Plays Feature Issue-oriented Themes
Theatre should make you think, says Joe Jezewski, chair and
associate professor for the Alma College Theatre and Dance
Department.
“Whether watching a one-act play or a full-length production, the
audience is often both entertained and forced to face uncomfortable
issues or ideas,” says Jezewski.
This year’s One-Act Play Festival at Alma College, named “Sex, Murder
and Rock & Roll” by theatre students, is certain to leave the
audience thinking, as an issue-oriented selection of plays is intended
to provoke smiles, laughter, tears and introspective questions.
Alma College Theatre presents the 2007-08 One-Act Play Festival at 8
p.m. Friday, Dec. 7 and Saturday, Dec. 8 and 3 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 9 in
the Remick Heritage Center, Strosacker Theatre. Tickets are $10 for
adults and free for Alma College staff, students and youth 18 and
under. Call (989) 463-7304 for ticket information.
This year’s festival comprises a series of six contemporary and diverse
plays, each performed in a single act. All of the plays are entirely
student run and directed.
Opening the festival is “Affair Play” by Jessica Goldberg. Revolving
around a love affair in contemporary times, this dark piece involves
deception, love and “people being other people” and moves toward a
surprising conclusion, says junior director Ruth Nardecchia.
“I really enjoyed the script when I first read it,” says Nardecchia. “I
felt it was something that would be really fun for everyone in it and
watching it.”
“The Last Night of the World” by Cody Daigle, directed by junior Linnae
Caurdy, travels back in time to Dec. 31st, 1999, when apprehension and
excitement for the new millennium were higher than ever before. Caught
in a personal crisis situation, one young woman hopes that Y2K will
change, or even end, the world. However, waiting for Jan. 1st, 2000 in
a bar, she finds a sympathetic listener who helps her talk about and
sort out her issues and her future—if there is one.
“This play contains a mixture of comedy and really serious issues,”
says Jezewski. “It’s also set in a historical moment — the new
millennium — that almost all of us remember being a part of.”
“A Gaggle of Saints” by Neil LaBute and directed by senior Rebecca
Peacock is a structurally unique play about a young Mormon couple who
separately recall a violent anniversary weekend in New York City. Never
directly conversing with one another, the two reveal and reflect on the
complexities of lifestyle choices, relationships and homosexuality,
among other things.
“The characters’ monologues deal with some sensitive issues,” says
Peacock. “I love this play because it questions and challenges
perspectives and beliefs that we are all aware or involved with to some
degree.”
“Just One Night” by Kim Levin deals with the particularly difficult
issue of rape. The play, directed by junior Katherine Johns, focuses on
the gray area of rape and date rape, and questions what constitutes
each. “Just One Night” is a thought-provoking piece that may leave the
audience with more questions than answers.
“The Man Who Couldn’t Dance” by Jason Katim is an absorbing drama
directed by Alma College Theatre Intern Ashley Sawatzke. The play deals
with intimate relationship issues and what happens when a relationship
ends and the different paths people take. It also examines the
different ways in which people need each other and the dichotomy
presented by two different perspectives of the same situation.
The One-Act Festival concludes with “Après Opéra” by Michael B. Dixon
and Valerie Smith, a “satirical farce” directed by junior Andrea
Martz. The play deals with problems and situations that arise
when a relationship dissolves but in a very “over the top manner” that
is dissimilar from the festival’s other plays with relationship themes.
This highly theatrical and musical stylized play provides an
entertaining cap to an excellent evening of theatre.
Some of the plays contain explicit language and adult situations.
Posted: Wed, November 28th, 2007 at 1:12PM
