 August
17 - September 3, 2006
Producers: Nancy Jaquish & Rich Ley
An exciting collection of mostly original one-act plays, many by
local playwrights. Each weekend features different plays that prove
in their own ways that humor and passions are what make us human.
One play in the festival will be entered in the state festival later
this year.
Weekend 1 August 17 - 20
Stage Manager: Nora Paine
An Hour in Vienna
by Russell Aiuto
Director, Ivan Kovatchev
An obscure text in the literature of social sciences claims Sigmund
Freud and Vladimir Lenin became trapped in an elevator together
in Vienna in 1903. An Hour in Vienna is a humorous, thought-provoking,
and imaginative look at what their discussion in the elevator may
have sounded like.
Presented with the permission of the playwright.
Fitch Todd
by Jeffrey Gold
Director, Dale Brady-Wilson
In this bittersweet tale, an elderly composer hasn’t produced
anything new in a great while, and is depressed at the lackluster
reception of his last composition. His publisher arrives to convince
him to get out of bed, but the composer is not convinced that he
has any ability left to create. In an attempt to get through to
the composer the publisher fabricates a story, telling the man that
it will actually be just fine when the old composer dies, because
the publisher is in love with his wife and they plan on getting
married as soon as she is widowed.
Presented with the permission of the playwright.
Concerning Love
by Anton Chekhov, adapted by Russell Aiuto
Director, Jennifer Crooks
Over dinner, the host details to his two guests the tale of his
affection for his maid and his refusal to get rid of her husband,
the surly cook. In flashbacks he relates the story of his love affair
with the maid, and how she and her husband came to be employed in
his household.
Presented with the permission of the playwright.
The Brute
by Anton Chekhov, English version by Eric Bentley
Director, Ted Schneider
Mrs. Popov, widow of a landowner, has vowed never to remarry and
forsakes the company of men forever. Then Smirnov, one of her late
husband's creditors, forces himself into her presence. He's had
some little experience of women and also sworn off love. So, they
seem groomed for quarreling and they do to the point where... Well,
let's just say that events take an unexpected and hilarious turn.
Presented by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.
The Gold Lunch
by Ron Carlson
Director: Leta Hall
A man receives the first-ever gold medal in the newly-recognized
Olympic sport of lunching with one's ex-spouse. First performed
by the Salt Lake Acting Company during the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Presented by special arrangement with Brandt and Hochman Literary
Agents.
Weekend 2 August 24 - 27
Stage Manager: Megan Dreisbach
Year of the Rooster
by Marc Lamberg
Director, Ron Hitchcock
After WW2 a young man has lunch with his only remaining family,
2 older brothers, in a restaurant in New York City. He was involved
in some of the worst fighting of the war. His brothers managed to
avoid military service, and instead worked in the states during
the war. He has found out that they received a $7500 inheritance
from their father, and kept his share to put into a bad investment
that will likely fail. The brothers come to terms with issues of
family allegiance, honesty, and forgiveness.
Presented with the permission of the playwright.
Relativity
by Steve Silvers
Director, Rick Starkweather
A couple meets themselves at the same time in a time continuum,
the younger version of the couple is in their 20's, the older version
in their 40's. The older version would like to trade places with
the younger version, to correct the bad mistakes they made, and,
in doing so, ensure a happier future for all of them.
Presented with the permission of the playwright.
Daydream
by Heather Burns & Melissa Robinson
Director, Heather Burns
A young man meets an attractive woman on a New York City subway,
and becomes infatuated with her. They strike up a conversation,
and in a twist, he reveals more about himself than he would like.
Presented with the permission of the playwright.
The Last Good Night
by Steve LaRocque
Director, Marcia Kolko
A widow cleans out the house she has lived in for decades. The contents
of the house are to be auctioned the following day, and the auctioneer
comes to help sort possessions. She sees her job as not just selling
furniture, but also helping people lighten their lives, to see that
material possessions are just things they carry around with them,
things that bog down their lives instead of freeing them.
Presented with the permission of the playwright.
Weekend 3 August 31 - September 3
Stage Manager: Tom Smith
One of a Kind
by Russell Aiuto
Director, Jim Robertson
An elderly woman in a nursing home is pressured by her son to submit
to an interview from a publisher about her famous past. She reluctantly
agrees to it because her son has taken an advance for a book about
the event and has already spent the money. She is torn between wanting
to forget the past and wanting to help her son.
Presented with the permission of the playwright.
Chess Game
by Steve LaRocque
Director, Tom Stajmiger
Two men have met regularly for years in a park at lunchtime every
Wednesday to play chess. On this day one man shows up early, disrupting
the convoluted preparation routine of the other. While one tries
to deal with an interruption in his thought processes, the other
has to deal with an interruption in his life, he has been fired
that day from his job. They talk of the impressions we have of ourselves,
how we fit into the society of work, competition, and the lives
of others.
Presented with the permission of the playwright.
The Completion of Rose Wasserman
by Spencer Watson
Director, David Walker
A Jewish divorcee and her mother are scouting out Clearwater Beach,
FL, for new a beginning. On a walk along the beach the daughter
successively meets an eclectic assortment of characters exhorting
their own lifestyles. In the process she learns to accept her own
situation and appreciate her beliefs.
Presented with the permission of the playwright.
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