An Evening of One Act Plays

Chapel Street Players hosted An Evening of One Act Plays at the George Wilson Center, a temporary venue until they move into their new home. The small, but mighty theater company proved that they don’t need fancy lights and sets to put on an entertaining evening. All that’s really needed is a few props and a talented group of actors to suspend disbelief and transport us to different worlds.

Happy Days, written by Thomas Ott and directed by Christine Seisler, opened the show. This short play, featuring the acting talents of Alex Bock and Nick Keresztury, is an amusing tale of two strangers meeting rather comically in the park and exploring the possible benefits their burgeoning friendship could bring. There’s just one thing that could end it before it begins, but you’ll have to watch to see what that is.

Grave Wars, written by Bret Ioli and directed by Brian Touchette, features the venerable acting talents of Rachel Barton, Tami Lunsford, and CSP veteran Cindy Starcher. While tending adjacent headstones in a cemetery, two women, previously related by the marriage of their children, discuss family, the upcoming birthday of their mutual grandchild, and subjects that are uncomfortable for them both. Touching and funny, these ladies tell a great story.

The Stronger, written by August Strindberg and directed by Bill Fellner, features Karen Shanks and Tina Walls. This poignant tale is one of two women, friends, who meet by chance in a café on Christmas Eve. The meeting is cordial at first, but as the moments pass, one of the women comes to realize that her friend is her husband’s former mistress. As the moments pass, she comes to realize the extent to which the affair has affected her married life. We’re left to decide which of the women is stronger. 

There Shall Be No Bottom (a bad play for worse actors), written by Mark O’Donnell and directed by Bill and Susan King, with the acting talents of Kelley Bielewicz, Alex Bock, Robert Chase and Ahmed Khan, will remind you instantly of The Play That Goes Wrong. Misinterpreted lines, whole pages of dialogue skipped, one actor desperately trying to hold the production together, while another actor is stuck in traffic, and the stage manager awkwardly trying to fill in results in great fun. This drawing room romp will definitely get you to laugh.

Jumping by Bill Porter and directed by Nicole Pierce, features Paul Bielewicz Jr., Amy Culver, and Nancy Kersey. Contemplating suicide by leaping to her death from a bridge, Beverly suddenly encounters Beth, another jumper, who is there to end it all because of her annoying husband. But because of her surprise meeting with Beverly, Beth has missed the perfect moment to jump. There is a certain etiquette, after all. The women sit on the bridge to chat and Beth gets Beverly to change her mind. Beverly decides not to jump. It’s a great story with a twist ending.

Morning on Mimosa Lane, written by Gwen Armstrong Barker, directed by Susan Moak, and starring Meg Barton and Susie Moak, is a story of friendship between two women and the relationships they’ve had with the men in their lives. Susie Moak is in rare form and Meg Barton is great in the touching, yet humorous one act.

Love Beyond the Stars, written and directed by Brian Smith with the acting talents of Fallon Berg, Patrick Cathcart, Nance Reeves, and Victor Wiebe. A time traveler from another world arrives on Earth to meet the man that discovered…er, will discover…her planet. This alien love story is cute and funny. Fallon Berg is out of this world as the charming extra-terrestrial. 

Fourteen, written by Alice Gerstenberg and directed by Michelle Cullen with the acting talents of Fallon Berg, Melody Bock, and Rocky Cathcart, opens with Mrs. Pringle preparing to host a dinner party to introduce her daughter, Elaine, to the city’s most eligible bachelor, Oliver Farnsworth. Illness and a blizzard force guests to cancel at the last minute and hilarity ensues as Mrs. Pringle, Elaine, and the butler try to salvage the evening. An enjoyable story presented by a most capable cast.

An Evening of One Act Plays delivers an evening of fun and runs until October 7^th. Reserve your tickets today by visiting  http://www.chapelstreetplayers.org.