Impact Theater: Winter One Act Festival

Impact Theater, Prospect Height’s neighborhood theater, presents its Winter One Act Festival, consisting of nine new works over two weekends of theater. Ranging from tragedy to laugh-out-loud comedy, these one acts explore the depths of the human condition and reach the heights where imagination soars.

Week One: January 19 – 21 at 8pm, January 22 at 3pm

Blind Date: by Doug Beatty; directed by Vincent Reardon
Joe has no trouble finding dates, but his roommate Mark is single and without many prospects. Joe tries to snap Mark out of his funk by setting him up on a blind date, but this mystery woman has a surprise that could wreck the relationship before it gets off the ground.

The Unexpected Visitor: by Robert Marese; directed by Dudley Craig
Set on Christmas Eve, a man and woman – each a broken person – meet in a most peculiar way. Each eventually finds solace in the other and both discover a glimmer of hope in their desperate and disparate lives.

… To Ashes: by Christine Conley; directed by Jonathan Whittle-Utter
In a dream, a young woman is able to have one final talk with her dead aunt.
Through a surreally matter-of-fact conversation, they address the fears and questions we all face when dealing with loss, and prove that in any situation, humor and love prevail.

Crossing the Bar: by Christine Emmert; directed by Dudley Craig
Late night in a bar in a big city. Alfred, the bartender, has poured the last drinks and listens patiently to a young executive’s story of guilt over a man fired, as Mina, one of the bar regulars, listens on. Ideas are juggled — suicide and Tennyson — before the bar closes down for the evening.

Audience Choice: Conceived by Bryan Clark; Supervised by Lucas Peltonen
The audience is in charge! Two Impact Theater company members will improvise a ten-minute play, on a topic of the audience’s choosing! Ballots will be provided before the show.

Week Two: January 26 – 28 at 8pm, January 29 at 3pm

My Sloth: by Mark Robertson; directed by Sabina Vajraca
Alone in his filthy apartment, Sam Faris is left to reflect on the smaller things in life: the nacho chips on his couch, an empty pizza box, and his pet sloth. When a strange man appears with a challenge, Sam struggles to make simple life changes, unaided by the constant barrage of visitors and his own lack of self-control.

No Such Joy: by Jay Ferrari; directed by Tal Shahar
A truck stop prostitute’s relationship with a younger apprentice implodes after too much Mexican liquor and melancholy.

Statues of Liberty: by Elisa Abatsis; directed by Nicole Franklin
Fate, Free Will, and First Love collide in this fresh take on relationships. Funny and touching, Statues of Liberty examines the nature of love, the validity of astrology, and the impact of Don Henley.

Dummy: by Tanya Ritchie; directed by Tal Shahar
Peter, a ventriloquist, wants to shut out the world by living a life of solitude with only his dummy, Babydoll, to keep him company. When Babydoll rebels against Peter and ultimately prevails, the author herself steps in.