2004 One-Act Festival

The Silver Spring Stage presents the 2004 One-Act Festival a collection of mostly original one-act plays, many by local playwrights. Each weekend will feature four different plays that prove in their own ways that humor and passions are what make us human. The season is as follows:*Weekend 1 August 20-22The Critics, written and directed by Rich Amada (Maryland playwright), is a humorous and poignant play of two seniors visit an art gallery escaping their lives and reminiscing.On Tidy Endings, by Harvey Fierstein, directed by Bob Bartlett, is one of the early dramas about AIDS depicting an ex-wife and lover coming to terms over the death of her ex-husband and his lover.A Quick Study, by Chris Mollica, directed by James Knipple, is a comedy of a woman who wakes up and decides to dump her boyfriend to pursue her own writing career.Johnny Cash Is Not For Sissies by Tim Kaldahl, directed by Bridget Muehlberger, presents both comic and serious alternate scenarios of a man’s relationship with women and his confiding in his best friend who is a woman.*Weekend 2 August 27-2921 Pairs of Sneakers by Steve LaRocque (Maryland playwright), directed by Leta Hall, offers a gentle comedy of young dating and the unexpected events that lead to a piece of sports history when the NY Giants upset the Chicago Bears in the 1937 football championship. Momma by Jack Goldstein, directed by Bernie Cohen, is a heartfelt drama of a son remembering his mother both as a younger and older woman.Smoker’s Hill by Matt Casarino, directed by Erik Parsons, is a startling and moving drama of teenagers when an awkward boy and tough girl meet on a hill behind the school. The boy reveals something hidden about himself only to be put to the test by the sudden arrival of a school bully.Vamps by Leon Levenson (Maryland playwright), directed by Toni Carmine, is a funny play of a reformed vampire sent by a social action vampire organization from California to destroy evil ones in Transylvania.*Weekend 3 September 3-5It Changes Every Year by Jon Robin Baitz, directed by Michael Kharfen, is a sincere and revealing portrait of two mothers and their sons exploring the complex relationship between them.Adjacent and Identical by Steve Silver (Virginia playwright), directed by Alicia Oliver, is a delightful comedy of unrequited love and its embarrassing consequences when a sports writer interviews an up and coming athlete dating the woman who rejected his very public proposal.The Yin Yang Baby by Joe Dennison (Maryland playwright), directed by Peter Krueger, is a comic spoof on the art world with a chatty female would-be model posing for a reserved male artist fresh out of art school.In the Tank by Rosemary Toohey (Maryland playwright), directed by Seth Ghitelman, is a hilarious comedy of lobsters contemplating life and death in a restaurant tank.