2005 NVTA One-Act Play Festival

(As of Revision - June 15, 2005)

24th Annual Festival

Schedule of Performances

Friday, June 17 Starting Time: 7:30 p.m.

Synopsis:
Two commentators are seated on either side of the stage with books. The speak about a 17 year old girl and a boy half a year older who are on their way to meet upon a hilltop to study before examinations and talk about their upcoming marriage. In the midst of their encounter, the commentators tell us that the young lovers will soon be in a fatal accident. The lovers are in one moment in time while the commentators are in another.

 

Synopsis:
An old, old couple, possibly married, sitting on a porch in a pair of rocking chairs and reminiscing about their lives. Each has had one or more previous marriages and perhaps a few flings, but they are hazy as to the details. In fact, they don't always know which one the other one is.

 

Synopsis:
Cathy's husband of 20+ years vanishes, leaving a "Dear Cathy" note on her fridge. Her life as a wife and empty-nester unravels. Wanda, an old college friend & single career woman, makes an impromptu visit to find Cathy in crisis. They reconnect over a few drinks & deal with Cathy's problem, helping each other face the future with humor & renewed courage.

Saturday, June 18 – Matinee Starting Time: 1:30 p.m.

Synopsis:
3 people take part in an experiment...a game in which a small room is divided into 3 equal areas—one for each person. At intervals they recite a slogan: “This is my land. It is mine. It is beautiful, and it is mine.” As the game progresses, we see the drive that makes each human want to possess more than his neighbors. A drive that causes hatred...and starts wars.

 

Synopsis:
A father has brought his daughter to a park overlooking a railroad bridge for a talk. He hopes that they can reconcile because he has been given a bad medical report and doesn't expect to have much more time left. The bridge itself is a sentimental spot for him and the girl's mother, which helps the daughter to understand and forgive her father.

 

Synopsis:
Two old friends commiserate about life and their problems at a drive in movie. Eventually, they decide to get to the evening's attraction. It's date night. However, the "date" turns out to be the body of a woman they have abducted earlier.

Saturday, June 18 – Evening Starting Time: 7:30 p.m.

Synopsis:
A young man looks back on how his life was turned upside down when his father spies him kissing another boy.

 

Synopsis:
An older couple are spending the last night in the house in which they have lived most of their married life. As they sip sherry and recall old times, they reveal some of the humor and turmoil of their life together which leads to their ultimate act of love.

Friday, June 24 Starting Time: 7:30 p.m.

Synopsis:
Collin and Dennis have been friends since as long as they can remember. Now it's the night before Collin leaves for college and they are reminiscing with their long time friend, Melissa. Will their relationships survive this night where everything is so uncertain?

Synopsis:
A wife enlists the aid of a gallery owner in and effort to get her husband to come to terms with his obsession over his art collection. She is almost desparate to find the happiness which eludes her due to his neglect and apparent indifference towards living beings in general as compared to his canvasses.

 

Synopsis:
On the eve of her wedding, Rengin drunkenly confesses to an affair during her engagement to mild-mannered Herman. Wanting something different before she got hitched, Rengin went over to the wild side. Herman feels cuckolded but has no time to chastise as her former flame knocks on the door for one last fling with his fiancee. Based on Shakepeare's sonnet 118.

Saturday, June 25 Starting Time: 7:30 p.m.

Synopsis:
The wife of a strangled farmer is arrested on suspicion. While officers and neighbors are searching the old farmhouse for evidence, two women friends discover a slain canary and a broken cage. This evidence can prove the wife guilty, but by keeping her secret, they free her. An American classic by one of the original members of the Provincetown Playhouse.

 

Synopsis:
A woman is blackmailed by her maid but emerges triumphant.

 

Synopsis:
In the aftermath of September 11, a writer searching for a way to help is introduced to a fire captain who must write the eulogies for four of the eight men he lost that day. Using his words, she is able to memorialize them not as faceless heroes, but real men who did heroic deeds.

MEDIA ADVISORY

Journalists interested in attending the Festival for professional purposes should contact the Festival Chairman, Janice Dionne, at her daytime number (202) 647-9090 or or (703) 730-3232 (evenings) to make arrangements.  The Reston Community Center is located at 2310 Colts Neck Road, Reston, and can be reached for information at (703 ) 476-4500 or www.restoncommunitycenter.com .

AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED JUNE 26th

Best Supporting Actor - Nicholas Ruley - The Perfect Son (Castaways Rep. Theatre)

Best Supporting Actress - Sarah Daisy Split - Blackmail (Rockville Little Theatre)

Best Actor - Ted Schneider - Perfectly Good Airplanes (Silver Spring Stage)

Best Actress - Ellen Cribs - Lovers (Center for the Arts - Pied Piper Theatre)

Best Production of an Original Play - Harvest Moon

Best Director - Mary-Anne Sullivan - Bitter Sauce

Judges' Discretionary Award # 1: Best Original Script - Stephen LaRocque - Perfectly Good Airplanes

Judges Discretionary Award # 2: Best Ensemble Performance - The Guys (Tapestry Theatre Company)

Judges Discretionary Award #3: Best Original Score - Deb Crawford and Herb Tax - "Harvest Moon" (Reston Community Players)