The Best Plays from the Strawberry One-Act Festival Volume Eight: Compiled by Van Dirk Fisher
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WRITERS RETREAT by Samantha Ciavarella. Things get messy when youre the subject of your own story. Two friends/lovers/writers realize quickly that they cannot have their cake and eat it too.
A SONG A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY by Freddy Valle. A play about an ailment so embarrassing, you wouldnt tell your Mom about it. Say Aahhh.
WHERES THE REST OF ME? By David E. Tolchinsky. A screenwriter wrestles with his relationship to Spalding Gray, his psychiatrist father and the classic movie, Kings Row. A dark and funny journey through movies, monologues and mental illness.
KIDS THESE DAYS by Rachel Robyn Wagner. Like the Brady Bunch . . . Only with drugs, alcohol, sex, and most of all honesty.
HOPELESS, IRRESISTIBLE by Keaton Weiss. Two strangers meet at a mysterious train station in an ambiguous afterlife. Other plays include: HOMECARE by Phoebe Farber, THE EXIT INTERVIEW by Betsy Kagen & MK Walsh, PAULA'S VISITOR by Keith Filangieri and ABRAMOVIC by Kory French. As middle America continues with its economic struggles, a MOMA visiting Midwestern twenty-something tries to understand the monetary value of high-art, grounding his friend in the process.
Black Experimental Theatre
Van Dirk Fisher is the Artistic Director of the Riant Theatre and a graduate of the High School of Performing Arts in New York City and S.U.N.Y. at Purchase. He has produced The Strawberry One-Act Festival since 1995 and directed and written several musicals including: DREAM BABIES and ROCK-A MY SOUL and the novel LOVING YOU. This anthology contains 10 exciting plays that were performed in NYC’s Strawberry One-Act Festival by playwrights from across the country and captures the heartbeat of great American theatre.
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The Best Plays from the Strawberry One-Act Festival Volume Eight - Black Experimental Theatre
The Best Plays From
The Strawberry One-Act Festival
Volume Eight
Compiled by Van Dirk Fisher
40009.pngThe Best Plays From The Strawberry One-Act Festival Volume Eight
Compiled by Van Dirk Fisher
Copyright © 2012, 2015 Black Experimental Theatre.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
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ISBN: 978-1-4917-8452-5 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-4917-8454-9 (e)
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iUniverse rev. date: 12/17/2015
Table of Contents
Foothold By Patrick J. Lennon
Writers Retreat By Sam Ciavarella
A Song A Day Keeps The Doctor Away By Freddy Valle
Where’s The Rest Of Me? By David E. Tolchinsky
Kids These Days By Rachel Robyn Wagner
Hopeless, Irresistible By Keaton Weiss
Home Care By Phoebe Farber
The Exit Interview By Betsy Kagen And Mk Walsh
Paula’s Visitor By Keith Miles Filangieri
Abramović By Kory French
CAUTION: Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that Foothold, Writers Retreat, A Song A Day Keeps The Doctor Away, Where’s The Rest Of Me?, Kids These Days, Hopeless, Irresistible, Home Care, The Exit Interview, Paula’s Visitor and Abramović are subject to a royalty. They are fully protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America, the British Commonwealth, including Canada, and all other countries of the Copyright Union. All rights, including professional, amateur, motion pictures, recitation, lecturing, public reading, radio broadcasting, television, and the rights of translation into foreign languages are strictly reserved. In its present form the play is dedicated to the reading public only.
The amateur live stage performance rights to Foothold, Writers Retreat, A Song A Day Keeps The Doctor Away, Where’s The Rest Of Me?, Kids These Days, Hopeless, Irresistible, Home Care, The Exit Interview, Paula’s Visitor and Abramović are controlled exclusively by The Riant Theatre and The Black Experimental Theatre, Inc., and royalty arrangements and licenses must be secured well in advance of presentation. PLEASE NOTE that amateur royalty fees are set upon application in accordance with your producing circumstances. When applying for a royalty quotation and license please give us the number of performances intended, dates of production, your seating capacity and admission fee. Royalties are payable one week before the opening performance of the play to The Riant Theatre, P.O. Box 1902, New York, NY 10013.
Royalty of the required amount must be paid whether the play is presented for charity or gain and whether or not admission is charged.
Stock royalty quoted on application to The Riant Theatre.
For all other rights than those stipulated above, apply to The Riant Theatre, P.O. Box 1902, New York, NY 10013 or RiantTheatre@gmail.com.
Particular emphasis is laid on the question of amateur or professional readings, permission and terms for which must be secured in writing from The Riant Theatre.
Copying from this book in whole or in part is strictly forbidden by law, and the right of performance is not transferable.
Whenever the play is produced the following notice must appear on all programs, printing and advertising for the play: Produced by special arrangement with The Riant Theatre.
Due authorship credit must be given on all programs, printing and advertising for the play.
No one shall commit or authorize any act or omission by which the copyright of, or the right to copyright, this play may be impaired.
No one shall make any changes in this play for the purpose of production.
Publication of this play does not imply availability for performance. Both amateurs and professionals considering a production are strongly advised in their own interests to apply to The Riant Theatre for written permission before starting rehearsals, advertising, or booking a theatre.
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, by any means, now known or yet to be invented, including mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording, videotaping, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of The Riant Theatre.
This anthology as well as Volume 1 through Volume 7 may be purchased online at www.therianttheatre.com, and wherever books are sold.
The Best Plays From The Strawberry One-Act Festival
Volume Eight
Compiled by Van Dirk Fisher
1.jpgwww.TheRiantTheatre.com
Welcome to the 8th Volume of the Best Plays From The Strawberry One-Act Festival. The Strawberry One-Act Festival, which began in 1995 in New York City, is the brainchild of The Riant Theatre’s Artistic Director, Van Dirk Fisher. The festival is a play competition in which the audience and the theatre’s judges cast their votes to select the best play of the season.
Twice a year, hundreds of plays from across the country are submitted for the competition, of which 40 are chosen to compete. Plays move from the 1st round to the semi-finals and then the finals. The playwright of the winning play receives a grant and the opportunity to have a full-length play developed by the Riant. In addition, awards are given out for Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress.
During the year 2015 the Winter and Summer Strawberry One-Act Festival streamed online and were made available for viewing worldwide on Video On Demand. You can visit our website to view the plays On Demand on Vimeo as well as subscribe to see several plays from the Strawberry One-Act Festival VOD HD for a nominal monthly subscription fee. Visit www.therianttheatre.com for more details.
This anthology includes plays from the Summer of 2012 through the Winter of 2015. The Strawberry One-Act Festival is a wonderful opportunity for the audience and the industry alike to see some of the best talent in the nation. Every performance features three to four dynamic one-act plays. There’s always a lot of buzz surrounding each performance as artists converge and network on future projects. Several of the playwrights whose plays are featured in the festival have written for the literary world, as well as for television and film. We are very fortunate to be able to fulfill our mission, which is to discover and develop talent and playwrights for the stage,
says Mr. Fisher. We are very proud of this accomplishment, but the work doesn’t stop there. Competition aside, everyone’s a winner in the festival, because several actors, directors and playwrights are chosen to work on future projects at the Riant.
During the Winter 2012 Festival, the audience’s votes – as well as those of the playwrights in attendance -- selected THE EXIT INTERVIEW by Betsy Kagen and MK Walsh as the Best Play of the Season. The winner of the Summer 2012 Festival was FOOTHOLD by Patrick J. Lennon.
The first play in this anthology is FOOTHOLD by Patrick J. Lennon, in which a goofy Mary Poppins-ish nurse treats a shy man with an ingrown toenail and a broken heart. I love this charming play. It was definitely a crowd pleaser.
Things get messy when you’re the subject of your own story. In WRITERS RETREAT by Samantha Ciavarella, two friends/lovers/writers discover that they cannot have their cake and eat it too as they spend a weekend in a cabin working. This play will take you on a rollercoaster of emotions as these two people learn the true value of their relationship. This Best Play nominee garnered the Best Actor Award for Andrew Schoomaker.
A SONG A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY by Freddy Valle, was a finalist in the Winter 2015 festival. The play is a hilarious situation comedy that had the audiences falling out of their seats with laughter. A woman takes her boyfriend to see his doctor to help him with a very embarrassing predicament that happens every time he opens his mouth to speak. The fun part is trying to cure him of his ailment. Hold on tight. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.
Often playwrights are inspired by real life experiences to write their plays. Hollywood screenwriter and first time playwright David E. Tolchinsky found much success with his play WHERE’S THE REST OF ME?, in which a screenwriter wrestles with his relationship to Spalding Gray, his psychiatrist father and the classic movie King’s Row. The play is a dark and funny journey through movies, monologues and mental illness. Mr. Tolchinsky won the Best Director Award with this play.
Too often in life teenagers who have serious problems are easily dismissed as teen angst.
In Rachel Robyn Wagner’s play KIDS THESE DAYS, five Boston High School students open up to each other and reveal their darkest secrets after they stumble upon a diary accidently left behind by a fellow classmate. This powerful play is a wakeup call to all of us that it’s important for us to pay attention to each other and to show some compassion. Everybody has a story. You never know what a person is going through if you don’t take the time to ask.
Keaton Weiss’ play HOPELESS, IRRESISTIBLE deals with people in their afterlife. Two strangers meet at a mysterious train station in an ambiguous afterlife, and force each other to confront their tragic pasts and shape their uncertain futures. This dark drama unfolds with intrigue that is spellbinding.
Working in the healthcare profession can be very taxing and stressful. In Phoebe Farber’s play HOME CARE, a nurse is suspended for attacking a colleague and is forced to attend therapy to deal with her anger. This play was a finalist in the festival.
THE EXIT INTERVIEW by Betsy Kagen and MK Walsh is a comedy that won the Best Play Award in the Winter Festival of 2012. Before moving onto the afterlife, a young woman must participate in an exit interview with an obnoxious celestial being.
PAULA’S VISITOR by Keith Miles Filangieri, centers on the dynamics of two couples on a tour of the South African jungle. Newlyweds Lana and Freddy seem to be enchanted with the exoticism of their honeymoon spot, as well as with each other, while Paula and Jim have four years of marriage (and more than the beginnings of disillusionment) under their belts. Neither couple will escape unchanged after this excursion.
The last play in this anthology is the comedy ABRAMOVIĆ by Kory French. As middle America continues with its economic struggles, a MOMA – visiting Midwestern twenty-something tries to understand the monetary value of high-art, grounding his friend in the process.
I hope that you enjoy these plays as much as I have with the hundreds of people who have seen them in the Strawberry One-Act Festival. Share them with your friends and family. If they make you laugh or cry, entertain you or even enlighten you in any way, then I guess they have served their purpose: to touch people’s souls.
Enjoy them and if you’re ever in New York City be sure to check out the Strawberry One-Act Festival. But if you can’t make it to NYC, please check out several of the plays On Demand. Visit www.therianttheatre.com for further details. In addition, you can check out The Video Diaries Project: A Series of Short Films about the Artists in the Strawberry One-Act Festival. You can view the short films for free on our website www.therianttheatre.com and get information on other plays and workshops we produce. Please follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/RiantTheatre and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/RiantTheatre and www.facebook.com/StrawberryOneActFestival. And know that at the Riant Theatre you are always welcome, welcome, WELCOME!
Van Dirk Fisher
Founder & Artistic Director
The Riant Theatre
P.O. Box 1902
New York, NY 10013
RiantTheatre@gmail.com
To hear some great music go to www.cdbaby.com/cd/toejambeats or www.myspace.com/toejambeats419 or www.myspace.com/lovingyouthemusical
Foothold%20Poster%20b%20and%20w.jpgFOOTHOLD by Patrick J. Lennon
FOOTHOLD
By Patrick J. Lennon
Patrick J. Lennon is a Masters in Creative Writing Graduate from the City University of New York – Queens College. A former English teacher at Roosevelt Jr.-Sr. High School in Roosevelt, NY, he is Co-Founder of Tiger’s Heart Players in Croton-on-Hudson, NY and the Founder/President of the Aery Theatre Company in Garrison, NY. His plays have been produced Off-Off-Broadway and Off-Broadway.
Foothold made its New