The New School for Drama’s Random Acts One-Act Play Festival gives audiences the opportunity to experience some of the best work of the school’s up-and-coming actors, directors, and playwrights. This week, April 24–26, the sixth and final weekend of the festival, original plays by Drama’s graduating playwrights will be presented. Performances are free and open to the public.
The following plays will be performed this week:
The Awesome Dance—NEW work!
by Nick Starr, directed by Malinda Sorci; with Jenni Bannerjee, Ross Beshear, Julie Cavaliere, and Rachel Cornish
Three women seeking a guru’s grace are caught up in a fanatic’s quest for glory. A man’s wife and sister accidentally force him into the path of a distracted driver on the day of his father’s funeral. A man pursuing the love of a woman he barely knows must first fulfill her sisters’ terrifying demand. The Awesome Dance is a karma passion play about people so deeply wounded they can never be healed-but might be transformed.
Sundown—NEW work!
by Andrew Rosendorf, directed by Diana Basmajian; with Erica Scanlon and Robert Patrick Allen
After years apart, Keri drags her brother Seth to the middle of the woods. Alone with her for the first time in years, Seth is forced to understand why she’s brought them there. Sundown is a poignant but humorous depiction of two estranged siblings’ struggle to become brother and sister again.
Millicent the Magnificent: An Origins Story—NEW work!
by Jennie Contuzzi, directed by Samantha Shechtman; with Robert Patrick Allen, Francesca Bove, Mark Cajigao, Kathleen Choe, Gina Leon, and Federico Trigo
Thirteen-year-old Millicent is on a quest for another identity-preferably one with sexy curves, someone who can win her father’s approval and capture the heart of the school soccer star with a single sultry glance. Will she transform herself into the “perfect woman” or discover that her body already harbors a soul of superhuman proportions?
Juniper; Jubilee—NEW work!
by Janine Nabers, directed by Alexandra Hastings; with Mark Cajigao, Grace Evans, Rena Krumholz, Brittany Bellizeare, Ben Schnickel, Ayo Cummings, Lachrisha Brown, Mia Kristen Smith, and Adrienne Moore
Juniper is a thirteen-year-old South African girl who has just moved to the United States and is homesick for the country she left behind. Then, at school, she meets Matt, a drum-playing yarmulke-wearing kid, and the two hit it off. A series of sexual encounters with Matt bring back suppressed memories of her childhood in Sudan, and Juniper is forced to confront the ghosts of her past.
The festival runs through April 26, with performances Thursdays through Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. and Saturday matinees at 3:00 p.m. Admission is free, and seating is first come, first served. Reservations are recommended; call Ticket Central at 212.279.4200 or visit www.ticketcentral.com. Performances take place at The New School for Drama Theater, 151 Bank Street, 3rd floor, New York City.
Visit www.drama.newschool.edu for a complete schedule and more information.