This week, it only takes 50 minutes for Theatre Tuscaloosa actors and crew to put on four plays.
It’s true that the plays are each only one act, but they don’t shortchange the viewer on entertainment. Beginning Monday, March 26, and continuing through the end of the week on Friday, March 30, Theatre Tuscaloosa will be presenting “Lost in Conversation: A Festival of One Acts,” a series of four one-act plays performed at the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center.
The four plays, performed in sequence, will last a total of 50 minutes. This event is the first of its kind, and the staff of Theatre Tuscaloosa hope to make it an annual occasion.
The event is timed in celebration of World Theatre Day, which takes place on March 27 and is an international jubilee of theatre appreciation.
“March 27 is World Theatre Day, as declared by the International Theatre Institute,” the second stage coordinator, Kierra Gillock said. “Every year they do something special around the world. They have centers in Hong Kong, Spain, South America and all around the world. I came across it a while ago and I felt like it was a great way for us to get in to the community and really spread the joy of theatre.”
Gillock is also the director of the one-act “The Last Yankee,” a play by famed playwright Arthur Miller. It’s the story of two men visiting their wives in a mental hospital.
“It evolves into this commentary about how we view our culture and the people around us,” Gillock said. “One of the men is a descendant of Alexander Hamilton and he works as a carpenter, so the other man who is a successful businessman has much to say about how someone from such a prominent family could have ended up as just a carpenter.”
Adam Miller is also a director of one of the plays: “Time Together,” whose story revolves around a now-distant married couple.
“It is about long-term relationships, what’s good and bad about them,” Miller said. “It is about the sadness, about maybe one that has run its course and perhaps the people are growing apart, not necessarily mad at each other or yelling every day to a point where they will get a lawyer, but they are just not on the same page anymore.”
Miller said the play was appealing to him, as it was written by Theatre Tuscaloosa’s executive producer, Tina Turley.
“It was exciting to have the opportunity to direct a play that was written by my colleague, friend and supervisor here at Theatre Tuscaloosa,” Miller said. “She had suggested that we could use the script if we wanted to for the one acts, and I had volunteered my services to direct one of the four if I was needed and it was a good fit for me.”
“Horseshoe Bend” is the third one-act play. The setup is a simple one – three friends relax on a hot summer’s day – but the play unravels a social commentary as it goes on.
“It is a commentary on small talk,” said the director, Charles Prosser. “It is also about the interaction between three friends who have been together for a long time and they all assume certain roles within their small group. You have the one who has all the facts and tidbits of information, the guy who is not uncomfortable at all but is there with his friends and the guy who makes the off-hand comments about everything that the friend with the facts says to test him.”
The fourth play is “Something Unspoken,” a Tennessee Williams play that details the story of two women who are afraid to discuss the true importance of their bond with each other. Jennifer Guffin directs.
“It is a play about two people, who I think would like to be able to talk about something that is relevant to their lives, but they feel like society will not allow not allow them to do,” Guffin said. “What drew me to this play was that I read it and I thought the script was cleverly written and humorous.”
For more information and tickets, you can visit the Theatre Tuscaloosa website at www.theatretusc.com.
