The infectious love of the Theater. The lights, the sounds, costumes, the makeup.. All combine to transport us from our over produced lives into a world of laughter or deep thoughts and revelations, weaving a spell of magic that for 90 minutes, expresses itself as love, the deep seeded love of the experience by those on stage as a gift to us, the audience.
Nowhere is the love more raw, more apparent than in community theater, where amateurs come together joined in love on weekend nights and sometimes matinees, with no more reward than the laughter and tears they evoke, and at the end, hopefully the applause.
The Ridgefield Theater Barn, in business since1965, is the premier representation of this magic in the area. From the relaxed, yet professional staff, ready to manage the myriad of unknowns that can come up with live theater, to the talented neighbors on stage doing what makes their hearts sing.
RTB’s annual “An Evening of One Act’s” is a light, comical evening, well curated by the One Act Play committee, led by Paulette Layton. Over 250 unpublished One Acts were submitted, and the committee whittled it down to 7 comedies of various lengths culminating in 90 minutes of intermission-less entertainment.
Much like live action short films, the one act play needs to be concise, to the point, and not overly complicated, giving the audience the opportunity to sample the writers wit and command of the language, and the performers ability to wholly commit to characters with an abbreviated arc of action and words.
Each directed by a different director, these short, one scene plays all deliver laughs; some discrete twitters, some out and out belly laughs, all done with such joy radiating from the company of performers that no matter how you arrived at the theater, you can’t help but feel better when you leave.
Each play has a different theme, but all of them have some sort of turning point, or twist, which changes the direction you thought the piece was heading.
Set on a black stage with minimal props and scenic elements, the suspension of disbelief the theater requires of an audience is created using the written word and the performances only.
Whether it be an office building ledge several stories up as in Alex Dremann’s well crafted “Precipice” or the cabin of a spacecraft ready to launch in Guy R Newsham’s hilarious “10…9…8…” this talented ensemble takes us right along with them.
Highlights of the evening include the afore mentioned shows, opening with “Precipice “adroitly directed by Mark Hankla. This comic roller coaster ride tells the story of two people, Ron (David Imm) and Angela (Erin Sullivan) who discover their truths through a joint existential crisis. Dremann’s characters are well executed, and beautifully played by Mr. Imm and Ms. Sullivan. The arc of the action is such that in a brief time, we, as an audience, get a few different switchbacks and a resolution, with each building on what came before. This play was perfectly placed to ease the audience into the freedom to laugh, bringing in both the humor in the dialog and the physical comedy inherent in the location on the ledge.
Daniel Basiletti (Ricky) and Jennifer Hankla (Helen,) are hilarious in the Pia Haas directed “I Just Sneezed With a Mouthful of Coffee and I Do Not Recommend It,” By Scott Mullen, which falls into the third slot of the evening. This funny piece, set in an ER waiting room, brings two hypochondriacs together, finding love through mutual phobias and in the process, learning a bit of what’s underneath the things that control their lives. Well written and directed, this more realized moment of theater is funny and sweet, and presented with just the right depth to make us think but keep us laughing.
Newsham’s “10…9…8...” mentioned earlier, is an absurdist romp into near space, with Commanding Officer (Tim Brandt) and First Officer (JoJo Keane) being joined by a reality TV contestant 2nd Officer(Allison Valentino). Ms. Valentino steals the scene as the too real 2nd Officer, although Mr Brandt and Ms. Keane make her work for it. In this piece, the launch starts to go horribly wrong, comically loosening the mouths of long time co workers finding love as their lives flash before them. Director Matt Pagliaro must be commended for navigating the landscape of this piece so well.
Some of the biggest laughs of the night were found in Kate Danley’s “Staging” directed by Craig David Rosen, who also was our lovely host for the evening. Without giving too much away, just imagine the humor available when a family misunderstands the term “Staging” when selling their home. This One Act had the largest cast of the night, who truly exemplified the term “ensemble” keeping the action whizzing by, barely giving us time to catch our breaths between laughs. The cast is made up of Kristin Aug(Stu), Jennifer Hankla(Joan),David Imm(Marty), Addis Engel(Pat),Cheryl Hughes(Realtor), and Erin Sullivan(Buyer,).
Rounding the night off was the beautiful and funny “The Home For Retired Canadian Girlfriends” by John Bavoso, directed by Nancy Ponturo. Daniel Basiletti as Rupert, and Katie Koslowski as Tiffany elevated this smart script by managing to give depth and levels to their respective characters, without missing a single one of the comic moments. It was a terrific way to end the enjoyable evening.
The Other Plays included in this year’s offering are “Mr. M’s Slaughterous Thoughts,” Written by Ryan Armstrong, directed by Michael Ferrara, featuring JoJo Keane(Director,) Bill Warncke(Mr M.), and Maria Grace Allen(Seyton), Rich Orloff’s “Location, Location, Location” starring Bill Warncke(Roger) and Tami McCarthy(Michelle) directed by Hunter Brady.
“An Evening of One Acts” opened Friday, March 8th and runs Friday and Saturday evenings through the 30th at 8pm, with Sunday matinees March 17th and 24th at 2pm. Special performances are March 17th (“Pay-What-You-Want”) and March 29th (Alcohol-Free evening).
The Ridgefield Theater Barn maintains their signature cabaret theater style, and audience members are encouraged to bring food and drink to enjoy before the show. Light refreshments are also available in the lobby. Tickets are $35 for adults, $30 for seniors, students, and veterans and doors open one hour prior to curtain. More information and reservations are available at www.ridgefieldtheaterbarn.org.