Festival keeps things short, sweet
| Wednesday, Jun 10 2009 05:28 PM
Last Updated Wednesday, Jun 10 2009 05:28 PM
BCT One Act Festival
When: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday
Where: Bakersfield Community Theatre, 2400 S. Chester Ave.
Admission: $12, adults; $10, students and seniors
Information: Call 831-8114
'The Dumb Waiter' and 'The Collection'
When: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday
Where: The Empty Space, 706 Oak St.
Admission: Suggested donation $25 adults, $10 students
Information: Call 327-PLAY
The Brombies concert
When: 4 p.m. Sunday
Where: Private home in Bakersfield
Admission: $22, adults; $10, students
Information: Call 324-9000 for tickets and location
This year's 22nd annual One Act Festival at Bakersfield Community Theatre will feature five original plays by local authors. As the name indicates, any play submitted for the competition must tell a complete story in only one act. Not an easy job, I would think. But, said Michael Pawloski, the producer, the winning playwrights were up to the task.
"I'm really pleased with the material we have this time around," he said. "They deal with contemporary themes, and (each is) entertaining, comical, and relatable. It draws you in."
Pawloski also provided a brief synopsis of each play, along with the names of the individual playwrights and directors.
"Life After Faith," by Brian Brown; Deanna Rodgers, director. A one-act about a man named Peter who is married to a woman named Faith. After an accident in Central Park, he ends up at the gates of heaven, where he meets St. Peter, who helps him get into heaven.
"Can You Hear Me Now?" by Terry G. Phillips; Alex Mayes, director. Everyone knows that ringing cell phones interrupt a lot of things such as plays, movies and other intimate areas or situations. In this one-act, we follow the characters whose cell phones are their highest priority and don't mind if their phone interrupts this play.
"Bob," written and directed by Michael Mejia. When God -- who calls himself Bob when he's on Earth -- shows up for lunch, Jake starts asking questions. However, Jake finds the answers hard to swallow.
"Freezer Burn," written by Mejia with Pawloski directing. A hard-working single parent comes home every day to deal with her two ungrateful children. But this day ends differently when she finds out she has cancer.
"Roommates," written and directed by Andrew Price. We join three philosophically counterpointed roommates as they live out 30 minutes of their bizarre lives -- complete with time travel, accidental trips to other dimensions, nuclear fall-out, existential banter, grammatical semantics and pudding.
The shortest play runs 12 minutes, the longest a half-hour. All five will be presented at each performance, starting Friday evening. Final shows are on June 19 and 20.
Plays by Pinter
A performance of two short plays by British playwright Harold Pinter, who died last December at age 78, opens Friday evening at The Empty Space.
"Both plays are great examples of Pinter's early work, and (are) just as valid today as ever," said Guinevere PH Dethlefson, the Empty's publicist.
First on the bill is "The Dumb Waiter," which features two hit men who await their orders as the tension mounts in a basement where food is delivered by a dumb waiter. The second play, "The Collection," is filled with implications and ambiguity as it tries to determine if an affair has taken place between two dressmakers.
Brombies concert
The Brombies, a bluegrass and folksong group whose name is derived from "brumby"-- the name for the wild horses of Australia -- will present a concert Sunday afternoon at the home of Elaine McNearney and Norman Bussell.
Arts Council of Kern is the sponsor of the event, which is part of a series of intimate in-home concerts intended to encourage independent musicians. Jill Egland of the council's staff said all money from ticket sales goes to the musicians.
The Los Angeles-based Brombies includes Jo Ellen Doering, guitar; George Doering, mandolin; Bill Bryson, bass; and Patrick Sauber, banjo and guitar.
