Series C: Marathon of One-Act Plays
About the show
Ensemble Studio Theatre presents Series C of its 36th annual one-act play marathon, featuring 15 plays presented in three separate lineups. See Series A and Series B. More…
'The Good Muslim' by Zakiyyah Alexander, directed by William Carden: Aliah is a New Yorker and a hard-working college student, but, she's also a Muslim-American in a troubled time. A play about being comfortable in your own skin...or hijab.
'Female Beginner' by Edith Freni. directed by Jessica Holt: On the night of an important fundraising dinner for her father's reelection campaign, 18-year-old "Golden Child" Amelia challenges the content of a speech she's been asked to give in his honor.
'Good Results Are Difficult When Indifference Predominates' by Amy Fox, directed by Morgan Gould: Two cousins grapple with the legacy of their grandmother as they prepare their pussy hats for the Women's March on Washington, D.C.
'Intensive Care' by Donald Marcus, directed by Jamie Richards: Late one night, two strangers from different worlds meet in a deserted Florida cafeteria.
'Santa Doesn't Come to the Holiday Inn' by Elyzabeth Wilder, directed by Julie Kramer: When Annie and Peter get stuck together in a hotel room, they try to keep the magic of Christmas alive for their daughter, despite their failed marriage.
“‘Series C’ did not disappoint. It’s a masterful playwright who can whisk you away, create an arc, and circle back to a satisfying conclusion all in one act, and each of the playwrights in this series manage to do just that…Scenes complete with detailed props change effortlessly and transform with professional precision. It is obvious that the richness of each production is aided by extremely skilled and talented lighting, scenic, props, technical, costume, and sound people.” Full Review
“Zakiyyah Alexander’s piece tackles assimilation, racism and sexism. This would be a lot even for two acts, and at just under 30 minutes the play feels like the précis for a full length work rather than a self-contained effort…None of the four other plays in the series match ‘The Good Muslim’ in ambition, though Donald Marcus’s compact two-hander ‘Intensive Care’ succeeds by making the most out of economy.” Full Review
"Connect too many dots and it just seems as though you’re halfway to an underwhelming full-length treatment. Unfortunately, that is the case with Alexander’s wooden 'The Good Muslim'...'Female Beginner' has a political point to make, but it’s mired in melodrama; 'Santa Doesn’t Come to the Holiday Inn' verges on mawkish...'Intensive Care' serves as a model of emotionally loaded concision...'Good Results Are Difficult When Indifference Predominates' provides a rousing, hilarious end." Full Review
“‘Santa Doesn’t Come to the Holiday Inn’ is a slice of life moment with absolutely no point of view, and no action…There was no energy on stage…‘Intensive Care’ is a perfect little gem of a one-act play. Beautifully written, sensitively directed, with delicious acting by Grenier and Conger. ‘The Good Muslim’ is ambitious and overly complicated…The final one-act of the evening is as forced and unwieldy as its title, ‘Good Results Are Difficult When Indifference Predominates.” Full Review
See it if you want a show to discuss with others afterward, if you want to see really great acting.
Don't see it if you want a big production.
See it if you enjoy seeing one act plays in development, fine acting, minimal sets and a wide variety of themes. EST always comes through,
Don't see it if you don't enjoy one act plays which often are just short of fine tuning, but engage nevertheless. You need a full blown set, multiple acts
Also Ensemble Studio Theater's series of one acts is always enjoyable. it's... Read more Read less
See it if you appreciate short dramas on sparse set, wide range of quality of writing/acting from the banal Female Beginner to must see Intensive Care
Don't see it if you demand consistent quality of acting and writing in a single drama, comedy or musical of more than one act, elaborate set and clear plot
See it if you're willing to take the good with the half-baked. I particularly enjoyed "The Good Muslim" quite a bit but the pieces were uneven.
Don't see it if you're expecting high production value and high quality across the board. This is a cool, scrappy way to test out a bunch of new work.
See it if You want to see 5 plays that have some character studies, but need much more development
Don't see it if You are looking for interesting, well written drama
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