Official Poster of One Act Auditions That Took Place on March 6.
@MCPLAYERS/COURTESY
By Isaiah Rosario, Sports Editor
As April begins, the annual Manhattan Players’ One Acts are officially back for students to witness! The production’s student directors and actors can display their talents in a festival showcasing short plays, each approximately 10 to 15 minutes long for one day only. This year’s shows and director pairings are, The Interview by James Cullen, The Understudy by Kevin Cullen, No Such Thing by Olivia Bailey, The Big Ride by Aaron Schoepf, Sides by Tess Nunan and Bobby’s Brain by Angelina Perez.
Earlier this week, Bailey met with The Quadrangle to discuss her creative spin on No Such Thing. The play focuses on the journey of two individuals, Alan and Steven. They discuss an essay that Steven wrote about his sexuality. Alan wants to see the essay get published, but it would expose Steven as gay and destroy his career.
“There are some elements that I don’t think people will expect, such as some discourse that may turn into something more,” Bailey said.
One Acts allow students to gain directorial experience, as some of the directors on the list have never directed before. Senior and president of Players Tess Nunan had the opportunity to watch the previous One Acts but expressed her ecstatic excitement about joining the show on the opposite side of the stage.
“I loved watching [One Acts] throughout the years, and it’s always something I wanted to do,” Nunan said. “In previous years, I haven’t had time to participate as it is an extra commitment, but I’m really excited to see how this all goes.”
Since One Act is seen as a festival, when picking her piece, Nunan wanted to make sure that her play would be joyous and interactive to better connect with the audience.
With directing comes the opportunity to create their own cast for the play. While auditions can come with difficult choices, there are a plethora of great candidates. Director and sophomore Kevin Cullen was appreciative and passionate about the cast he put together.
“I love my cast and the energy they bring. Every single one of them came into the auditions and just nailed it,” Cullen said. “Four or five people came in with auditions for mine, and every single one of them had me laughing.”
This year’s One Acts are specifically exciting for Cullen because despite having assistant director experience in the past, this is his first directing gig, where he gets to see his team’s and his own ideas on the stage.
Bailey had the opportunity to direct a piece in One Acts last year, which allowed her to learn from and enhance her current piece.
“I learned a bit more about what it means to be on the directing end instead of the receiving end of a show and understand when certain notes are being given,” Bailey said. “A lot goes into being constructive about your criticism for actors to keep their morale about a play.”
One Acts have been very successful in the past, and look like they will continue to achieve success this year as well. With new directors come new plays and faces on the Smith Auditorium stage, which will be full when the One Acts premiere on April 14th at 2 pm. Tickets will be available to purchase on the MC Players Instagram @playersmc.