Photo via Village Playhouse
The show does go on, even in this continued Age of Pandemic, for the Village Playhouse. Its 35th Annual Original One Act Festival was canceled last summer due to COVID-19.But VP will live stream two of the seven plays chosen on January 12: The Interview by Carol Ratliff Drury and Old Friends by Jon Kolb.
Tom Zuehlke, the festival’s producer and VP Board Secretary explains that staging these original works benefits all the creative types involved. “The one act festival has been such a success since 1984 because playwrights need a venue to show their work.” And given the highly creative nature of the original works, anything can happen during the festival. “Maybe we can get monkeys to fly in our audiences’ imagination,” says Zuehlke. “We once had a show where we interactively made the audience part of the cast.”
And keeping the show going—via live streaming—gives the artistic side a chance to stay creatively limber. “Actors and directors can work on honing their craft and create something no one else has done before,” emphasizes Zuehlke, adding “ and audiences see a variety of theatrical world premieres.”
It’s a safe and original way to usher in 2021.
The two selections from the 35th Annual Original One Act Festival will be live streamed on the Village Playhouse Facebook page beginning at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 12. For more information, call: 414-207-4879 or visit VillagePlayhouse.org
