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| credit: Ben Schroth |
This past weekend, I participated in the 4th Annual Dallas One-Minute Play Fest, a co-production between local honchos Kitchen Dog Theater and One-Minute Play Festival, a national organization that swoops into communities all over the country and partners up to get a pulse on the zeitgeist. I contributed two pieces. I participated in 2014 and 2015 as well, but this one, this time was probably the most enjoyable. My pieces were directed by Emily Ernst, who I think is an SMU grad. She lead a group of mostly SMU alumni through my plays and several others.
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| This is the cast of the "clump" my two plays were in. |
As always, it is incredibly difficult to get photos from these sorts of events (it is a big criticism of mine as a playwright to not get archival materials, especially production pics, of projects like this... in particular because 1MPF gathers the plays for free. No one is paid.). The best I can do is the pic above of the stage set and ready just prior to curtain and the pic of the cast taken as a selfie and swiped from FB. I know a few of the actors, but I, sadly, didn't get to meet everyone.
The event did garner some nice press... here, here and here.
As I have done in the past, I'll post my one-minute plays here. I was pleased with them this year. I was especially pleased that I didn't fall into the political-activist-low-hanging fruit trap of writing about Trump or some other nonsense. Not that I don't have a lot to say about it, but beciase I don't think a one-minute performance is the right platform to do any real exploration of such a topic. I am also pleased that I managed to make the plays very specific to Dallas, my city. They can't be moved to another festival in another city and still make a bunch of sense (well, maybe the LISTICLES one, maybe...)
# # #
GEOGRAPHY OF A DALLASITE by Brad McEntire
NARRATOR: As a kid...
Two KIDS enter. The age group pairing enters
each time they are referenced, throughout…
KID 1: The suburbs are so boring. man.
KID 2: I wish we lived in the middle of
the city
NARRATOR: In your teens...
TEEN 1: Yeah, Deep Ellum's okay.
TEEN 2: I heard it used to be better.
NARRATOR: In your 20's...
HIPSTER 1: I'll meet you at the Double Wide.
Or Somewhere in Expo Park.
HIPSTER 2: Let's do Bishop Arts. They just put in a
new Microbrew place.
NARRATOR: In your 30's...
THIRTIES 1: I am never leaving Old Monk.
THIRTIES 2: I am never leaving Uptown.
NARRATOR: In Your 40's...
FORTIES 1: I am never leaving the Old Monk.
FORTIES 2: Unless it is to go to… (together) The Lakewood Landing.
NARRATOR: In Your 50's...
FIFTIES 1: Are we going out tonight?
FIFTIES 2: Nah. I might do some work. Or, what is on
to watch tonight on HBO?
NARRATOR: In your 60's...
SIXTIES 1: Honey, I think I'll give some money to
the Arts District. After all, we go once a month.
SIXTIES 2: (on
phone) Yeah, bring the grandkids over. We're just here in the suburbs.
End.
# # #
LISTICLES by Brad McEntire
Lights up. A
group of Dallasites run on in as a mob.
SPOKESPERSON: Okay. What do we want? Serious
journalism?
ALL: (cheering) No.
SPOKEPERSON: Indepth reporting?
ALL: (cheering) No.
NED: Fake News?
Everyone stops cold. The SPOKESPERSON
walks slowly up to NED. Then, quietly, with bottled intensity…
SPOKESPERSON: I will punch you in your filthy face…
NED: Well, what do we
want?
SPOKESPERSON: (turning
to everyone else) What do we want?
ALL: Listicles!
CROWDPERSON 1: 7 Places to Get the Best Queso in Oak
Cliff!
CROWDPERSON 2: Top 5 places to take a First Date in Uptown
for Under $500!
CROWDPERSON 3: Best 9 custom hat shops in Highland Park!
ALL: Listicles!
CROWDPERSON 4: 3 Best Humans in Deep Ellum!
CROWDPERSON 5: 5 Most Disappointing Sports Mascots in
DFW!
CROWDPERSON 6: 9 Most Outrageous Burgers in the
Metroplex!
ALL: Listicles!
NED: Top 10 List of
Listicles!
ALL: Yeah, listicles!
Then they all
run off as a swarm. Blackout.
# # #
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