One-act play festivals can be a risky hodgepodge. More often than not, they are a slush pile of the good, the bad, and the ugly. If you are lucky, there are a few gems amid the stinkers, and the evening passes unremarkably enough.
However, this 10-minute play festival by the Circle X Theatre Company is a stellar exception to the rule. The writing is high-level, in some case inspiring, and the acting and directing by the ensemble company are uniformly solid.
Of course, a few gems stand out from all the rest. "Workshop," a monologue by playwright Lee Blessing, is a marvel of dramatic language and structure, brilliantly performed by Jennifer A. Skinner. In this work woven from a prosaic incident at a workshop reading, Blessing offers wonderfully textured language and great emotional resonance.
"Show Chicken" by Leo Geter offers a surreal, inventive and funny take not only on redneck reality but also on the American dream. "Rum Pah Pah Pah" by Fielding Edlow (who also performs in the piece) introduces a familiar but hilariously drawn character who spits out pithy, priceless dialogue.
"Bad Apples" by Jim Leonard turns the life of an Iraq war veteran into a choreographed music video with a decidedly political twist. "Gi-Normous" by Timothy Mason is a cautionary tale about the dangers of Viagra, while "Work in Progress" by Melanie Marnich is an elegy on the perils and pleasures of plastic surgery.
"This Is How We Live" by Mike O'Malley is a very funny exegesis on why men should not read sex advice columns. "Our Trip to Paris" by James Duff is a look inside the treacherous shoals of marital therapy, and "The Meeting" by Meredith Stiehm is about the bittersweet meeting of former lovers.
The cast—Larry Clarke, Lisa Dring, Edlow, Suzy Jane Hunt, Jen Kays, Robert Manning Jr., Johanna McKay, Bill Salyers, Skinner, Doug Sutherland, and Tim Wright—is excellent in multiple roles. Directors Jim Anzide, Matt Bretz, Heath Cullens, Tom Elliott, Geter, Matthew McCray, Kiff Scholl, Jonathan Westerberg, and Wright deliver the goods with a deft, light touch.
Presented by Circle X Theatre Company at the Atwater Village Theatre, 3269 Casitas Ave., Atwater Village. Feb. 25–Mar. 26. Fri.–Sat., 8 p.m. (323) 644-1929. www.circlextheatre.org.
