one acts

The One-Act Play Program guides three to four senior members of the Our Time teen company through a six-month process of writing and directing an original one-act play. The plays are performed by professional actors at an Off-Broadway theatre each December. Previous actors featured in the Our Time One-Acts have included Jace Alexander, David Alan Basche, Maddie Corman, Dashiell Eaves, Ned Eisenberg, Angelina Fiordellisi, Kathryn Grody, Marianne Hagan, Joel Higgins, Richard Kind, Ezra Knight, Janio Marrero, Keira Naughton, Tim Ransom, Alysia Reiner, Armando Riesco, Paul Rudd, Shirley Rumierk. A question and answer session with the audience follows each show. The teens are questioned about the process of writing and directing the plays and also about their lives as people who stutter.

Teens are selected for the One-Act Play Program based on seniority, their commitment level, and their potential to thrive in this artistic process. Although the teens are individually mentored throughout the One-Act Play Program, all final decisions regarding the plays are made exclusively by the teens, ensuring their complete creative control and giving them a powerful feeling of accomplishment.

Taro Alexander (Our Time's Artistic Director) and Liz Tuccillo (Sex and The City, He's Just Not That Into You) work with the teens individually as they write their plays. Once the scripts are complete a professional director mentors them in the directing process. With this program, Our Time gives experienced teen members an opportunity to take their creative skills to the next level and supports them as they develop their talent. Each one-act play runs approximately 20-30 minutes in length and all are performed back to back on the same evening. The One-Act Play Program further exposes the teen writers/directors to production elements such as lighting, sets, costumes, and sound as they are responsible for these creative decisions as well.

Previous productions include:

Chicken Soup & Ammonia, written and directed by Dmitry Shein, The Dr. is In, written and directed by Cooper Smith, and prince Charming of the Text Message, written and directed by Philip Garber (Five Angels Theater, 2011)

The Search for a Suitable Man, written and directed by Alina Davis, I learned More Than Love, written and directed by Salina Sessoms, and How Am I Different From You, written and directed by Jaide Del-Valle (Five Angels Theater, 2010)

The Life I Once Lived, written and directed by Ashlee Walsh, Until Now, written and directed by Michelle Polinsky, and With All My Heart, written and directed by Alison Williams (Peter Jay Sharp Theater, 2009)

A Playlist Worth a Thousand Words, written and directed by Danielle Diesu, Cherish Every Moment, written and directed by Tom King, and Mendacity, written and directed by Edward Mawere (Cherry Lane Theatre, 2008).

Grey, written and directed by Andre Gillyard, Angelita's Story, written and directed by Todd Lauderdale, and Anxiety, written and directed by Ned Bealy (Cherry Lane Theatre, 2007).

A Sister's Hope, written and directed by Fern Schlesinger, 2 Train, written and directed by Jonathan Greig, The Perfect Place, written and directed by Keith Russell (Theatre Three, 2006)

If You Got It... Flaunt It, written and directed by Naudia Jones, Body Language, written and directed by Yoni Messing, I, Man On Stage, written and directed by Donny Sethi, So You Think You Know Me, written and directed by Angelina Bruno-Metzger (Theatre Three, 2005)

Evicting Yourself, written and directed by Corom Buksha, A Beautiful Love Story About 2 Friends, written and directed by Linda Gjonbalaj, Election Night, written and directed by David Nachman (Theatre Three, 2004)

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