The Magnetic Theatre’s Brief Encounters Introduces Five New One-Acts
When a burgeoning playwright sees a script come to life, the experience is unparalleled. As part of its ongoing playwright development program, The Magnetic Theatre will help make this dream a reality for several locals in the fourth edition of Brief Encounters June 4–25 at Magnetic 375. The five one-acts featured in this series were chosen from a number of submissions, which covered a range of genres.
“I hope that this year’s installment of Brief Encounters shows just how much theatrical writing talent we have locally in Western North Carolina,” says Lucia Gray, coproducer with Steven Samuels. “The one-acts were chosen for their clarity of voice, purpose, humor, and dramatic arc.”
A total of five people will make their Magnetic Theatre directing debut, and one of the playwrights is also directing his own one-act. Lucia says, “Two different plays have similar plots in that they are both uncomfortable conversations between a parent and child, but one is comedic and involves a father and his teenage son, and another is dramatic between two parents and their adult son visiting from New York.” In another play, three characters awaken to find themselves in an ever-shrinking safe zone in the middle of nowhere. There’s also the one about a creatively manipulative insurance saleswoman and there’s also a dark, but comic, tragedy about an elderly Jewish stand-up comic, the son of Holocaust survivors, who faces his own death.
Preview shows ($16 online, $19 at the door) will take place on Thursday and Friday, June 2–3. Regular performances ($21 online, $24 at the door) run June 4–25, Thursday through Saturday. Student rush tickets ($10) are available 15 minutes before the curtain with ID. For more information, visit themagnetictheatre.org. All shows begin at 7:30 P.M. Magnetic 375 is located at 375 Depot Street in the River Arts District.
