The ACT 2 Theatre Company will present “Set Me FREE!” a performance of 2 one-act plays. Performances are set for one weekend only June 25, 26, 27 at 7:30 pm and June 28 at 2:00 pm in Clarksburg.
The first play on the bill, Overtones by Alice Gerstenberg, is about two women. But in this play it takes four women to play them. Different, you say? Well, it was different in 1915 when the play first was performed by the Washington Square Players at the Bandbox Theater in New York. Some critics called it “Freud on Broadway” because it was the first time a play explored the unconscious in a character. Ego and Id battle it out as these publicly refined women ponder their innermost desires and selves.
Cast for Overtones:
Misty Wills as Harriet
Kaici Ellison as Hetty
Jessica LeMasters as Margaret
Jordan Kennedy Rea as Maggie
After a short intermission we’ll present The Most Massive Woman Wins by Madeleine George. This is a more contemporary play that takes place in the waiting room of a liposuction clinic where 4 women wait, thinking about what they are about to do… and why. With dialogue, monologues, and even schoolyard rhymes these ladies talk about experiences with their weight and self-image. Martin Hernandez of LA Weekly said the play is “…a thought-provoking glimpse at the anguished consequences for women trying to conform to society’s often unattainable image of female beauty.”
Cast for The Most Massive Woman Wins:
Jordan Kennedy Rea as Rennie
Kaici Ellison as Sabine
Susan Capicotto Nichols as Cel
Misty Wills as Carl
Both plays deal with adult themes and are not recommended for children. The Most Massive Woman Wins contains adult language and partial nudity (cast members in underwear).
“Set Me FREE!” is directed by Cricket (formerly Suzie) Hall, who is a new director for the ACT 2 Theatre Company, but not new to directing and acting. She is a graduate of Fairmont State University’s Communication and Theatre Arts program where she appeared in The Good Woman of Szechwan, The Grouch, and Forced Out (Part of Poof Plus! an evening of one acts). She also directed The Vagina Monologues two years she was a student and produced it the other two. (Proceeds from those performances always go to local women’s shelters and anti-violence programs). Cricket’s true passion is playwriting. Last December, ACT 2 sponsored an open public reading of her play One in Four at Waldomore. She also costume designed our last show, What the Bellhop Saw. She lives in Clarksburg with her husband, John, and three active and creative children.
Performances will be at the Friedlander’s Center, 354 West Main Street in Clarksburg (home of Starving Artist Studio). Seating is café style (at round tables). Admission is $10 per person. Theatre-goers may also reserve a table for 8 for $70. Reservations are accepted via act2theatre@gmail.com (preferred) or by leaving a message at 304-918-0010.