MTVarts will host its second annual “A Night of One-Acts” on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, Jan. 12-14, with three performances held at warehouse14, located at 14 E. Ohio Avenue in Mount Vernon. Tickets are $7 and can be purchased at www.mtvarts.com. Once on the home page, choose “A Night of One-Acts” under the 2024 Season or Events for link to purchase tickets. Based on availability, tickets will also be sold at the door.
The first show is “Ascension Day” by Timothy Mason. On the banks of a beautiful lake, nine teenagers pursue the normal church-camp activities: learning life-saving techniques, enduring “nature tip” lectures, and delivering dreaded spiritual “testimonials.” The focus of the play falls on two sisters, Faith and Charity, as they move unconsciously and inadvertently from a relationship of affection and trust toward a rift which seems likely to be permanent.
“Ascension Day” is directed by Christopher Hartman with Assistant Director Mary Harris and Music Direction by Kylie Stadler. The cast consists of Kale Oswalt as Randy, Gabby Fuller as Charity, Molly Smith as Faith, Alex Diehl as Jerry, Antonio Rojas as Danny, Mehmet Ali Schubel as Wesley, Mary Harris as June, Madison Sichina as Joyce, and Dori McCoy as Mary-Lois.
The second show is “The Whole Shebang” by Rich Orloff. This play asks the question, “What if the entire universe was just some nerd’s science project?” In a classroom in a dimension far beyond ours, a student striving for a “Master of the Universe” degree gives an oral presentation on an unusual thesis — the creation of the heavens and the earth. Two professors and a dean interrogate the student and his two visual aids, a “typical man and woman.”
“The Whole Shebang” is directed by Mary Harris with Christopher Hartman as Assistant Director. The cast consists of Mason Mickley as the Student, Steve Jefferson as the Dean, Cate Blair-Wilhelm as the Professor with Scarf, Kylie Stadler as the Professor with Fez, Thor Collard as Harvey, and Abigail Tayse as Edna.
Black Box at warehouse14 emphasizes a theatre experience in a smaller setting, which fosters an atmosphere of connection and intimacy between both actors and, audience. To ensure that this relationship between theater-goers and actors is established, seating is limited to 70 seats per performance.
