Grandma was a stubborn old woman that spoke her mind, while Daddy humbly listened . (left) Dylan’s character was a handsome yet empty embodiment of the American Dream. (right) Mitchell Roush, Thomas Lichty, and Patrick Clark directed the annual One-Acts. (middle) Mommy, a domineering and authoritarian wife, only wants her share of the American Dream. (below)
One-Acts
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Mitch gives some pointers to the cast after dress rehearsal. (above)
The American Dream ONE ACTS Briana played the part of Mrs. Barker, an aloof and arrogant busybody (right)
Mommy ................. Caroline Gaudreault Daddy ............................ Matthew Rhea Grandma ..................... Laurel Simpson Mrs. Barker .............. Briana Van Deusen Young Man ........................... Dylan Ford Assistant Director ....... Caleb Clark Director ....................... Thomas Lichty
hat do two teenagers with romance on their minds, a narcoleptic boom mic operator, and the perfect American family have in common? The annual One-Acts of course. Three comedies and a couch: an evening of comfortable comedy was presented by the York College Theatre Department just before the Thanksgiving break. This year’s emerging directors were Mitchell Roush, Patrick Clark, and Thomas Lichty. Roush wrote Quiet on the Set earlier in the year while studying acting and entrepreneurship at The International Theatre Academy of Norway. The show is about the worst film shoot ever with the plot involving a crazed director, some self-involved actors, two pages of nonsense dialogue and a narcoleptic boom mic operator. “It’s kind of like an episode of Seinfeld. Nothing really happens, but you laugh a lot,” Roush said. Clark’s show, Dinner with the MacGuffins, focused on a typical American high school student named James, who brings his girlfriend, Karen, over for an afternoon of romance. As James and Karen attempt to make sparks fly, they are repeatedly interrupted by everything from James’ eccentric family members to the FBI. Clark, who aspires to work in the film industry, said the show was a lot of fun to direct. The final show of the evening was Edward Albee’s The American Dream, which director Thomas Lichty described as a dark comedy. “It’s funny, but it has serious undertones,” and it makes you think, said Lichty. The plot involves a married couple obsessed with the idea of having the perfect child. In the end, the audience comes to realize that the couple’s version of perfection—wealth, professional success, good looks—is purely cosmetic and ultimately empty. The young directors oversaw every detail of their productions, from script and cast selection, to budgets and set construction.
One-Acts
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