One Act Plays return to the Pinnacle Playhouse

By Peter Paylor

Short plays are making

a comeback…again. In the early twentieth century, the triple bill was still a popular part of the theatre season – three short plays in place of one long one. Actors loved them, because they gave lesser-known members of the company an opportunity to show what they could do. But attendance began to wane. Producers found that they needed to stick with the big-name stars if they wanted to fill big houses, and big-name stars only wanted big roles. They wanted no part of short plays.

Lamenting the decline of the short play, Noël Coward took on the challenge of reviving the form in 1936 with Tonight at 8:30, a series of nine one-act plays that would run three at a time on successive evenings. “A short play,” he wrote, “having a great advantage over a long one in that it can sustain a mood without technical creaking or over-padding, deserves a far better fate, and if, by careful writing and producing I can do a little towards reinstating it in its rightful place, I shall have achieved one of my more sentimental ambitions.” The shows ran for 157 performances in London’s West End and another 118 on Broadway before Coward grew tired and decided to move on. The one-act play was soon relegated to amateur community theatres, and even then, mostly to regional festivals until the festivals themselves started disappearing one by one.

The Belleville Theatre Guild (BTG) revived the one-act format in 2014 with their First Annual Evening of One-Act Plays, a series that ran for several years. After a brief hiatus, they return this year with Theatre August—a showcase of six one-act plays, most written by local playwrights.

Picton’s Keith Taylor is no stranger to BTG audiences, having had several oneact plays produced in recent years, including Tea and Cookies, which won the Audience Choice Award at the Eastern Ontario Drama League One-Act Play Festival in 2023. Taylor returns with Her Parents, directed by Abbie Schmitz. Taylor’s introduction to playwriting was through a course at Loyalist College taught by veteran Stirling playwright Caroline Smith. This time around, Smith has her own play included in the program, Pork Chops, which is her first oneact play “I have an ideas file,” she says. “I came across six pages I wrote one morning a couple of years ago and I thought there might be an idea there…not a big enough idea for a full-length play, but then all of a sudden…”

“You can get a lot of story packed into a little bit of time,” she says. “It’s a lesson in how to keep the stars in unison.” Smith is directing her own play. “I’m a control freak,” she says.

Hope For the Future is a post-apocalyptic zombie play by Belleville’s Matthew Sheahan. “The title is ironic,” he says. “The play asks whether we’re ever really searching for a way forward or if we’re just looking for a way to control people. Zombies are a metaphor. There are no zombies in the play.” Sheahan teaches drama at Prince Edward Collegiate Institute in Picton. Before submitting the script, he had his students read the play. “It’s great to have that access,” he says. “It’s a learning tool for them as well…to see me make myself vulnerable for them just as I’m asking them to be more vulnerable for me.” The play is directed by Teresa Marie Allen. “I’m happy about that,” says Sheahan. “I have confidence she can deal with the darker side. I’ve seen her do it before.”

“It feels good to have trust from the playwright,” says Allen. “And it feels good that the playwright is also a friend. I’m excited. I can’t wait to see what we can come up with.”

Adam Orr is directing Sylvia and Me by Belleville playwright Margaret Ruttan. After many years in the theatre, both on stage and off, this is Orr’s first time directing. “It’s great to have the playwright there to help guide me,” he says. “Margaret has been there before. I also have a great cast. No one will let me go wrong.”

Rounding out the program are They’re At It Again Johnny, written and directed by Belleville’s Leondra King and Three Inch Heels by Ottawa’s Ron Davies, directed by Bryan Coates. For King, this marks the first time one of her plays has been produced—an exciting milestone for any playwright.

Theatre August: Six One Act Plays runs August 22, 23 and 24 at The Pinnacle Playhouse.

bellevilletheatreguild.ca