THR 421 One Person Shows

WHAT IS IT? THR 421 is a class focused on the creation and production of a one person show.

The students learn how to write, direct, act and produce a one person show, ending the class in a final showcase.

THE PAINTING

by Charlotte Langford

NOT MY CIRCUS

by Meg Ayers

LOVE’S DEADLY EMBRACE

by Michelle Rizzo

TOBY’S CURIOSITIES

by Trevor Handlin

AN ODE TO THE AUDITION

by Nathan Tilley

HAND ME DOWN LOVE

by Dyllan Hutchison

“A painting in love with her painter”, is the first thought I had when I sat down to write my show. How would a painting see her artist? How would she react to being forced away from the love of her life to live in a museum, and how would she experience the world around her?

Charlotte is a senior, getting her major in Theatre Education, with a minor in Dance.

She currently works at a Montessori school as their resident Drama Instructor and as a Toddler Assistant Guide, but hopes to move to public education after graduation.

Charlotte wants to explore teaching overseas as well, to integrate her love of cultures and travel into her everyday job.

Thank you to her family, her friends, her current students in the Adolescent Class at Mountainside, her wonderful classmates and Mimsi Janis for all the love and encouragement they have given her during this process. Thank you!

Anyone who has ever talked to me about clowns and circus performance— even just for a few moments— knows I could ramble on and on as it also includes the Fool characters in Shakespeare and jesters in general and how they are seen as silly characters, but often are also of the most clever in the room. I brainstormed many ideas for how I could express that and decided to go a more non-serious route that is fun to perform and that I feel subverts expectations yet also is very fitting. This piece is also very much inspired by my friends and I hope to make them proud. Enjoy!

Meg Ayers is a senior earning her B.A. in Theater with a concentration in Theatre Studies and a minor in Film & Media Studies. Meg prides herself in being an artist in the entertainment industry and enjoys learning new things and getting to expand on the things she already loves. Meg is also the a Teaching Artist with Acting For Young People, the Community Service Chair for GMU’s chapter of Alpha Psi Omega, an Equity Empowerment Manager for Players4Change, and is the student leader for The Kilroys Playreading Club. When not working on theatrical pieces, she is working on a feature film passion project of hers: The Belated Show: The Opening Act as the writer, creator, and director.

Meg would like to thank her family, cats, friends, classmates, and Mimsi Janis for supporting her and helping her never apologize for her art.

Coming from my own experiences, how can loneliness affect you? How dead inside do you feel? That life around you is just falling apart. But in reality, you have everything and everyone you need right where you are.

You might even realize some things you hadn’t considered before.

Michelle is a senior, getting a Bachelor’s in Fine Arts by majoring in Theater with a concentration in performance for the stage and camera. Her main focus is film, and plans on moving to the Atlanta area in September of 2024 to pursue her dream.

Michelle dedicates this piece to those who feel like life hasn’t brought anyone new into their lives and how hard it’s been being lonely, but to also look back on the people who are already in their life and see the love was there all along. Cherish those relationships. Michelle wants to thank her classmates as well as Mimsi Janis for pushing her to be true to herself and that showing vulnerability is safe.

Only god knows how I came up with Toby and his Curiosities. I considered the wonder in our everyday objects, and about how we take our everyday needs and nessecities for granted. While Toby would never take our daily tools for anything but a miracle.

Trevor is a senior at George Mason, getting a BFA with a concentration in Theatre Performance. Trevor currently is experimenting in exploring career paths through video editing and YouTube content creation. Trevor’s past theatre playwriting credits include, “The Moon is Changing and So Are We” “I Shouldn’t Have Stuffed My Muffin with Jelly.” which have been performed at Mason Originals.

As a fan of all things Oz, I wanted to pay homage to the film while touching on my own personal journey as an artist. Not only have I been incredibly inspired by the film, and all of its adaptations, I also find Judy Garland to be an icon for the ages who has fought for the preservation of hope. I aspire to do the same in my lifetime. For without hope, what is there?

Nathan Tilley is a senior Theatre Major with a concentration in Performance. Nathan has worked as a dramaturg for several productions at Mason including but not limited to Sutta, Just Like Us, and You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown. You may have seen Nathan in the 2023 Mason Player Originals, The Night Knights, or Eurydice.

He has also had the pleasure of directing the staged reading of La Belle Indifference, which premieres December 1st at 2:00 PM. Finally, Nathan would like to express his gratitude towards his peers, and Mimsi Janis for their support and guidance over the semester and past four years.

Hand Me Down Love was inspired by my many rabbit hole discoveries of trinkets from my past that I find while cleaning my room. I wanted to write a play that captures those feelings of walking down memory lane that also allow us to see how far we’ve come in our life Dyllan is a senior this year at George Mason pursuing a BFA in performing arts. Some notable credits from her time here at Mason so far include the role of Sir Captain Snoozealot in The Night Knights, and Cassandra in Fallen, playwright of Seven Years Time and So, Two Spies Walk into a Restaurant for the Mason Players Originals, and the president of the Mason Improv Association.