Enigma Variations by David Ives

ACT proudly presents Enigma Variations, by David Ives. This evening of scenes is filled with mystery, murder, mayhem, medicine, and… mayflies. Yes, mayflies!

Dr. Fritz

An American tourist in need of medical attention goes to a gift shop and gets more than he bargained for when a crazed German doctor recommends surgery.

Mystery at Twicknam Vicarage

Jeremy Thumpington-Fffienes is dead as a doornail but the bumbling detective and his three unsuspecting suspects are closer to solving crimes of philosophy than the murder.

Arabian Nights

Perfectly normal Norman is searching for a perfectly normal souvenir when he meets perfectly normal Flora. An out of the ordinary interpreter is determined to make sure their passionate romance is not lost in translation.

Time Flies

Tragic revelations turn the ordinary lives of two young mayflies head over wings as they watch a documentary featuring the renowned voice of British naturalist David Attenborough.

Enigma Variations

Bebe W.W. Doppelgänger questions her identity and seeks counseling from William W. Williams and his nurse Fifi, who might be Aphrodite, Goddess of Love - or not.

Degas, C'est Moi*

One morning a man wakes up and decides: “I am Degas.” What place other than the wondrous city of New York could he have chosen to fill his canvasses?

*not included in the GrAFiTi festival program

“[C]omedies that embrace the little guy — or, in the case of the first playlet, the little fly.”

--The New York Times

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Ken Ludwig's
Shakespeare in Hollywood

ACT proudly presents a new production
full of sorcery, serendipity, and slapstick.

Lights! Camera! Abracadabra!

ACT is bringing magic back to Old Hollywood with Shakespeare in Hollywood by the modern master of farce, Ken Ludwig. Originally commissioned by The Royal Shakespeare Company, Shakespeare in Hollywood premiered at the Arena Stage in Washington, DC.

Thanks to the marvels of fairy magic, Shakespeare's mischievous duo Oberon and Puck are unwittingly transported to the set of Max Reinhardt's Hollywood blockbuster production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

The pair is left to wander the streets of Hollywood, fall in love with its glitz and glam and wreak havoc at every turn. No star or starlet is safe from their hijinks and no movie set has ever been hit with so much fairy dust.

From divas and ingénues to flowers that pack a punch, Shakespeare in Hollywood promises to have you laughing from "Action!"

Watch our SiH Mockumentary trailer:

 

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David Ives'
All in the Timing

ACT is back- with five thoughtful and hilarious modern comedies by the new yorker playwright David Ives. Join us again for a fun-filled Evening of Scenes featuring philosophical monkeys, laughable languages, ridiculous revolutionaries, cheese steak sandwiches, and some serious romance.

Philadelphia

Al and Mark are stuck in a “Philadelphia”--a world where in order to get what you want, you have to ask for the opposite. Their orders are taken, and sometimes filled, by a weary waitress.

Sure Thing

Bill and Betty are star crossed lovers whose chance encounter covers everything from dating don’ts to saying “I do.”

The Universal Language

Dawn has a terrible stutter. Don has a money-making scheme involving a universal language that is guaranteed to cure a stutter. Will Dawn fall for the scam or for Don?

Variations on the Death of Trotsky

Trotsky meets his earthly demise in eight different ways, each with a revolutionary flair that only Trotsky himself could pull off.

Words, Words, Words

Three little monkeys are given typewriters to use while scientists watch, waiting for one of the monkeys to start typing Hamlet.

"Theater that aerobicizes the brain and tickles the heart ... Ives is a mordant comic who has put the play back in playwright."

Time

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Oscar Wilde's Classic
The Importance of Being Earnest

Life couldn't possibly be more boring or decadent for Algernon Montcrieff and his best friend Jack Worthing. Both gentlemen are rich, educated, handsome... and avoid responsibility whenever possible.

Algernon flees to the country and Jack escapes to the city whenever either catches wind of a possible impending duty. Cecily, Jack’s precocious ward in the country, believes that Jack is looking after his younger, reckless, (and imaginary!) brother Ernest—the name he uses while in London. Jack wishes to marry the city girl of his dreams, Gwendolen, but is heartbroken when he learns that she could only love a man named Ernest. To make matters worse, Gwendolen’s battleaxe of a mother, Lady Bracknell, refuses to give her consent to the marriage because Jack is an orphan.

Meanwhile, Algernon is quite intrigued by Cecily and travels to the countryside pretending to be Ernest, Jack’s irresponsible brother. Much to Algernon’s delight, Cecily instantly falls head over heels for the man she has heard so much about for years. When Jack returns to the country estate, mourning the sudden tragic death of his brother Ernest, chaos ensues. The gentlemen’s lies pile up as fast as the laughs as Cecily and Gwendolen discover they are both engaged to “Ernest.” This classic comedy by Oscar Wilde promises to have you laughing from start to finish!

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An Evening of Scenes

After last year's incredibly successful performance of Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap, ACT is thrilled to be adding an extra production to the 2008/2009 season--the first ever An Evening of Scenes.

This eclectic mix of comedy, drama, and romance promises to have something for everyone. From falling in and out of love, surviving graduation and marriage, hooking up and checking out, to ass cancer and acrophobia, An Evening of Scenes will certainly tickle your funny bone and pull at your heartstrings.

An Evening of Scenes features works by Jon Jory, Cathy Celesia, Jason Katims, Mary Miller, Lynn Nottage, and Matt Pelfrey.

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Agatha Christie's
The Mousetrap

Giles and Mollie Ralston have just opened Monkswell Manor Guesthouse. The rugs have been swept, the provisions bought, the firewood stacked, and the rooms prepared. No amount of planning, however, could prepare the Ralstons for their unusual guests and the blizzard which promises to strand all of the travellers at the manor. Nearby a woman is murdered and the murderer is believed to be on the way to Monkswell Manor, bent on revenge. Tensions build and accusations fly as a sergeant arrives at the manor on skis. Now everyone‘s safety is in the hands of the lone sergeant who must determine the identity of the murderer, before it is too late.

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Tom Stoppard's
The Real Inspector Hound

The Real Inspector Hound is a short, one-act play by Tom Stoppard. The plot follows two theatre critics named Moon and Birdboot who are watching a ludicrous setup of a country house murder mystery, in the style of a whodunit. By chance, they become involved in the action causing a series of events that parallel the play they are watching.

The play was written between 1961 and 1962, initially named The Stand-ins and later, The Critics. It is a parody of the stereotypical parlor mystery in the style of Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap, as well as of the critics watching the play, with their personal desires and obsessions interwoven into their bombastic and pompous reviews. Stoppard's play references The Mousetrap in its title and its "surprise ending"; the producers of Agatha Christie's play could not publicly object to Stoppard's parody without drawing attention to what they very much wanted to conceal about the conclusion of The Mousetrap.

The Real Inspector Hound, much like Stoppard's earlier play Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, examines the ideas of fate and free will, as well as exploring the themes of the 'play within a play'. (Source )

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George Isherwood's
Shakespeare's Greatest Hits

INTRO (Vorstellung und Tanz)
MACBETH €“ 1.AKT (Macbeth hört die Prophezeiungen der Hexen)
RICHARD III €“ 1.Akt (Ann betrauert den verstorbenen Schwiegervater Heinrich)
ANTONIUS & CLEOPATRA €“ 1.Akt ("Oh süߟes Ägypten")
HAMLET €“ 1.AKT (Hamlet und Totenkopf sehen den Geist Hamlet's Vaters)
MACBETH €“ 2.Akt (König Duncan wird vom Ehepaar Macbeth beseitigt)
HAMLET €“ 2.Akt (Hamlet hat ein Schauspiel organisiert)
RICHARD III €“ 2.Akt (Die Möder und der Tod des Clarence)
ANTONIUS & CLEOPATRA €“ 2.Akt (Cleopatra langweilt sich)
RICHARD III â 3.Akt (Die kleinen Prinzen im Tower, ein Drama)
ANTONIUS & CLEOPATRA €“ 3.Akt (Die Seeschlacht von Actium)
HAMLET € 3.Akt (Das Ende der Ophelia)
MACBETH € Letzter Akt (Birnams wald rückt an auf Dunsinan)
RICHARD III €“ Letzter Akt (Ein Königreich für ein Pferd)
HAMLET  Letzter Akt (Massaker)
ANTONIUS & CLEOPATRA €“ Letzter Akt (siehe Hamlet, letzter Akt)
SCHLUSS

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