LA City College Theatre Academy Announces One-Act Plays

Fred Fate, Chair and Producing Director of the Los Angeles City College Theatre Academy (LACCTA) has announced the Theatre Academy will next present An Evening of Student Directed One-Act Plays as part of its 79th Annual Spring Season.  Eight One-Act Plays featuring students and directed by students of the Theatre Academy will be presented in the Camino Theatre at the Los Angeles City College Theatre Academy, 855 N. Vermont Avenue (between Santa Monica Boulevard and Melrose Avenue), Los Angeles, CA  90029.
 
Eight One-Act Plays will be presented in repertory over the course of four days, on both a Red Bill and a Blue Bill.  Preview performances will be given on Wednesday, March 19, 2008:  The Red Bill showing at 3:15 p.m. and The Blue Bill showing at 7:15 p.m.  A limited run of the Blue Bill will be presented Thursday, March 20, 2008 at 3:30 p.m.; Friday, March 21, 2008 at 7:15 p.m. and Saturday, March 22, 2008 at 3:00 p.m.  A limited run of the Red Bill will be presented on Thursday, March 20, 2008 at 7:15 p.m.; Friday, March 21, 2008 at 3:00 p.m. and Saturday, March 22, 2008 at 7:15 p.m.
 
Tickets are $5 each.  Group Rates for Groups of 10 or more are also available; please call the Box Office for details.  Seating is available at all performances on a first-come, first-served basis.  Tickets may be purchased online at www.goldstarevents.com or by calling the LACCTA Box Office directly at 323-953-4000, ext. 2990.  Free Parking for theatergoers is provided in the Heliotrope Parking Lot on Heliotrope Avenue, one block south of Santa Monica Boulevard on the LACC campus.  Beverages and light fare refreshments are available for purchase at all performances.  To learn more about the LACCTA, please visit http://theatreacademy.lacitycollege.edu.
 
The Red Bill will include the following plays:
-      Classy Ass, written by Caleen Sinnette Jennings, directed by Olapeju Ogunyankin-Martin, and featuring Shonte Buford as Big B, Robert Fisher as Amadeus and Justion Watlington as Miles Morgan.  The play is a comedy about a naïve college DJ who gets more than he bargains for when Big B arrives from the Downtown Women's Shelter to discuss the complexities of Classical Music and Social Responsibility.  The play might be described as an amusing chain-reaction, which teaches numerous lessons about the dangers of stereotyping.

-      Crazy Eights writtenby David Lindsay-Abaire, directed by Svetlana Kisiyan featuring Marta Portillo as Connie; Mark Skeens as Benny and William Daniels as Cliff.  The play is a romantic comedy about a first offense druggie trying to get straight and her parole officer.
 
-      Sonny De Ree's Life Flashes Before His Eyes written by Bill Bozzone, directed by Masafumi Matsumoto, featuring Lewis Blanchard as Sonny De Ree; Eric Burris as Mick Reilly and Chiara Russi as Emma De Ree.  The comedic play is about Sonny DeRee's, a hapless bookie who is $9,000 in debt, in a New Jersey hotel room awaiting his execution at the hands of a chainsaw-wielding hit man.

-      Sorry written by Timothy Mason, directed by Domingos Correia featuring Martin Head as Wayne and Reyna Flores as Pat.  The play is a romantic comedy set in New York City.  It is a tale which explores the unconventional ways people search for love in the fast pace surroundings of big cities.

The Blue Bill will included the following plays:
-      The Magic Fundoshi written by Donald Richie, directed by Chie Saito featuring Frank Salinas as Taro Kaja; Martin Head as Lord; Mike Garcia as Wife; William Daniels as Girlfriend and Marine Walton as Kuroko.  The play is a stylized modern take on the classic Japanese comic theatre known as Kyogen.  In this Emperor's New Clothes themed-play, a sly schemer convinces a foolish and gullible Lord to buy a pair of magic and invisible, underpants – with hilarious results.

-      Molly And James written by Sheila Walsh, directed by Darcy Weinberger, featuring Sheena Duff as Molly and Eric Burris as James.  The play is a fictional look into the inspiration behind the great Irish author James Joyce's famous character, Molly Bloom.  It's a story of life's shared passions between a man and woman, told with an Irish heart, as if James Joyce wrote they play himself.
 
-      The 17th of June, written by Edward Allen Baker, directed by Memory Willis, featuring Shonte Buford as Dee; Constance Strickland as Patrice; Denisha Hill as Kat and Lewis Blanchard as Chet.  The play is about Dee, who just lost her abusive husband.  She is suffering through the guilt of his death.  Her oblivious sisters try to get her to move out downstairs, with the nerdy neighbor who has befriended Dee.  The play is a dark comedy full of secrets, truth and revelations around every corner.
 
-      You Know What's Coming To Dinner, written by Frederick Boddington, directed by Michael Hausner, featuring Anthony Perzow as Man; Natasha O'Neill as Woman and Jesse Gibbs as Narrator; Lucy Thomas and Mark Skeens as Alpha "You Knows" and Lesa Jacks, Mike Garcia, Marine Walton, Justin Watlington and Clint Thomas as "You Knows."  The play is a real spoof – a comedy about zombies that attack a stereotypical American suburban couple.

Production personnel include:  Kevin Morrissey (Scenic Designer/Production Manager); James Moody (Lighting Designer); Vern Yonamura (Sound and Lighting Design Supervisor); Efrain Corona (Shop Foreman); Deena Mullen (Props Supervisor); Laura Bustamante (Prop Master); Eric Bishop (Stage Manager – Red Bill); Travis Donnelly (Stage Manager – Blue Bill); Kim Overton (Student Costume Designer for Classy Ass – Red Bill); Mandie Gonzalez (Student Costume Designer for Crazy Eights – Red Bill); Veronica Gonzalez (Student Costume Designer for Sonny De Ree's Life Flashes Before His Eyes – Red Bill); Andres Serrano (Student Costume Designer for Sorry – Red Bill); Jolianne Baum (Student Costume Designer for The Magic Fundoshi – Blue Bill); Tanya Bishop (Student Costume Designer for Molly And James – Blue Bill); Martine Granby (Student Costume Designer for The 17th of June – Blue Bill); Dave Rosales (Student Costume Designer for "You Know" What's Coming To Dinner – Blue Bill); and Kathleeen Becket (Theatre Manager).