New Local Non-Profit Theatre Group Debuts Inaugural One-Act Festival

Nicely Theatre Group ("Nicely") will premiere its first One-Act Festival on Tuesday, July 7, at 7pm on www.nicelytheatre.org.

Nicely originally planned a live production of "Pippin" for this summer, but due to social distancing policies in place in Michigan, shifted to the online One-Act Festival, a showcase for local playwrights and actors. Each piece was cast, rehearsed and recorded while observing appropriate social distancing.

After soliciting submissions, Nicely selected the following original, small-cast One-Act Plays for the inaugural presentation:

"Ghost Light" is a love story set in a fictional post-apocalyptic New York City theatre where a husband and wife are able to connect thanks to the theatre's ghost light-written by Nate Willey, a New York-based playwright and actor by way of southeast Michigan.

"Shelter" is a series of monologues written by Andrew Morton as part of the "Sofa Stories" series, exploring youth homelessness in Detroit during the COVID-19 pandemic. Born in the UK, Andrew is currently based in Detroit.

"He Said" explores the feelings that emerge when a wife faces off on Zoom with her husband's lover after an unexpected package arrives-written by West Bloomfield, MI-based casting director, and writer Janet Pound.

"The Tinkerbell Situation" is a comedy highlighting every mother's fears: a lost pet, family secrets, and her relationship with her mother. Written by Boston-based playwright Marc Paykuss, a former Los Angeles entertainment copywriter and screenwriter.

The One-Act Festival is directed by Nicely's Creative Director Mitch Master, Frankel Jewish Academy's Director of the Performing and Visual Arts and Roeper Summer Stock Theatre Co-Director since 2000. In an illustrious career, Mitch has directed more than 90 musical/drama theatre productions and performed in more than 50 stage productions. Mitch has taught and directed adult and youth theatre programs at The Berman Center of the Performing Art Center's PAIJ Players, Bloomfield Players, The Community House Sara Smith Productions, Cranbrook Theatre School, Detroit Country Day School, Seaholm High School, Birmingham Public Education, Kingswood Boys, and Girls Middle School, UCLA's "Bruin Kids" in Los Angeles, Marvin L. Winans Academy of the Performing Arts in Detroit, and founded Birmingham's Village "Youth" Players.

The premiere presentation of the One-Act Festival will benefit the Detroit Public Schools Foundation. In addition to encouraging viewers to donate, Nicely will donate $3 for every view of the Festival on opening night.