WELCOME TO OUR EXORCISM Wins Week Three SPF BOO 2025 Short Play Festival

Last weekend, Week 3 concluded Be Bold! Productions 14th annual Players Theatre Short Play Festival BOO at The Players Theatre in the West Village. Five spooky and spoofy short plays thrilled audiences with frightful folly and chilling characters.

Last weekend's audience-selected winner was "Welcome to Our Exorcism", written by Matthew Moore and directed by Billy Luce-Murray.

When fiancé Rob (Cyrus Carrillo) and his parents Jane (Leah Amendolara) and Tom (Matthew Fay) arrive as planned at the house of Rob's fiancée Maggie (Charlotte Flatley) and her parents Trish (Miranda Dean) and John (Emile Aslan), they discover that their hosts are in the middle of an apparent exorcism. Maggie has been possessed by a demon, which her parents are trying to expel, and it has put a damper on the first meeting of the two families. But despite Maggie's propensity to vomit pea soup, it is revealed that Rob still loves her unconditionally.

"Welcome to Our Exorcism" materialized among four other spooky one-acts. "Secondhand Souls", a musical with book written by Angela Harrer, music and lyrics and musical direction by Nomi Abadi, choreography by John Coppola, and directed by Angela Harrer, introduces Sloane Sinclair (Kalyn Schmit), a flailing fashion designer who has just been rejected from fashion school. Sloane stumbles upon a cursed vintage shop run by Maeve (Shannon White) with her minions Frank (Ryan John) and Arthur (Phoenix Gray), where the price of retail therapy is Sloane's soul. Will she be able to escape, or will she step into a new life with her new look?

"Skeptic Gets Ghosted", written by Michelle Giusto and directed by Elisa Emeritz and Brad Morrison, features Constance and Doug, who are staying at an eerie New England hotel. When Doug leaves on an errand, Constance is visited by Cora, the ghost rumored to haunt the town. Is this gummy bear-loving ghost a malevolent presence, or a child looking for a home?

"Til Death", written by Ben Dworkin and directed by Xander Jackson, follows Molly (Kristina Del Mar), who is getting ready to meet up with her friends on the night before her wedding. She is taken aback when her fiancé's coworker Stacy (Isabela Penagos) shows up and invites herself in. Things turn sinister, and Molly begins to wonder if she will even make it to the altar.

"Evenings", written by Kathryn Loggins, finds Eve (Kathryn Loggins) awaking in a strange cabin. Wounded and with no recollection of what happened, she soon learns that Gina, the cabin's eccentric resident, accidentally shot her in the woods. As the two women talk, their conversation turns ominous, and it is revealed that this chance meeting may not be what it seems. Eve soon falls asleep and awakens again to find herself back in her bed with her husband Justin (Riley Fee). However, reality and dreams begin to blur, and Eve is caught wondering just what is real.