Beyond Encounters: An Evening of Three One-Act Plays at Teatro Circulo

An evening of three one-act plays by Hannah Benitez*+, Miriam Kulick*+ and Lanford Wilson, which explore the unexpected ways people meet each other and themselves. Starring Jacob Harran* and Miriam Kulick*+, with cello and violin performed by Susan Mitchell, the production is directed by Lorca Peress*^.

Lanford Wilson’s rarely-staged A Betrothal is followed by two new works by up-and-coming female playwrights: Bound by Miriam Kulick, and The Call by Hannah Benitez. Together, the three plays create a compact, character-driven theatrical event that moves from a witty comic encounter between strangers, to heightened historical drama, to 1920s noir cosmic horror. It is designed as an intimate theatrical presentation with a minimal set and a focus on performance, language, and atmosphere.

“This evening is about more than encounters,” said playwright and performer Miriam Kulick. “It is about the ways people meet across time, conflict, desire, and identity, and how those meetings can change everything.”

The Call is a new work based on H.P. Lovecraft’s The Call of Cthulhu. A Private Investigator and a Sailor are trapped in a barricaded pub during the rise of a cosmic horror from the sea, while a woman’s journey toward self-acceptance emerges at the center of the story. This is the first iteration presented of this adaptation, and Benitez intends to write a full-length thriller version of the longer story, for the stage.

“H.P Lovecraft was, in addition to the founder of cosmic horror, an undeniable racist and xenophobe, wholly indifferent to the female experience,” shares Benitez. “This is why I believe there's great power, irony and humor in women and people of color today, taking his stories, repurposing and exploiting them.”

Bound is a new work based on the retelling of a true story at the rise of the Nazi occupation in Eastern Europe. A young Jewish couple meet, fall in love, and are forced to separate as WWII breaks out. They remain bound by love but will they ever be reunited?

“Although the Holocaust occurred over 80 years ago, Anti-Semitism continues to rear its ugly head,” said playwright Miriam Kulick, who also performs in the play. “This story is not only a dedication to Anna and Harry Fruchtman, and to all who survived or died during that time; it is a reminder that cruelty, suppression and extermination still exist today in so many religions and cultures. To be human is to struggle. Yet to be human we must remember that kindness, compassion and tolerance can and should be manifested.”

A Betrothal by Lanford Wilson places two competitive flower breeders in a tent during a rainstorm. While judges decide the fate of their irises, they question the results and each other which leads to a surprising outcome.

Beyond Encounters runs approximately two hours, plus one 15-minute intermission. The production is suitable for theater-going audiences ages 16 and older.