October 8, 2003

View such central human emotions as love, passion and loneliness through the eyes of characters portrayed in the annual One-Act Festival, a collage of student-written plays presented by the Theatre Arts Department and performed in the Little Theatre in the Creative Arts building from Thursday, Oct. 9, through Sunday, Oct. 19.

Theatre Arts Chair Roy Conboy, an accomplished playwright who also teaches in the Creative Writing Department, and Associate Professor Rhonnie Washington, a critically acclaimed actor with the Thick Description theatre company, selected the best five scripts among the approximately 25 submitted. They then cast the 12 roles, choosing among the 30 to 35 students who auditioned.

"Cathedral," creative writing student Denize Springer's adaptation of the short story by Raymond Carver, follows a married couple through an awkward but illuminating evening with a blind guest. Along the way, the jaded, grudging husband discovers he has a few things to learn from his visitor.

"Multiplex" takes place at a movie theater where a loner, a down-and-out couple and a group of savvy career women struggle with issues of loneliness as they wait for a movie to begin. It’s an original play by Peter Nachtrieb, a theatre arts student and writer and performer for the San Francisco comedy troupe Killing My Lobster.

"Cathedral" and "Multiplex" are directed by Washington.

Beginning Oct. 13, the One-Act Festival will also include "Fringe," a series of three original workshop productions written by students. Creative writing graduate student Dan Tarker's "The Hearse" focuses on two used-car salesmen who sell one lemon too many and are forced to pay the price. Creative writing graduate student Jan Probst's "The Infectious" looks at the origins and future of Mad Cow Disease. Theatre arts senior Vadanek Ke's "Delirium" focuses on an artist who hopes to reignite a love affair by creating a sculpture of his former lover. "Fringe" is directed by Conboy.

Tickets are $10 for the general public and $8 for students and seniors. To purchase tickets, visit the Creative Arts Box Office in front of McKenna Theatre in the Creative Arts building or call (415) 338-2467. For show times and details, visit the College of Creative Arts Web site or call (415) 338-1341.

-- Matt Itelson

1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132    (415) 338-1111
Last modified October 8, 2003, by the Office of Public Affairs