One-act plays to be performed in June

May 8, 2022

MARION — The Marion Art Center Theater presents its second production of the season, outdoors in Bicentennial Park, Marion, across the street from the Marion Art Center, 80 Pleasant St., Marion.

Show dates are June 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 17 and 18. Friday and Saturday shows will begin at 6:30 p.m., while Sunday matinees will begin at 2 p.m. 

Attendees should bring their own chairs. In case of cancellation due to rain, ticket holders may choose another date or request a refund. Tickets are $18 for MAC members, on sale now, and $20 for nonmembers, on sale as of Friday, May 13. Purchase tickets at marionartcenter.org/events.

The June production features four one-act plays by David Ives, from his comedic collection.

The plays are:

“All in the Timing. Words, Words, Words,’’ directed by Shelia McManus, recalls the philosophical adage that three monkeys typing into infinity will sooner or later produce Hamlet and asks: What would monkeys talk about at their typewriters?

“The Philadelphia,’’ directed by Linda Costa, presents two friends in a restaurant who have fallen into “a Philadelphia”, a Twilight Zone-like state in which they cannot get anything they ask for.

“Sure Thing,’’ directed by Donn Tyler, features two people who meet in a café and find their way through a conversational minefield of false starts, gaffes, and faux pas on the way to falling in love.

“Variations on the Death of Trotsky,’’ directed by Kate Fishman, depicts the Russian revolutionary on the day of his demise, desperately trying to cope with the mountain-climber’s ax he’s discovered in his head. 

The cast includes Melissa Bessey, Jack Boesen, Scott Fishman, Jessica Harris, Brennan McKiernan, Bill Miller, Gary Sousa, and Maura Van Voris, with Steven McManus as sound technician. 

This project is supported by a grant from the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.