One-act plays taking place at Broadway
Some people publish memoirs to share scenes from their lives with the world.
But Lauren McConnell took a different route.
McConnell, an assistant professor of communication and dramatic arts, will premiere a series of her one-act plays this weekend at the Broadway Theatre, 216 E. Broadway St.
"What I Did for Love" will perform at 7 p.m. today and Saturday. Tickets are $8 at the door. The show was marketed as content that is 'adult in nature.'
While the skits in "What I Did for Love" are not entirely autobiographical, McConnell said she drew inspiration from her own life and built the scenes from there.
"I wrote these in the 1990s,"she said. "They were inspired by different things in my life. People I've met."
Last year, the Broadway began to work with one-act plays, veering from their standard show choices of full-length productions.
Cindy Kilmer, chairperson of the one-act committee and long-time Broadway volunteer, said they jumped at the chance to work with McConnell when she offered her pieces for production.
Not only did Kilmer help bring McConnell's pieces to the stage, she brings two of them to life.
Kilmer acts in the first skit, "Maytags," and directs the last one, "Horse of a Different Color."
Pleasant Ridge senior Sarah Oravetz acts as Kilmer's scene partner in "Maytags." She said working with the one-acts was a way to keep her busy while finishing the semester.
"I had friends who had done stuff at the Broadway before, and they were talking about the one acts," Oravetz said. "I kind of dived right in."
Each act has a different setting, premise and cast of characters, but according to McConnell, a common thread of people seeking connection with others.
"I feel pleased and honored that the Broadway is willing to put on my one acts. It's been a great opportunity for me. I've learned from it," she said.
The skits vary in length, with the longest lasting about 40 minutes. Several CMU students are involved in the production, along with other members of the community who fill in as actors and directors.
McConnell said giving up her directing and acting rights gives the play a new life.
"I've pretty much let people interpret their character they way they want to," she said. "That's interesting, too, to see what people take away from the script. I kind of like the idea of letting them go out into the world and letting them have whatever life they can."
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