THE ART OF THE ONE-ACT

The final reading of the Spring 2007 Gwen Frostic Reading Series will take place on Wednesday, April 11 at 8:00 in the Little Theater with playwrights from the New Issues anthology The Art of the One-Act.

Arnold Johnston is chair of the Department of English at WMU and has teamed with his wife, Deborah Ann Percy, on a variety of projects, including scripts for Kalamazoo's All Ears Theatre and Whole Art Theatre and the full-length plays in the "Detroit Trilogy," which includes the award-winning "The Zamboni Situation," "Small Slam" and "Beyond Sex." Percy is principal of Maple Street Magnet Middle School for the Arts in Kalamazoo.

"Art of the One-Act: An Anthology" edited by Arnold Johnston and Deborah Ann Percy, includes 26 previously unpublished one-act plays and an introduction by the editors. "Art of the One-Act" is available through major book sellers and online from barnesandnobel.com and amazon.com.

Playwrights and their one-acts featured in the April 11 readings are Constance Alexander's "Last Call," Carey Daniels' "Hands for Toast," Bethany Gauthier's "The Nancy" and Troy Tradup's "We All Give Thanks."

"Last Call" by Constance Alexander focuses on the widow and family of a man killed during the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, avoiding easy sentimentality and looking at the lives of the survivors with a realistic and unblinking eye. Alexander is artistic director of West Kentucky Playwrights' Festival, and she has received numerous arts council and foundation grants and awards to support her writing.

"Hands for Toast" by Carey Daniels exemplifies a dynamic frequently observed in comic plays: that of the stranger in a strange land, an innocent or "normal" character who must cope with characters and customs that confound him and threaten his welfare. Daniels has a master of fine arts in playwriting from WMU.

"The Nancy" by Bethany Gauthier takes place in an upscale coffee shop, where characters Eve and Alyssa sit across a table from each other with a prominently empty chair between them. Gauthier has a master of fine arts in playwriting from WMU and has had productions with the Paw Paw Village Players and All Ears Theatre.

"We All Give Thanks" by Troy Tradup is a mordantly funny take on family Thanksgivings, featuring disruption of the holiday ritual idealized annually in popular media. Tradup is the author of eight plays, including award winners "The Desired Effect" and "Chuckling in Limbo." His anthology contribution, "We All Give Thanks," was a finalist for the 2003 Heideman Award.

Banana War

Arnie and his wife Debby team taught ENG 368 when I was a young punk undergrad. I took the class because I liked movies and Western didn't offer a screenwriting course. I didn't have any theater background, but I did love writing dialogue so I thought why not give it a go. I didn't know what I was doing half the time, but Arnie and Debby really believed in my work and helped me find my way into it all. I wrote some crap but they saw some talent in that crap. When I talked to Arnie about applying to grad schools, I was thinking about getting a Masters in Creative Writing. I wasn't sure about playwriting, because I also wrote stories and poetry. He said I should apply into a playwriting program. He believed I could do it. Sure enough, I did. I got accepted to Boston University, where I worked with Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott. Without Arnie and Debby's support along the way, I never would have pursued it and I don't think I'd be here today teaching ENG 368 and working on my PhD.

With that said, Western Michigan University's English Department Chair Arnold Johnston and his wife Deborah Ann Percy have a play called "Banana War" that you all should go see.

Here's the info:

Banana War, by Arnie Johnston and Deborah Ann Percy
Performs: April 13, 14, 20, 21
Directed by: Steven C. Smith
What happens when you vacation in a civil-war-ridden country and wake up in a jail cell? This tale of two women shows how strong, and weak, we can all be.

Night plays start at 11pm and last about an hour.

Tickets are available at the door for $5.

Complimentary coffee and donuts at every performance.

Also check out this recent article:
Kalamazoo Gazette