Cast members rehearse a scene from ‘Fungie and The Quiet Men,’ written by Scranton-area playwright Tom Flannery and directed by Ciaran Burke, of Scranton. The comedy is the first of four short plays to be presented during a Weekend of One Acts at Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre.
Mary Therese Biebel | Times Leader
A dolphin draws tourists to the coast of Ireland… two high school students feel like it’s them against the world… a W.A.S.P. from World War II feels responsible for the death of her fellow pilot… and a young man comes out to his family.
If you’re wondering what these four scenarios have in common, each of them is the subject of a one-act play that Little Theatre will present Aug. 7-9 during its fifth annual Weekend of One-Acts
***
Opening the performances will be “Fungie and The Quiet Men,” written by Scranton-area playwright Tom Flannery, who said of the piece, “I’ve never had so much fun writing anything.”
The comedy is “about a dolphin who lived off the coast of Dingle in County Kerry, Ireland,” said Ciarán Burke, of Scranton, who is directing the show. While the dolphin doesn’t appear on stage (sorry if that disappoints anyone), it does attract a tourist trade.
“It’s very Irish,” Burke said of the play.
***
“Where You Belong” is a dramedy, written and directed by Adam Myers, of Bear Creek.
The main character suffered a stroke as a baby and still lives with the effects. “There’s not a lot of people with disabilities represented in a positive way in theater,” Myers said, explaining the show addresses the mental health of people who are disabled.
“This took five months or so of writing and editing,” Myers, who works with people with disabilities, said before a recent rehearsal. “It’s just crazy when inspiration hits you. When it does, you just have to sit down and write.”
***
Michael K. Ortiz, of Wilkes-Barre, has written and is directing “Go With the Flow,” based on his own coming out to his family and community at age 24. For his parents, he said, “it was somewhat like mourning the death of a child, the version of a child they thought they had.”
As director, Ortiz didn’t intend to have an acting part in the show, but a cast member left, so he stepped in to play the part of his father. Although his parents didn’t have the reaction he’d hoped for, Ortiz said he has designed the play to show their humanity.
“It was very cathartic to write this,” he said, noting that the show also celebrates “the quiet strength” of the man who would eventually become his husband.
As the play proceeds from “chaos to calm,” Ortiz said, audiences will notice the color schemes go from reds and purples to blues, yellow and white. And for anyone who is LGBTQIA+ and waiting to come out, he wants them to know, “There is hope for a happy ending.”
***
Brenda Lynn Fager of Dalton has written and is directing “A Flight Behind,” which she first wrote as a short story for the Writers Playground 10th Writing Challenge.
One of the prompts for the story contest was to include a wasp nest, and while she was originally thinking about insects, research led her to the WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilots) program from World War II. That fit perfectly, because another prompt said writers could put a pilot into their story.
So Fager wrote a story about Liv and Lucy, who become World War II WASP pilots.
“It was very dangerous work,” Fager said. And when one of the women takes her friend’s mission — and does not survive — the friend carries unresolved guilt for years.
Eventually, that situation comes to a resolution.
“There’s magic in the show,” the playwright said. “We’re going to leave the audience uplifted.”
***
The One-Acts will be shown at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday at Little Theatre of Wilkes-Barre, 537 North Main St., Wilkes-Barre. Tickets are $20 at the door.
Local journalism matters, and your support makes it possible. You can help sustain this work by making a donation or choosing one of our subscription options. Subscribers enjoy valuable benefits, including full access to our e-edition, a reduced ad experience on timesleader.com, and more.
Your support helps ensure independent, high-quality local news remains available today and for future generations. Thank you for standing with local journalism.