The 36th Marathon of One-Act Plays: Series C
EST held its first Marathon in 1977 and launched an industry-wide revival of the short play form and broke new ground by putting new and established writers together on one stage. This year's 36th Marathon of One-Act Plays will be presented in three series. Series C includes new short plays by Zakiyyah Alexander, Edith Freni, Amy Fox*, Donald Marcus*, and Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder.
Promotional support was provided by the NYC & Company Foundation
The Good Muslim, by Zakiyyah Alexander
directed by William Carden*
featuring Lily Balsen†, Rajesh Bose†, Paul-Emile Cendron†, David Garelik, Susan Heyward†, Jenny Leona†, & Pooya Mohseni
Aliah is a New Yorker and a hard working college student. But, she's also a Muslim-American in a troubled time. A play about being comfortable in your own skin...or hijab.
Zakiyyah Alexander is a writer and actor, and a native New Yorker raised in Queens and Brooklyn. Her plays include: The musical, Girl Shakes Loose (Penumbra Theater), Sick? (Summer Play Festival), The Etymology of Bird (Central Park Summerstage, Hip Hop Theater Festival, Providence Black Repertory Theatre), Blurring Shine (Market Theater, Johannesburg, NY International Fringe Festival), Sweet Maladies (Brava Arts Center, Rucker Theatre, Bay Area Playwrights Festival), Something New (commissioned by Philadelphia Theater Company), and (900).
A former resident of New Dramatists, her work has been developed at: O’Neill Musical Conference, The MacDowell Colony, The Lark, Second Stage, etc. Past commissions: Ensemble Studio Theater, Second Stage, The Philadelphia Theater Company and the Children’s Theater of Minneapolis.
A graduate of the Yale School of Drama (MFA in playwriting), Zakiyyah has is a co-founder of parity advocacy group, The Kilroys; her work was included on the 2015 Kilroys List of most nominated plays by women. Currently, she is a story editor on the upcoming Fox show, 24 Legacy.
Female Beginner, by Edith Freni
directed by Jessica Holt
featuring Rufus Collins† & Sara Hymes†
On the night of an important fundraising dinner for her father's reelection campaign, 18 year-old "Golden Child" Amelia challenges the content of a speech she's been asked to give in his honor. Daddy insists that she must do the speech as written but Amelia demands that they revise the ending. When she reveals her reasons for the last minute change, Daddy is forced to justify the foundational myths of their family's local political dynasty or risk exposure.
Edith Freni holds both her BFA and MFA from NYU’s Department of Dramatic Writing. Her work has been produced and developed in New York and nationally at theaters including EST and EST West, Labyrinth Theater Company, the Williamstown Theatre Festival, Actor's Express in Atlanta; Profile Theater Company in Portland, OR; City Theatre in Miami and at Nashville Repertory Theatre. Edith was a long-time member of Youngblood and is also a member of Obie-winning Partial Comfort Productions. She was a 2015-16 Ingram New Works Lab resident playwright at Nashville Repertory Theater; the recipient of a New Territories Playwriting Residency at Serenbe Playhouse in January 2016, and a fellowship at the 2016 Sewanee Writers' Conference. Edith was the inaugural Emory University Playwriting Fellow from 2014-16 and is currently serving as the Tennessee Williams Playwright-in-Residence at The University of the South in Sewanee, TN. For all else: www.edithfreni.com
Good Results Are Difficult When Indifference Predominates, by Amy Fox*
directed by Morgan Gould*
featuring Helen Coxe*†, Caroline Hewitt†, & Melanie Nicholls King*†
“When you sew, make yourself as attractive as possible." In 1949, Singer sewing machines came with these instructions. Sixty-eight years later, two cousins grapple with these words and the legacy of their grandmother as they prepare their pussy hats for the Women's March on Washington.
Amy Fox* writes plays, screenplays and nonfiction. Most recently she wrote the screenplay for Equity, the female-driven Wall Street film which premiered at Sundance 2016 and was released by Sony Pictures Classics. Amy was a member of Youngblood and has been a proud member of EST since 2002. Fox’s plays have been produced in New York, London, Tehran, San Francisco, Austin, and St. Paul. Amy has received writing commissions from the Alfred P Sloan Foundation, and been nominated for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. She is on the screenwriting faculty of NYU ‘s Graduate Film Program. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and two children.
Intensive Care, by Donald Marcus*
directed by Jamie Richards*
featuring Eric Conger*† & Zach Grenier*†
Late one night, two strangers from different worlds meet in a deserted Florida cafeteria.
Donald Marcus* has enjoyed a long career in theatre and television in New York, Los Angeles, and London. He is gratified to be returning to EST, of which he and his wife, Lisa Milligan, were founding members. Mr. Marcus would like to dedicate Intensive Care to his mentor, EST founder, Curt Dempster.
Santa Doesn’t Come to the Holiday Inn, by Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder
directed by Julie Kramer
featuring Eddie Boroevich*† & Allison Jean White†
When Annie and Peter get stuck together in a hotel room, they try to keep the magic of Christmas alive for their daughter, despite their failed marriage.
Elyzabeth Gregory Wilder’s plays include Gee's Bend, Fresh Kills, The Flagmaker of Market Street, The Furniture of Home, White Lightning, and Provenance. Her plays have been produced at the Royal Court (London), Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Denver Center, Cleveland Play House, KC Rep, Northlight, the Arden, B Street Theatre, and Hartford Stage, among others. Most recently her play, Everything That’s Beautiful premiered at the New Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco.
Commissions and workshops include A Requiem for August Moon (Pioneer Theatre), The Bone Orchard (Denver Center, Great Plains Theatre Conference), and a short play for the acclaimed My America, Too project (Baltimore Center Stage), as well as four commissions from the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. Elyzabeth was the recipient of the Osborn Award given by the American Theatre Critics Association.
Elyzabeth is a graduate of the dramatic writing program at New York University. She is a proud alumnus of Youngblood at the EST, where her play The First Day of Hunting Season was featured in Thicker Than Water. Most recently Elyzabeth was the Tennessee Williams Playwright-in-Residence at Sewanee: The University of the South. You can learn more about her work at www.wilderwriting.net or follow along as she celebrates turning 40 at www.40lunches.com.
*Denotes Ensemble Artist
†These actors are appearing courtesy of Actors Equity Association