One-Act Play Festival Presented by Novato Theater Company

It’s time for the popular One-Act Play Festival, presented by Novato Theater Company. The event offers the ability to taste the best of what the performing arts has to offer “with a little comedy, a lot of mystery, and some poignant and dramatic scenes,” says producer Gary Gonser. Each one-act play is carefully selected and directed by a different director with a variety of writers and actors. This year’s festival directors include: Bruce Coughran of Berkeley, Emily Suraface of Novato and Zanne Dailey of Novato. The mentoring director is Jerry Patterson of Petaluma.

In Carwash by Louis Phillips, you don’t expect to encounter the mysteries of the universe, but sometimes it just happens that way when things start disappearing into thin air — especially if it is your car — well, that just could ruin your whole day.  Performers in Carwash include: Karen Clancy of Cotati, Malcom Cohen of Novato, Rose Stuart of San Rafael and Carole Landes of San Rafael. 

Maybe losing your luggage is pretty commonplace in today’s air travel, but when a woman looking for her luggage enters a baggage claim office at the airport, she sets off a chain of events that could lead to solving one of the biggest mysteries of flight in Identity Crisis, written by Kitty Burns.Identity Crisis features Dawn Hamilton of San Rafael, Mark Toepfer of Novato, Emily Surface of Novato, Steve North of San Rafael Ruth Rosen of San Rafael and Alma Deleon of San Rafael. 

Explore the inner world of a woman (played by Carol Landes of San Rafael) at the end of her life as she recovers lost artifacts from her childhood in the moving play Hickory Miles, written by Paul Heller. “The play is touching and poignant and looks right down the gulf between childhood mysteries and the divine,” Gonser says.  

The Love Course by A.R. Gurney explores a university literature course taught by male and female professors with different views on life. The cast includes: Kate Savage of Novato, Ron Dailey of Novato, Hope Carillo of San Rafael and Phillip Swanson of Santa Rosa. 

The festival will be presented at the Novato Theater Company Playhouse at 484 Ignacio Blvd. in Novato with Thursday, Friday and Saturday shows at 8 p.m. and a Sunday matinee at 3 p.m. Tickets are available online at www.NovatoTheaterCompany.org or at 415-883-4498.  All seats reserved.