<\/p>\n
Yes, local playwright Jess Mason belongs to a book club.<\/p>\n
And she gave the name of her real-life club \u2014 Hot Girls Read \u2014 to a club that exists in her short play, which is one of seven one-acts that Diva Productions will present Jan. 29 through Feb. 1 at the Olde Brick Theatre in Scranton.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a twist. It\u2019s definitely dark humor,\u201d said Mason, who is director as well as playwright of \u201cBook Club.\u201d<\/p>\n
The one-act focuses on a lonely, single mom who joins three other women in a club. The other members have already read the self-help book \u201cUntamed\u201d by Glennon Doyle, which \u201creally makes the women take a look at their own lives and see if they\u2019re satisfied.\u201d<\/p>\n
If they\u2019re not satisfied, they might take some sort of action.<\/p>\n
Could it be some sort of criminal activity?<\/p>\n
\u201cPotentially,\u201d Mason said.<\/p>\n
Who knows what might go on behind the scholarly trappings of a book club?<\/p>\n
And who knows what might really be going on behind the veneer of a happy All-American family? That\u2019s the premise of \u201cFostered Ideal,\u201d written by local playwright Brad Vile and directed by Diva Theatre board member David Hunisch.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the outside, this mother, daughter, son and father seem like the perfect American family,\u201d Hunisch said of the four characters in Vile\u2019s one-act. \u201cThey might remind you of \u2018The Donna Reed Show\u2019 or \u2018Leave It To Beaver.\u2019 The family has learned a specific way of speaking to other people that projects a facade. It\u2019s very friendly, very happy, and very practiced.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe see what\u2019s going on underneath.\u201d<\/p>\n
For this year\u2019s Festival of One-Acts, Hunisch said, Diva solicited scripts and received \u201cabout 30 or 40,\u201d which were winnowed down to the seven that will be presented.<\/p>\n
Most of the playwrights are from the area, Mason said. \u201cIt\u2019s a really nice blend of celebrating local talent and also connecting with artists and playwrights from all over the country.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a group, Diva Productions folks seem to have confidence in each other.<\/p>\n
\u201cI cast actresses that I trust,\u201d Mason said of the four cast members in her play. \u201cThey are amazing performers with really good intuition. I want to give them some autonomy over the characters.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBrad and I had a conversation,\u201d Hunisch said of the writer whose play he is directing. \u201cWe\u2019re basically on the same page. He\u2019s gonna let me roll with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to \u201cBook Club\u201d and \u201cFostered Ideal,\u201d the other plays that make up the Festival of One-Acts are:<\/p>\n
\u201cA Series of Unfortunate Men,\u201d written and directed by Ryan Jay, in which the best friend of a newly single woman drags her out to meet a new man.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Back Porch,\u201d written and directed by Gina Morrison, in which two widows meet by chance in a cemetery and reminisce about their very different experiences of marriage.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s Not What it Looks Like!\u201d written by Ava Love Hanna and directed by Gary Rozman, is a slapstick comedy in which misunderstandings abound.<\/p>\n
\u201cLittle Black Dress,\u201d written by John Mabey and directed by Leba Lanton, in which a married couple grapples with a big secret when the wife discovers a little black dress that does not belong to her.<\/p>\n
\u201cThank You, Five,\u201d written by Meggie Roche and directed by Brink Powell, in which a community theater cast is perplexed because \u201cthey have to hold the curtain for \u2026 a dog?\u201d<\/p>\n
Show dates for the festival, which includes adult themes, are 7:30 p.m. Jan. 29, 30, and 31 and 2 p.m. Feb. 1 at the Olde Brick Theatre, 126 West Market St., Scranton. General admission is $15. Tickets for students, seniors and veterans are $12.<\/p>\n
Reservations can be made by calling 570-209-7766.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Yes, local playwright Jess Mason belongs to a book club. And she gave the name of her…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":88259,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[178,180,179],"class_list":{"0":"post-88258","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-scranton","8":"tag-scranton","9":"tag-scranton-headlines","10":"tag-scranton-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88258"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88258\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}