Returning, after two years’ hiatus, under the auspices of producer Doug Bragan’s Douglas Theater Corp., this third not-so-annual event features 16 non-Equity companies in as many one-act plays, organized in programs of four. The selections range from experimental drama to camp melodrama to medieval farce to musical comedy to good ol’ American naturalism. “One might select one of the four packages because of a particular play included in it,” says a press release. “In addition to that play, three others are presented, showcasing other companies whose work one will be pleased to discover.” One had better be pleased, since tickets to single plays are not available at this point (though a waiting list is being kept at the box office). At the Theatre Building, through April 15. Saturdays, 2 and 7 PM; Sundays, 1 and 6 PM. $14-$19 per four-play program; “marathon tickets,” good for one whole day (two programs), $27. Prices apply to advance sales; tickets purchased day of performance cost an additional $3. The schedule is as follows:
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SPRING DANCE; WAITING FOR BUDDHAT; GAS MASK 101; LADIES First: Cactus Theatre remounts its recent production of Horton Foote’s study of life in a southwestern mental hospital. Second: Hell is the waiting room of a casting agency in Dan Kobayashi’s “lighthearted nightmare” with a supernatural theme, performed by Mina Sama-No (world premiere). Third: Arlene Cook’s play, presented by Mary-Arrchie Theatre, is a coming-of-age story about college guys in 1970. Fourth: Different Drummer performs a revue of songs–“some not often performed in polite company”–by Cole Porter. April 1, 6 PM; April, 8 and 15, 1 PM.
