Alleyway's BUFFALO QUICKIES Starts This Thursday

Alleyway Theatre's 32nd annual short play festival starts performances this week. BUFFALO QUICKIES features six brand new plays by Shawn Adiletta, Thomas Huges Bellavigna, Rosa Fernandez, Justin Karcher, Bella Poynton, and Chris Woodworth. The festival is directed by Kate Powers with Richard Satterwhite, and designed by Emma Schimminger and James Cichocki. One Pay What You Can Preview will be held on Thursday, March 9. Opening night is Friday, March 10. Performances continue through March 19 only.

THE PLAYS

This year Alleyway commissioned the plays to be written in just one week, and prompted all six writers with the same topic: climate change/global warming. "We love an adventure here at the Alleyway," says artistic director Chris J Handley. "Writing a short play in just seven days and rehearsing it in another seven is a challenge, but it gets to the heart of what our annual Quickies can be. Limitations can force some of the best art to be made-and everyone in this group rose to the challenge. And because it all had to be done so quickly, the plays themselves are very fresh and timely in responding to the topic."

Previous festivals under Handley's leadership were presented live on YouTube in 2020 and in storefront windows in 2021. The 2023 lineup includes

The Last Bee by Chris Woodworth

Breathe by Thomas Hughes Bellavigna

Three Degrees by Shawn Adiletta

On Rooftops and Rowboats by Bella Poynton

The End by Rosa Fernandez

The Trick is to Spill Your Guts Faster than the Snow Falls by Justin Karcher

The cast includes QUICKIES veterans Michael Starzynski (16th year), Kate Olena (11th year), Smirna Mercedes (3rd year), and Melinda Capeles (2nd year). New faces joining the cast are P.K. Fortson, Jason Francey, VerNia Sharisse Garvin, Camilla J. Maxwell, Molly McGrath, and Alfonzo Tyson.

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