Eleven shorts in OCC lineup

TOM TITUS

Drama students at Orange Coast College enjoy not only the opportunity

to act in the college’s plays, but often to direct and sometimes even

write them.

Each year, about this time, the students’ efforts are showcased

when the college’s Repertory Theater Company holds its annual one-act

play festival. That event is this weekend.

On the menu are 11 short productions -- six presented on one

program, the other five on another. Five of these playlets are

originals, most written by the students directing them.

The Rep, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary at Orange Coast

College, is managed by instructors Alex Golson and Cynthia Corley.

But all the heavy lifting is done by the students.

Playgoers who take in both programs will be offered these

mini-productions. The plays that make up Order One are:

* “Teaching Martians the Meaning of Love,” an original comedy

directed by Becka Bears.

* “He’s Having a Baby,” a published work directed by Ami Ohkubo.

* “Demonology,” a published work directed by Adam Ferry.

* “Second Chance,” an original romantic comedy written and

directed by Phillip Vintamiglia.

* “Handicapper General,” a published work by Kurt Vonnegut (whose

plays were presented earlier this season at OCC), directed by Amanda

Jimenez.

* “The Root of Chaos,” a published work directed by Dan Bernard.

The handful of plays that comprise Order Two are:

* “Darwin,” an original comedy directed by Sam Wellen.

* “There’s Nothing Under the Bed,” an original play written and

directed by Andrew Vonderschmitt.

* “The Field,” a published work directed by Vincent Torres.

* “Does this Woman Have a Name?” a published work directed by

Jennifer Stoneman.

* “Circles,” an original play written and directed by Arash

Karami.

The production began Wednesday night and continues tonight with

Order One at 8 p.m., to be repeated Sunday at 2 p.m. Order Two will

be staged Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 7 p.m.

All performances are in the Drama Lab Studio, with tickets -- $7

in advance, $8 at the door -- available by calling (714) 432-5640,

Ext. 1.

*

Orange Coast College’s annual Christmas melodrama has proven so

popular that the college is planing a summer production, entitled

“The Family Melodrama, Vaudeville and Ice Cream Social.”

Auditions for the show -- an epic of the frozen north entitled

“Gone With the Blizzard” or “A Rose in the Snowdrift” -- will be held

Monday and Tuesday from 6 to 9 p.m. in the school’s Drama Lab

Theater. Golson is directing and there are 25 roles available for all

ages.

The show, which will also feature vaudeville acts and a children’s

joke contest, will be presented July 7 through 10 and 14 through 17.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His reviews

appear Fridays.