Six, One-Act Comedies Offer Night of Laughs

The Theatre Guild of Webster Groves is offering patrons more bang for the buck with their current production of “All in the Timing” – it’s buy one ticket, get six one-act comedies.

Comedy, however, just hints at what audiences can expect from these one-acts, all written by David Ives.

“It’s a classic collection of one acts,” said director Angela Sebben Frick of Affton. “They’re very witty, clever, and very well-written.”

“All in the Timing” will be performed March 16-18 and 22-25, with evening shows at 8 p.m. and the Sunday matinee at 2 p.m.

The comedies include:

• “Words, Words, Words,” which addresses what three monkeys talk about while they are typing into infinity in an effort to recreate Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.”
• “Philip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread,” in which a celebrated composer has an existential crisis at the bakery.
• “Sure Thing,” about two people who meet in a café and find their way through a conversational minefield on the way to falling in love while an offstage bell interrupts their gaffes.
• “The Universal Language,” in which a young woman with a stutter falls in love with a man who has created a wild comic language.
• “The Philadelphia,” about a young man who has entered into a Twilight Zone of a restaurant where he must order the opposite of what he wants in order to get what he really wants.
• “Variations on the Death of Trotsky,” which depicts the Russian revolutionary, on the day of his death, desperately trying to cope with the climber’s axe lodged in his head.

“It’s all about the timing with these pieces,” Frick said. “Just working on getting that flow and timing down.”

The jokes range from subtle to laugh out loud, Frick said, and give the actors opportunities to shine. Whether acting or directing, Frick is pleased to be a part of bringing a production to life.

“I just enjoy telling a story,” she said. “Whether I’m behind the scenes or on the stage, the one actually telling it, I think it’s just a unique way to connect with people.”

The Theatre Guild is situated in an old two-story house, with a ground floor lobby packed with photos from previous performances and a cozy, 128-seat theater on the second floor. Krystal Stevenson, who has been acting for six years and worked behind the scenes before that, loves the intimacy of the theater.

“As an actor, you kind of gauge the audience in your performance,” she said. “So the more we are able to feel and be a part of the audience, the more the audience can be a part of the show. That’s the intimacy they have, and it’s great. You don’t get that a lot of places.”

Plus, acting is a blast, and actors feed off the energy of the audience.

“It’s kind of an exhilarating experience,” Stevenson said. “You have something completely different. You have something completely new, and every night is different. … It’s kind of like in the moment. Having it in the moment is where that excitement and exhilaration comes from, as an actor.”

is located at 517 Theatre Lane, Webster Groves. Show times are 8 p.m. March 16-17 and 23-24, and 2 p.m. March 18 and 25.

Tickets are $15 adults, $12 students and seniors and are only available at the door, payable by cash or check. For more information, call the theater at 314-962-0876 or see www.theatreguildwg.org.