ART PROMPTS PLAY

938collective asked Gallery Particulier to submit artworks that would prompt 6 short plays for their 24-Hour Play Festival. They selected 6 pieces, and the short plays were performed on Saturday, Feb 24th, 2024, at the iconic Gene Frankel Theatre, at 24 Bond Street, NY.

Artwork: Moretta by Grace Nkem
Gigi Day by Frances McClain – The play inspired by Grace Nkem’s Moretta was a comic piece that explored social interactions in a finely observed way. Who chooses the music that is played in a gathering between friends? The dialogue was rife with Internet culture references, and Grace Nkem explores this universe of juxtapositions in her work too.

Artwork: 3AM by Matthew Perez
Process Play by Leah Plante-Wiener – An actor who had the dark, expressive eyes of Matthew Perez’s 3 AM seemed to embody him on stage. Two young women romped and and struggled and floundered and danced around him punctuated by his screams in a powerful piece that evoked the solitude in Matthew Perez’s self portrait. 

Artwork: Sarcophagus VII by Amir Bey
Salad Bowl by Franny Weed – Amir Bey’s charming Sarcophagus VII was interpreted in a wonderful piece about seduction, innocence, and romance. It was a lot of fun with actors that gave it their all. The beautiful mustachioed face of Amir Bey’s painting looked on benevolently at the young people’s hijinks.

Artwork: Stronger Tomorrow by Ashley Alcime
Stronger Tomorrow by the 938collective collaborators – Ashley Alcime’s powerful work Stronger Tomorrow is an artwork that always produces strong reactions in visitors. Whether they’re 7 year old, a high schooler, someone in their 80s, all are fascinated by its combination of hurt and hope. This was beautifully expressed in the silent piece performed by talented young performer, Trinity Lundemo at the Gene Frankel Theatre.

Artwork: Woman In Green by Phelonise Willie
The Woman In Green by Kyle Mazer – A lovely piece, poetic, imaginative, sprung from Woman In Green, by Phelonise Willie. Two sisters, one embodying money and greed, the other woo-woo wellness, struggle to coexist while a beautiful bird tries to help them figure reconciliation out. Our visitors are always seduced by the spirit of freedom in Phelonise Willie’s work, and this freedom was carried on in the explorative writing and the staging of this piece.

Artwork: The Everything by Obinna Elechi
Operation Frankenstein by Matt Morse – Obinna Elechi’s The Everything was one of the selection. It’s a work from his metaphysical comic, Space Kadets. The play was close in spirit to his work with a robot nanny that seemed animated by AI, and two of the lowly engineers creating and testing him. Tensions rise as one engineer starts to question their work and the boss seems mostly interested in weaponry. Funny. And chilling!

It was a treat to attend the performance in such a historical venue, one of these NYC gems where actors, directors, audiences have been sharing their love of the theatre. 

The playwrights started working on the short plays prompted by the artwork on Thursday evening. On Friday the plays were cast, staged, rehearsed. How is this even feasible?!

The energy of the evening was palpable. The actors, directors, writers, stage managers were psyched and exhausted. The audience was buzzing to witness the culmination of the festival. There is always an element of risk in theatre production, because it’s live, because it can fail, because it can fall. That’s what makes theatre particularly exciting. It’s like watching an acrobat walk the tightrope. Last night we held our breath. This festival pushed the risk, and reaped the rewards. The delivery was astounding. It was comedic, emotional, provocative, imaginative, psychological, and more.

The audience celebrated enthusiastically the astounding achievement. Much applause and loud acclaim. Could not think of a better antidote to watching a series on the Internet! It was live, intense, raucous, and showed the unique talent our city harbors.

Gallery Particulier wishes to thank the 938collective, the Gene Frankel Theatre, and everyone who participated in the 24-Hour Play Festival: Portrait of the Fourth Wall to have invited us to participate in this wonderful event.