The Garfield Center’s Annual Short Attention Span Theatre Opens June 23

Presenting a diverse set of short plays ranging from the outrageous to the hilarious, this year’s edition of the Garfield Center’s Short Attention Span Theatre received over 1000 script submissions from local, national and international playwrights. SAST opens for live performances starting June 23rd. Produced by Mark Sullivan, and mounted in collaboration between a large cast and crew of local performers, directors and technicians, SAST will once again feature 8 ten-minute plays, some of which will be appearing on a stage for the first time.

Directed by GCA Executive Director Steven Arnold, “On Queue” is a modern, comedic take on “Waiting for Godot.” Written by Morey Norkin, a resident of Japan who has Maryland roots, the director has cast J.W. Ruth and James Fordi in the play. Ruth was seen in GCA’s “The Play That Goes Wrong” as Max, as Chicklet in “Psycho Beach Party,” and in the title role in “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” Fordi is a local resident, a current Washington College student, and a participant in the college’s theatre program.

In “Oh, No! I Flew Too Close to the Sun!,” a comedy by Oregon playwright Rand Higbee, a Roman-era convict attempts to clear his record by appearing as Icarus in a performance at the Colosseum – but there’s a catch! The director is Shannon Carter, who was Fiona in “Shrek,” Sandra/Florence in “The Play That Goes Wrong” and performed in a variety of acting and singing roles all over the Eastern Shore. Carter’s cast features Brianna Johnson, who appeared in GCA’s “Psycho Beach Party” and “Prescription: Murder,” Robert Walton, who performed in last year’s “SAST,” “The Play That Goes Wrong” and “Shrek,” and Ian Stotts, who portrayed Judah in GCA’s “Joseph.”

Police murder procedures meet “Whose Line is it, Anyway?” in “Annnd Scene (of the Crime),” directed by Brianna Johnson. The play, written by Ohio-based John Busser, features Adrienne Wrona, who appeared in “The Play That Goes Wrong,” “Shrek” and “SAST,” Dominic Delcoco, who performed in 2022’s “SAST” and as “Gingy” in “Shrek,” and Ian Stotts.

In “Quack,” directed by Jennifer Kafka Smith, a method actor constantly inhabits his current character role much to the annoyance of his wife and her sister. Smith, who directed “Annie” and “Shrek” for the GCA, has cast newcomer Audrey Roberts from Cambridge, newcomer Lydia Clark from Worton, and Gil Rambach, who appeared in “Shrek,” “SAST” and directed 2019’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” for the GCA.

In a fantasy kingdom’s distant past, a tailor asks the Queen to break tradition by determining his own preferred surname. His chosen name, “Dragonslayer,” is also the title of North Carolina playwright Clinton Festa’s comedy. Directed by Patrick Pearce, who has appeared on the GCA stage in “The Play That Goes Wrong,” “Psycho Beach Party,” “Prescription: Murder” and “SAST,” the show features a large cast of performers, including Amanda Fry, who has multi-year “SAST” credits, Ian Stotts, Robin Wood, who played FDR in “Annie,” Kyleigh Batchelor, who appeared in the children’s chorus in “Joseph,” Gil Rambach, Robert Walton, and J.W. Ruth.

J.W. Ruth directs “Evolution,” by St. Louis playwright Marjorie Williamson. Set in the dawn of civilization, it imagines that even prehistoric cave dwellers can resist change. The cast includes Colleen Minahan, who recently appeared in Church Hill Theatre’s “Sense and Sensibility” and “The Outgoing Tide,” and Pennsylvania resident and GCA newcomer Craig Stump.

Mark Sullivan is the director and playwright for “That Sounds Like Murder.” Hilarity and confusion abound on a dark and stormy night as three actresses attempt to solve a mystery but are thwarted by an unlikely source. Sullivan has cast Amanda Fry, Shannon Carter, and Adrienne Wrona.

“Game Day” is by local playwright and Live Playwrights’ Society participant Jon Clark. In this comedy, a man is facing a life-or-death situation but his dilemma is overshadowed by an argument with surprising revelations. Directed by Adrienne Wrona, the play features Shannon Carter, Dominic Delcoco, and James Fordi.

Performances begin June 23rd and run at 8 PM on Fridays and Saturdays and 2 PM on Sundays through July 9th. Tickets are $20.00 for general audiences and $10.00 for students and can be purchased online anytime at www.garfieldcenter.org or by calling the box office at 410-810-2060 Wednesdays through Fridays from 10 AM to 3 PM.