15 Minutes of Frame 2024 Competition Aug 29th & 30th 8pm, Aug 31st 7pm

Poster’s art the Shooting Star: Rafael Sánchez 

Playwrighters Competition- Aug 29, 30 & 31 @ 7 PM

Audience Votes for the winner – The winner takes the show to production

This playwright’s festival presents 8 of the short 15-minute plays selected from over 50. These incredibly gifted playwrights quickly gather actors and rehearse within an extremely limited amount of time, calibrating artists as they compete for an extended weekend at the venue. The audience votes on which play they would like to see developed!​

August 29, 30 & 31 @ 7PM
Tickets $30 on Eventbrite
or At the door

15 min of Frame
List of Plays

750% – Christine Benvenuto

MASS EXTINCTION SQUAD
A play by Lenny Hort from Forces of Nature

Rip Off on Union Turnpike – Barry Ernst

SATAN & FRIENDS
     A Short Play © 2014 by Joel Trinidad

SAVE THE PENGUINS
By Raechel Segal

THE DANDIEST DUO
   By Marcus Harmon

Twilight, NYC
A 10-Minute Play Theme: Discovery
By Michael O’Dell

A Crash Landing on Vampire Island
written by Fletcher Michael

THE BEAUTIFICATION COMMITTEE
A Play in One Act
by T. Marie

“The Table Read”
A play
ByLou Johnson
(based on an almost true story)

“The Beautification Committee,” written by Stratford native, T. Marie Manus, will debut at the Gene Frankel Theatre in Manhattan on August 29, 30, & 31. It is 1 of 9 short plays selected to compete in “15 Minutes of Frame,” produced by Lucky’s Lighting & Gail’s 24 B.A.C. The audience will vote for one play to receive a one-week residency at the theatre.

Manus wrote the play in response to the shortage of quality roles for older women in theatre. She says, “Women have lots of stories to tell after 40, and beyond. I was told that there were ‘not enough plays like that out there’—so, I wrote one.” Manus’ inspiration came from the prejudice, and “othering” she has witnessed and experienced. She says, “The play holds up a mirror for us all. Every one of us has been Eleanor, Helen, Kitty, or Pam at some point in our lives. This realization should bring us into closer communion with one another, and hopefully motivate us to transform our own behavior.”

Manus graduated with Honors in Theatre from Southern Connecticut State University, which included an internship at Circle in the Square Theatre School for scene study, stage combat, voice, and movement. Her Honors thesis examined NYC gay nightlife and the club kid culture of the early 2000s as performance art. Her portrayal of “Rosa” in “Simpson Street” (SCSU), directed by Miriam Colon (Founder/Director, Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre), won her an Irene Ryan nomination from the American College Theatre Festival (ACTF). Additionally, she played “Boxer” in “Animal Farm: The Musical” (Manhattanville College) and had the opportunity to work under Theodore “T ed” Mann (Founder/Director, Circle in the SquareTheatre School) and Felix Ianov (Choreographer, Juilliard). After graduation, she began a 20-year teaching career, while working as a vocalist and choir director. After earning her PhD in 2019, she started a market research business. She continues to perform and direct. This is the first play she has written since childhood.

The show’s director is Lana Sage, recent director of “Every Brilliant Thing” (Boston University).

Stratford native Michael Brelsford (Fairfield University) was a dramaturg on the project.

Stratford native Mitchell Weinbaum (Founder/Director of Stratford’s “Take Part Theatre Company”) was the production assistant.

The cast includes:

● Monica Motta (Pamela), an NYC native and Stella Adler Studio scholar who appeared in “The Last Night” (Ani/NY Theatre Festival);
● Eva Visco (Eleanor Hubble) who has appeared in episodes of Investigative Discovery, cable commercials, Off-Off and Off-Broadway Shows, and short Indie films;
● Ashley Birdsall (Helen Soddrick) a graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts, trained at Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute and Stonestreet’s Studio Residency Program, she appeared in “A Sketch of New York” (Producer’s Club);
● Luisa Olah (Catherine “Kitty” Melvin) a vocalist from Newtown, CT who has performed in “A Christmas Carol” (Laundress/New Arts in Newtown), “Play On” (Phylis Montigue/Newtown Players), and “Murder Me Always” (Wanda Hawthorne/Newtown Players).

Tickets for the show can be purchased online at: https://tinyurl.com/GFT2024