Tiny New York theatre opens its doors to audiences of one

http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/may/19/new-york-theatre-for-one

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Many theatre owners like to say they offer an intimate show but one really means it. That would be Theatre for One, a 4ft by 8ft portable theatre that allows one audience member at a time to see one short play performed by a single actor.

“There’s definitely an immediacy that happens within this,” said Tony-winning scenic designer Christine Jones, who conceived and leads the project. “The theatre acts as a kind of portal into a human being.”

The theatre will be parked in three Manhattan locations for the next two months, offering shows for free. Which play the audience sees is largely the luck of the draw, adding to this unique theatrical event.

Each audience member slips into a section of the theatre and waits until a partition rises, revealing a performer who then begins his or her short piece. This year, new plays were commissioned from Craig Lucas, Will Eno, Lynn Nottage, José Rivera, Thomas Bradshaw, Zayd Dohrn and Emily Schwend.

They were asked to write three-minute pieces that used this phrase as a jumping-off point: “I’m not the stranger you think I am.” The works range in theme from a serial killer preying on black men to the death of a mother. The actors will be Andrew Garman, Erin Gann, Carmen Zilles, Keith Randolph Smith, Marisol Miranda and Kevin Mambo, an actor and musician who starred in Fela on Broadway.

Theatre for One will be parked at the Winter Garden at Brookfield Place from 18-24 May, Zuccotti Park in Lower Manhattan from 27-31 May and Midtown’s Grace Building Plaza from 2-6 June.