February 15, 2007
37 Roles? Tiny budget? Easy: hire only one actor.Joe Nickell
More from Bridgette Redman in Lansing:
One-hander plays are becoming increasingly common. Partly this is because theater budgets are shrinking and the payroll strain is lightened when they have to pay only one actor rather than multiple ones.
I'm still undecided on what I think of the genre. When done well, they can be immensely entertaining to watch. While I didn't care for the script's conclusion (though perhaps it was meant to be more satirical than it came across), Michigan's Williamston Theatre's production of Fully Committed was highly entertaining (click here for a full review).
It was a show that did underline a characteristic of one-hander shows: They're often more about the skill and technique of the actor than they are about the story. They're fun to watch because of what the actor is pulling off. They rent a low-budget space on the plane of spectacle theater.
Posted by Joe Nickell at February 15, 2007 11:50 AM
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