Plays are now being accepted for this season's readings.

Email NorthportPlays@gmail.com

Next Meeting July 14th, 7:30pm

NORTHPORT READER'S THEATER

Northport One-Act Play Festival 

The Final Curtain:

The History of the Northport One-Act Play Festival

“Why don’t you try to organize play readings in Northport?” It’s hard to believe that one simple question posed to me back in 1999 would lead me on a journey that introduced me to lifelong friends and some of the most talented actors, playwrights, and directors on Long Island.

At the time, the friend who asked me the question was hosting cold readings of plays. I loved the idea of cold readings – traveling to New York City and upstate New York whenever he scheduled such a gathering. However, once he posed the idea of me creating a program on my own, I put out a call thus began the Northport Reader’s Theater.

Our first reading was at the E. Northport Library community room, attended only by my husband Stan Katz, Jeff Bennett, Eve Van Dyk and me. Going forward, each of these wonderful people would have an enormous effect on the future of Northport Plays: Jeff – for his continuous support and later invitation to join him in Bare Bones Theater. Eve – who introduced me to the then Pastor of St Paul’s United Methodist Church who gave Northport Reader’s Theater a home, and later Pastor Kristina Hansen who named its stage “The Playhouse at St Paul’s.” And, of course Stan – who has been our tech wizard, sound expert, and great director over the years.

Over the next few years, attendance at our ongoing monthly readings of plays (written by local playwrights) grew in numbers. We even had dedicated audience members who came to enjoy the performances of those assigned roles in the new works presented. We also branched out, collaborating with other theater groups and joining with comedy troupes to do Improv classes and “Laugh Offs.”

Then, in 2009, Michael Casano, a contributing playwright, shared an idea about Long Island needing a festival of one-act plays showcasing the artistry of local theater members – from playwrights to actors. I loved the idea and from there, the Northport One-Act Play Festival was born.

We staged three different programs our first year (2010) at the little theater in Northport High School, in cooperation with Northport Arts Coalition. We produced 14 plays, who’s themes fell into the categories: “Overheard in a Restaurant,” “High School Angst” (all written by students), and “Oh, What a Tangled Web We Weave.” Based on the opinions of our guest judges and audience voting, we awarded our first Rising Star Awards for each program. It was an amazing success.

For our second year, we were invited to perform at St Paul’s but first we had to help restore the stage and create our black box theater. That year we stage 24 plays over four performances including the free student Saturday matinee titled “Distractions While Driving” (one of the first programs who focus on the growing issue) followed by a panel discussion with the Northport/East Northport Drug & Alcohol Task Force.

Our third Festival staged another 26 plays, including the free student matinee focused on bullying with a discussion including a Northport police officer. Each of these festivals was totally performed and staffed by volunteer directors, actors, tech and house staff. Expenses were underwritten totally by playwright fees and ticket sales.
From the fourth year on, we substituted quantity for frequency. Actors wanted to perform more than once, and producing 26 plays in one weekend became an enormous task. So, we reduced a number of plays presented (and made the necessary but difficult decision to sadly bid farewell to student matinees, judges and audience voting). However, we did add “The Taste of the Fest” where we performed a selection of the plays at the Northport Library a couple of weeks after the festival. It was that formula that powered the Northport One-Act Festival over the next 12 years. Some of our plays even were performed in NYC.

When Covid closed all the theaters in 2020 we produced a YouTube festival and followed it with two more which benefitted food banks and other volunteer organizations. Our 15th Annual Northport One-Act Play Festival honored the memory of Jeff Bennett and brought together many of our actors and friends from earlier days. All the details of the festivals can be seen on the History tab above including links to clips from the productions thanks to John and Johnny Passadino, our video experts.

As we now close the curtain on the festival, it is with gratitude that I acknowledge the staff and members of St Paul’s for their constant support; our play readers who helped us judge the hundreds of submissions for their time and expertise; our playwrights for trusting us to put their work on the stage; the directors and actors who used their time and talent to create wonderful productions; our tech staff who made the sound cues come at the right time and to light the stage; our house volunteers who manned the box office and ushered the audience to their seats; and most of all to Michael Casano who started the ball rolling one night in 2009 and over the next fifteen years kept our momentum going, kept me calm, and was the best play scheduler/stage manager to have in your corner; and Stan Katz, who did whatever needed doing and supported me during the most unnerving times.

While the Northport One-Act Play Festival may not be around, the Northport Reader’s Theater continues to – and will continue to thrive. We will remain focused on presenting monthly play readings followed by discussions with the playwrights – sometimes on Zoom and sometimes Hybrid from St Paul’s. Whatever the format or venue, we welcome anyone to join us to read or just to hear the plays read – now and in the future. Details at the Reader’s Theater tab above.