Dominic D'Andrea on the origins of OMPF, how 10-minute plays provided a jumping-off point, and what (and who) brought him to BPT

Dominic D'Andrea

I'm looking forward to the first-ever Boston One-Minute Play Festival and since the event is being co-produced by BPT, that gives me an excuse to ask questions...lots of 'em. I was eager to know more about one-minute plays, the genesis -- and growth -- of the Festival (which has grown from a single event in NYC to a nationwide movement in a half dozen years), OMPF's mission, and, well, keep reading.

OMPF Founder Dominic D'Andrea gamely and graciously (and thoroughly!) answered my queries, and I can't bear to cut a single word. What follows is the first of two parts of our Q&A [part two is here], so get ready to be inspired.

Tickets can be purchased online; proceeds from the event will support new plays in our community, so be sure to come check it out on January 7-9 right here at BPT.

KAM: How did the first One-Minute Play Festival (in NYC) come about?

DD: The One-Minute Play Festival actually started over half a decade ago when a theatre company I am a member of and I participated in a large national short form festival sponsored by a major NYC institution that was supposed to be about inclusion, bringing the community together, and deep conversation/collaboration with people who wouldn’t normally work together. I really bought into the whole culture of this festival, and deeply wanted it to be a transformative experience. I spent a lot of time crafting the work for it with no resources, as did my colleagues. Some of the work assigned to us was really tough to connect to our work and personal missions, as it was about a singular writer, but we tried to “go big” and “make it our own.”

Long story short: After going through it, I was really disappointed by the reality. I didn’t meet anybody, and didn’t have any meaningful conversations, I didn’t learn anything, and I was neither transformed nor transported. It felt like we simply participated in a massive PR stunt, or some bizarre ongoing flash mob and not much like the community theatre event it said it was. I felt duped. I felt like I had just participated in a system that had nothing to do with me or my community, or the communities around me. It felt about as personal as taking the SATs.

Kate on the One-Minute Play Festival Fight Club

Dominic, Dominic, Dominic.  That's who I think of when I hear One-Minute Plays (or OMPF). Dominic D'Andrea -- he's the OMPF GUY who called me about this strange and wondrous adventure we're all of us on now.  I said, "Uh...Dominic, is it a lot of work?  Because if I have to work...FORGETABOUTIT!"  (Okay, I'm overworked.  I know it, and now you know it.  I keep saying "Yes" -- this is my problem.) Dominic promised me no work.  No work, he said!  Okay, so there's ALMOST no work (he's doing most of it), and...I love him still.  Most of all, I love his passion about this whole process. You can't slow him down or pull him away from the goal of seeing these bite-sized morsels come alive.  Or maybe the metaphor is more like a slap.  Yes, I love it!  We're in a Fight Club!  And all of our proceeds, every single bit of what Boston Playwrights' Theatre earns, will go back to where it belongs -- to the entire playwriting community around Boston.

The Greatest Story Never Told?

What gift did Demonio bring?

Bloggy cheer

Where's Demonio?

As things begin to get holiday-quiet, it’s fun to check in on some of the other blogs on our blogroll (to the right) and see what folks are doing. What have people been posting about lately?

Emily Kaye Lazzaro shared a little of what’s on her cutting room floor. John Kuntz posted some gorgeous photos from the photo call from The Balcony, which he directed recently at The Boston Conservatory. John Greiner-Ferris just turned three (as a playwright), and reflects on his advancing age. And Colleen Hughes is celebrating the season with her roundup of Bad Santas.

And speaking of other blogs, don’t forget to watch the One-Minute Play Festival blog for posts from some familiar faces (including this one by Israel Horovitz and this one by Natalia Naman) and more about this exciting event...coming to Boston on Jan. 7, 8, and 9.

Alumni news, in brief:

Cha Cha Picante was in the house for opening night of Molly Smith Metzler's Close Up Space at Manhattan Theatre Club...

Lydia Diamond's Stick Fly made Bloomberg News' list of best shows of 2011...

Demonio, Cha Cha -- this one's for you!

How being a playwright feels (sometimes), pt. 2

Muppets: Ringing of the Bells

BPT parties down

It's safe to say that a good time was had by all at BPT's holiday gathering last night. Thank you to Kate, Jake, Marc, Mike, and everyone else behind the scenes who helped make it happen -- each year, this party is a wonderful chance to toast the season with friends old and new.

Here are some photos. Disclaimer: I wasn't really making an effort to fully document the evening, so this is by no means a comprehensive look at the event. Now I wish I'd taken more! But anyway, here are a few fun moments (the ones that were fully-clothed, anyway...kidding, kidding):

The Brawlers (Will Fancher, Jake Strautmann, Sophie Gibson Rush) tear it up

Alumni news, in brief:

El Demonio Rosa and Cha Cha Picante high-five it on their way in to see Walt McGough's Priscilla Dreams the Answer...

One-act plays by Michael Parsons (House Rules) and Peter M. Floyd (Beleaguered), and ten-minute plays by Colleen Hughes (The Button) and MJ Halberstadt (Peggy's Properties) will be presented at KCACTF's Region 1 competition. The event will be held in Fitchburg in January...

Holidays. Draining? No way!

Clockwise from top L: Ma, Streep, Diamond, Cook, and Rollins (Photo: AP)

In case you’re feeling a little low on inspiration this holiday season (and let’s be honest: We’re all stretched in a million different directions right now…and most of those directions probably have not much to do with the practice of our own art), look no further than the exciting cross section of talent represented by this year’s class of Kennedy Center Honors inductees – Barbara Cook, Neil Diamond, Yo-Yo Ma, Sonny Rollins, and Meryl Streep.

Alumni news, in brief:

El Demonio Rosa pauses to wave on his way in to catch part two of Tarell Alvin McCraney's The Brother/Sister Plays at Company One...

A gaggle of alums was commissioned to write one-minute plays for the first-ever Boston One-Minute Play Festival (a co-production of the NYC-based One-Minute Play Festival and BPT) including William Fancher, Peter M. Floyd, Deirdre Girard, Anna Renée Hansen, Heather Houston, Colleen Hughes, Dan Hunter, Emily Kaye Lazarro, K. Alexa Mavromatis, Matt Mayerchak, Walt McGough, Ronan Noone, Rick Park, John Shea, Donna Sorbello, and John Zakrosky, Jr. All told, the January event will feature 70 plays by alums and other favorite Boston-area playwrights. Watch this space for much more on this exciting event...

Stephen Sondheim on The Colbert Report earlier this week

My hero! (Sondheim, but Colbert's not so bad himself.) 

And speaking of Sondheim, here's an excerpt from his new book from The Guardian...

Alter egos

I thought it would be a good idea to share a little inside scoop about the process I use to create the Playwrights' Perspective's ‘Alumni news, in brief’ bulletin each week.

Covering Cleveland

There are a number of ways I collect this information. The first, as you may have guessed, is word of mouth (or FB, or Twitter, etc.). I know many of you personally, and you share your news with me, which is fantastic. Thank you (and keep it coming). Second: Other media. I try to be aware of local press, and what's going on. But I can't catch everything, which is why the third method – Google Alerts – is so handy.

Google Alerts is pretty great. You can get updated search results based on keywords, names, subjects – whatever – sent automatically right to your e-mail. Somebody trash-talking about you on their blog? The ultimate tattletale, Google Alerts will find it and show you. Some rogue theatre attempting a royalty-free production of your play? Google Alerts! You get the idea.