Watch original plays at the annual One-Act Festival

BIRMINGHAM —  Once again, Playwrights@Work is presenting original plays for the annual One-Act Festival July 28-30.

Four original short plays will be performed at the Birmingham Village Players, 34660 Woodward Ave., for the One-Act Festival. Various genres and themes are explored throughout the plays featured in the festival.

The Playwrights@Work are a playwriting group through the Birmingham Village Players.

Plays this year include, “Heidi Who,” written and directed by Jennifer Ward; “Existential Crisis,” written by Jeff Shuster and directed by Udi Kapen; “Rachel’s Song,” written by Udi Kapen and directed by Dale Feldpausch; and “All the World,” written and directed by Stephen Sussman.

“We think that we’ve got a really solid selection of plays this year,” Sussman said. “We feel that all four of them are very strong. And we’ve got fabulous casts that are going to be performing on the stages. A lot of the actors that are going to be performing have been leads in shows all around the area on our main stage and other main stages in the area.”

“Heidi Who” is a comedy about a couple, Kristy and Justin, who are having a birthday party for Justin’s mother. However, his mother brings an unexpected guest, someone from Justin’s past that he is not happy to see.

Ward said she started this play about five or six years ago in a playwriting class, but she was never able to bring it to life until now because it required more mature actors.

“I have four really good actors that deliver the words just brilliantly,” Ward said.

“Existential Crisis” tells the story of two graduate students with very different personalities who meet in a library. Described as smart and funny, the story poses the question: Can two people seemingly so different make a connection?

“Rachel’s Song” is about an Israeli-American woman who reflects on her life as she is about to receive a lifetime achievement award. Kapen wrote this play as a tribute to his mother, Rachel, who was there during the founding of Israel.

Sussman’s play, “All the World,” is about a man who, in the midst of a midlife crisis, leaves his job and devotes himself full-time to community theater. However, it turns out to be different than he had expected.

Sussman said he was given this idea by one of the group’s original members, Joe Feinstein, who passed away earlier this year.

“Doing this play is kind of a tribute to Joe and a thank you to Joe for giving me the seed of an idea for a play,” Sussman said.

Shows start at 8 p.m. Friday, July 28, and Saturday, July 29, and 2 p.m. Sunday, July 30.

General admission costs $10. Tickets can be purchased by calling the Birmingham Village Players Box Office at (248) 644-2075.