An Act of Theatre: “Will I?” and “Three Minutes to Silence”: Two One-Act Plays That Your Audience Will Be Talking About for Months.

By Daniel N. Slowik

Presented here are two unique one-act plays. Originally written for competitions at the middle school level, they have both continued to great success with audiences of all ages.
"Will I?" explores terminal illness. Your audience will experience the highs and lows as the decisions play out onstage in the brain of our patient. They will laugh, they will will cry, they will be moved.
"Three Minutes to Silence" follows the memories of a parent while Nazi Zyklon B gas permeates the air of the gas chamber, ultimately shutting down all memories and synaptic function.
These plays run approximately 30 minutes each and will ensnare the minds of your audience.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Sep 9, 2016
• ISBN: 9781532003363

Daniel N. Slowik

A native of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, Daniel Slowik holds degrees from the University of Central Florida and University of Miami. He is currently working toward his Doctor of Education at the University of West Florida. Slowik is Fine Arts Department Chair at Falcon Cove Middle School in Weston, Florida where he teaches Theatre and Television Production. He oversees a department that includes Art, Band, Theatre, Dance, Television Production, and Film. His lifetime in the theatre began at age 9 as a magician in his 5th grade talent show. By the age of 13, he had a flourishing magic business that included birthday parties, libraries, and pre-schools within the greater Ft. Lauderdale area. His theatrical career would take him to Walt Disney World, where he could be seen on the “World Famous” Jungle Cruise and The Great Movie Ride. He was named Teacher of the Year and Arts Teacher of the Year for Falcon Cove Middle School and has twice been named a finalist for Broward County Arts Teacher of the Year in Theatre. In 2015, Disney Performing Arts honored him as a “Leading Arts Educator” at the Disneyland Arts Educators Summit.

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Copyright © 2016 Daniel N. Slowik.

Cover art: Katherine Pericas

Editor: Laurel Sandage

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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ISBN: 978-1-5320-0335-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5320-0336-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016912705

iUniverse rev. date: 09/01/2016

CONTENTS

Introduction

For the Actors and Director

Will I?

Three Minutes to Silence

INTRODUCTION

Thank you for purchasing AN ACT OF THEATRE.

Within these pages, you will find two one-act plays, each more powerful than the other: WILL I? and THREE MINUTES TO SILENCE.

These plays have been workshopped and presented before independent judges throughout the hierarchy of the Florida State Thespian festivals at both the middle and high school levels. As Florida is home to the largest middle and high school theatre festivals in the world, filled with an abundance of scrutiny from teachers, students, and theatre practitioners, you can feel confident in knowing that the show you are about to produce has, as they say onboard ships, passed muster. Additionally, WILL I? was workshopped with the wonderful theatre students of Nova Southeastern University’s Theatre Department.

I initially wrote these for use in educational theatre, without intending to publish for general use. As the process began to take shape, requests came in from local high school teachers and it quickly became apparent, to my pleasant surprise, that these one-acts would be in demand by theatre professionals at all levels.

These plays should not be attempted by the novice director. They have been nurtured and modified throughout the workshopping process to present what we have in this book. Take them, read them, and learn not only about characterization, but about human psychology and human history. They contain very little stage direction except that which is necessary for the plot. All physicalization, set design, and blocking must be determined by the directing and design team within your organization.

I wish you the best of luck on your theatrical journey.

Danny

SPECIAL THANKS TO

HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL MIAMI BEACH

FALCON COVE MIDDLE SCHOOL

TROUPE #88554

DANIEL BONNETT & LORI SESSIONS

JP Taravella High School Drama Department

FLORIDA STATE THESPIANS

FLORIDA STATE JUNIOR THESPIANS

All my Flight Instructors

For teaching me the importance of checklists

IRA KINDER

My first Drama teacher

ANAKIN & JASMINE

My cats

STEVEN J. FRIEDMAN

My first principal, the man who trusted a brand new kid out of grad school to start and run a brand new Drama Club

The brilliant DRAMA TEACHERS OF BROWARD AND PALM BEACH COUNTIES whom, despite the competitive nature of Thespian festivals, have all supported these original plays.

Every teacher, student, custodian, secretary, administrator, School Board member, volunteer, PTA member, and parent at Falcon Cove Middle School who has supported the theatre program for fifteen years.

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

For continuing to provide unequaled inspiration

four centuries after you’ve left us.

US HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL

www.ushmm.org

YAD VASHEM

www.yadvashem.org

ALY PENTANGELO and her fellow Theatre

students at

Nova Southeastern University

DEBBI, ERIC, KRISTIN

LAUREL SANDAGE

Former student turned editor

MOM

My #1 Fan

PLAY SYNOPSES

WILL I?

When one’s life is threatened, the mind does what it must to survive. The internal conflict, it is said, must be experienced to be understood. Journey deep within the brain to discover its most complex decision-making protocols. Attempts to manage the