Last night was the finals of the Secret Theatre One Act Festival, and I'm happy to report that Rebecca Ana Peña won a best performer award for her role in my play My Fellow Americans.
Bec got to play the President of the United States making a televised speech right before important issues intervene. The staff at the Secret Theatre chose to use the one-woman play as the opener each night we performed.
This is the first time I've had an opportunity to work with Bec, but hopefully it will not be the last. It was also my first time working with director Rachael Langton, though I previously saw her work at the Metropolitan Playhouse, where she directed Bec in East Side Stories, Actually.
My Fellow Americans started out as one of eight plays performing on Wednesday nights at the Secret Theatre as "Program D" of the festival, before advancing to the semi-finals, and then the finals. Two other plays that were part of the Wednesday-night line up also advanced: Happier Days by Jennifer Ju and The Gatekeepers by Dan Perry.
I snapped this photo last night after the performance. That's Julie Berndt on the left ("Lady Bredwell" from The Gatekeepers), followed by Jen Lyon ("Actor" from Happier Days"), Susan Jane McDonald ("Lady Teaworthy" from The Gatekeepers), Rebecca Ana Peña ("Woman" from My Fellow Americans), and Qesar Veliu ("Actor" from Happier Days).
Congratulations to all involved!
