Watch and read comedy one-acts

October 5, 2016 9:52 PM

I love David Ives' All In The Timing, and I'd really like to read more comedic plays like that. I'd also really like to watch them. Do you have suggestions for either, comedic writers to read, or things (preferably online) to watch? Maybe there are good YouTube channels, or equivalent? I am not particularly interested in solo comedic acts.
posted by freyley to Media & Arts (3 answers total)

Some ideas to look at off the top of my head, some of these playwrights will have plays right up your alley (but not all of them):

Christopher Durang
Nicky Silver
Yasmina Reza
Sarah Ruhl
John Patrick Shanley

I also immediately thought of:

Noises Off by Michael Frayn
Almost, Maine by John Cariani
posted by miles1972 at 10:32 PM on October 5, 2016 [2 favorites]

Ives is often associated with Durang, though I don't find them very similar. The most Ives-ian things I've read by other authors are a short play called The Rules by Howard Korder and another by David Mamet, which, unhelpfully, I can't remember the title of, but is basically one guy explaining to another guy the rules of a game called Jacks, similar to Uno . You might also enjoy any of the Neo-Futurists' collections (Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind and others). They're not all comic, but they are all very short, typically under two minutes apiece.
posted by zanni at 1:06 AM on October 6, 2016

Best answer: The two playwrights that come to mind are Christopher Durang (this collection of his short plays is probably most relevant) and Rich Orloff. Sarah Ruhl is not quite the same but has some overlap in comedic style -- perhaps start with Stage Kiss, which I think is most like what you're looking for.

The comedy duo Mitchell and Webb might also do it for you. Check out their sketch show, That Mitchell & Webb Look (representative sample: Chiropractor, Are We the Baddies?, Third Person Caesar). If you like that, you might also try David Mitchell's Soapbox, available free online.

If you're really aching to see live performances, I'd just note that Sure Thing (from All in the Timing) is ridiculously fun and simple to stage. I've put it up myself and seen productions by amateurs and professionals, and I've never not enjoyed it. Perhaps you could get some friends together over pizza to do a reading? Or maybe you could get ambitious and organize a small production?
posted by ourobouros at 9:01 AM on October 6, 2016 [1 favorite]