by Leah Budson
“Playwrights’ Festival” exhibits talent and impressive acting through nine ten-minute student-written plays.
The annual festival premiered yesterday evening in the little theatre at 7:30. There is  a second performance tomorrow at 2 p.m.
“The Fourth Seat at the Table,” a cleverly written piece by senior Abby Holtzman, begins the show with the story of a passover seder gone wrong. Holtzman, a director of the festival along with senior Emma Weisberg and sophomore Kelsey Fox, toys with traditional seder phrases in her play, such as “Why is this night different from all other nights?”
A highlight of the show is “Sin and Tonic,” a play by sophomore Bethany Lehman. The play opens as the lights go up on a bedroom in which Ronald, played by junior Jonathan Kim, walks toward the sleeping Andy, played by sophomore Steven Kelly, with rolls of toilet paper. Although the audience’s first reaction is that the play is a comedy about a camp prank, as the play unfolds it shifts to a deeper, more serious tone.
Soon, it becomes clear that Ronald and Andy are in jail. Both actors do a laudable job of capturing the realistic yet complex personality of their characters. Kim truly astounds the audience with a heart-wrenching monologue in which he reveals the story behind his arrest.
Another highlight is the comedic play “The Witching Hour” by freshman Elena Rodriguez. Hilarious from start to finish, it tells the story of two parents who are called into a conference with their son’s teacher, played by junior Indigo Asim. The parents, Connor and Steph, played by senior Caleb Bromberg and sophomore Hannah Gallogy respectively,  mimic their son’s poor behavior, garnering much laughter.
The clever “The Fourth Seat at the Table,” the intense “Sin and Tonic” and the hilarious “The Witching Hour” are just a glimpse of “Playwrights Festival.” A beautiful collection of comedy and insight, the festival is a wonderful end to the Theatre Ink season.