Out of the Box, Showcase

These four one-act sketch plays, directed by Mara De La Rosa, provide a unique platform for student actors to explore diverse roles and challenge their range. From the deeply personal to the surreal, each play offers characters grappling with universal themes of love, identity, and human connection. De La Rosa’s direction brings these complex stories to life, emphasizing the emotional depth, humor, and raw vulnerability of each piece.

This intense drama confronts the forbidden love between two women who discover they are half-sisters. Student actors will explore emotional extremes, diving into themes of identity, loyalty, and family betrayal. De La Rosa’s direction focuses on the internal conflict between love and morality, creating a powerful narrative that challenges performers to navigate difficult ethical territory while maintaining the complexity of the characters’ emotional lives.

In this poignant exploration of mortality, Don, a cancer patient, forms an unusual bond with his hospital bed, which comes to life and takes on the roles of people from his past. The surreal nature of the play gives actors a chance to stretch their imaginations, portraying multiple personas. De La Rosa emphasizes the connection between memory and love, guiding actors through a nuanced portrayal of death, grief, and reflection.

This heartwarming yet comedic play follows Sam, a closeted mechanic, as he struggles to embrace his identity as a drag queen. Student actors will find rich material in the relationships between Sam, his best friend Ellen, and the vibrant drag queen Donatella. De La Rosa’s direction celebrates self-acceptance and personal growth, while also allowing the cast to have fun with the lively energy of drag culture and performance.

In this darkly comedic and surreal piece, Sean Wilcox’s three synthetic sex doll girlfriends begin to question their purpose, leading to a clash between fantasy and reality. This play provides student actors with the challenge of portraying synthetic beings who develop consciousness, exploring themes of objectification and desire. De La Rosa’s direction encourages actors to explore the fine line between humor and emotional vulnerability, making for a dynamic and thought-provoking performance.

Mara De La Rosa brings her expertise as a producer and writer to these plays, offering student actors a creative platform to explore challenging roles. Each one-act showcases her unique vision, blending humor, surrealism, and emotional complexity to examine love, identity, and human connection.

Event Venue

Los Angeles City College Theater Arts / LACC Theatre Academy, Heliotrope Drive, Los Angeles, United States