The Question House

Produced by Breadbasket Productions

The Question House is the story of a little consulting firm with a big secret: the people who work there must speak only in questions or risk being struck dead by the hand of God. Or, at least, that's what owner and operator Harvey Krytz and his loyal secretary Margaret want everyone to think. Is Krytz crazy? What will happen if someone ends a sentence with a period? Audiences should prepare to laugh and squirm as they're sucked into a world in which the stakes are alarmingly high every time any character opens his mouth.

The Question House is the perfect farce for today's economic climate. It's about a boss who can't quite reconcile some unorthodox business practices with Jewish law (à la Bernie Madoff?), a secretary trying desperately to limit the damage, an agent of the law who doesn't know which end is up, and underlings who will do just about anything to hang onto a job. With the recession in full swing out there, getting to know the employees of The Question House may just make you feel a little better about your own job…or see the upside of unemployment.

I wrote The Question House when I was a college student, apparently filled with anxiety about what the corporate world might hold in store for me after graduation. Now, almost 10 years later, with corporate budgets being slashed right and left, anxiety about employment is a lot more commonplace. It may be a bad time to be a consultant, but it's a great time to revive this play. I am very glad that Catherine Siracusa and the members of the HB ensemble — especially Cam Kornman, who hung onto this script for eight years, waiting for a full production — were up for doing exactly that.

Tara Dairman, playwright

The Dysfunctional Guide to Home, Perfection, Marital Bliss

Produced by Dysfunctional Theatre Company

Author: Jennifer Gill, Rachel Grundy, Amy Overman, Amy Beth Sherman, Theresa Unfried

The Dysfunctional Guide to Home Perfection, Marital Bliss & Passionate Hot Romance is the single greatest book on marriage ever written.  It covers over 500 years of recorded history (and some unrecorded history, too).   Our show is about this book.  You can expect to see five women drinking a lot of wine and playing a lot of different, random characters through time.  We wear little black dresses, drink heavily, talk about men and ponder why the hell we're married and why the hell we bother.  It's a bit like Sex & the City, but with one more woman and a much smaller wardrobe budget.

Since 50% of marriages end in divorce, I think trying to figure out why the other half don't is pretty topical.  Plus we're really, really funny.  And smart.  This is a crazy, funny, romantic comedy.  Women will relate to it; men will gain valuable insight into the female psyche.  Plus, what other show features a 15th century English prophet/crazy woman?  No other show I'd bet you.

We love FRIGID and we're proud to have been a part of every FRIGID festival.  We've wanted to do this piece for a long time and FRIGID's open, experimental atmosphere is the perfect place to premier a new work, especially one as surreal as this show.

Amy Overman, writer/actor

95/Turnpike/95: Chickens in Jersey

Produced by International BTC

95/turnpike/95: Chickens in Jersey is the story of Milo and Jane, two toll booth workers on the Jersey Turnpike experiencing a freakishly slow work day.  As Milo waits for his dream woman and Jane waits for her steam whistle, they're faced with the impending doom of the Rooster of the Turnpike — the horrid Chicken Truck — and the difficult choice of: do I stay or do I go?  Audiences can expect language with no restraints, eccentric characters — both odd and endearing — chicken clucks a-plenty and a whole lotta feathers.

Known as the butt of many a culture joke, this show contains two perspectives of the great Garden State — New Jersey, love it or hate it.  At the heart is a question that everyone faces at some point in life, but on the surface is an absurd funny picture of these two eccentric characters that don't take life too seriously, and neither does this play.  Overall, we feel audiences will want to see this show because it's thoughtful, but mostly, just plain entertaining.

We mainly chose this play because it's a fun piece to experience and in this festival especially, we're granted the chance to experiment and indulge our stranger side… and the show's pretty strange.  When it comes down to it, we figure with seasonal depression and an economic recession (rhyme!) — why not make 'em laugh?

Amanda Sage Comerford, co-playwright