“I don`t want I don`t need I can`t stand no minute man. I don`t want no minute man.” Missy Elliot

Enrique Urueta

So Dominic and I were sitting in a bar and he says, “ Check it: 90 different playwrights. A few hot directors. A bunch of actors. One room. You want in on this action?” I said “That sounds hot!”, that’s how I got involved, and in retrospect I should have been more specific. Just kidding. Well, mostly.

About a month ago, Dominic came to San Francisco and asked to meet with me, and I of course suggested a gay bar in the Castro (I love taking straight men to a gay bar. It’s like taking a black woman to NASCAR, except you’re more likely to get some after). It was the first time we actually met, though we’ve been total besties on Facebook ever since I turned him down after the first time he asked me to take part in this crazy festival. You see, I hate short plays (well, most of them). HATE them. OMG especially ten-minute plays. Like, they make me a little Mel Gibson cray-cray when I read or see them. Why? Because most of the time, they end up being either a punch line or a set-up for a story that should be longer. Or if they’re really good, I get mad that they hook me in and kick me out of their wonderfully imaginative worlds so fast (I’m thinking of amazing ten-minute plays like Jordan Harrison’s Fit For Feet, Sarah Hammond’s Hum of the Arctic, and Dan Dietz’s Trash Anthem and Lobster Boy). If so many ten-minute plays miss the mark, how can you render something truly dramatic and complete in just one minute? Call me a size queen, but I like plays like I like my men—engaging, powerful, and able to entertain me for at least an hour (unless they’re by Dan Dietz. I’ll take him for any amount of time—his plays, that is).

Maybe it was all the vodka tonics, but something changed in me after speaking with Dominic. The more I heard him talk about the One Minute Play Festival, the faster the wheels began to spin in my head. What if it is possible to capture something truly dramatic in a minute? How do you tell a complete story (beginning, middle, and end) in one minute that is dramatically satisfying? I took it on as a challenge. And what a fun challenge it proved to be (as well as a wonderful learning experience. It took me quite a while to come up with something that was dramatically satisfying that could take place in a minute, but I think I landed on something fierce. One of my goals as a playwright is to create powerful roles and fantasy performances for women, and with Holla I hope I’m able to give an actress (and the women in the audience) a moment that many dream of living out.

And can we discuss the line-up for a second? Michael John Garces. Caridad Svich Michael Golamco. Adam Szymkowicz. Tanya Saracho. Saviana Stanescu. Joshua Conkel. Qui Nguyen. I know, right?! Amazing. And it’s a huge honor to share stage time with two of my most influential teachers, Christine Evans and Liz Duffy Adams. This is a hot ass group of playwrights, and I’m so excited to be in the mix. To remix Missy Elliot a bit: we’re gonna give it to you, throw it to you, and we want you to come prepared, ooooh yeah (oh yes). I just wish I could be in New York to see how it all goes down. I do so love to watch.

-Enrique Urueta

80+ plays. 30+ actors. 7 directors. 1-minute.

The 4th Annual NY One Minute Play Festival

Saturday, Sept. 25th & Sunday, Sept. 26th at 8pm

At Astoria Performing Arts Center

Buy your tickets here: http://bit.ly/1-minute-tix