Saturday, September 28, 2013

It's the First and Possibly Only Bacon Theatre Festival

Hamming it up won’t get anyone panned at this show.


The First and Possibly Only Bacon Theatre Festival is all about hogging the spotlight.


On the menu at the one-night-only event on Thursday on the upper West Side are 11 short productions linked by a subject that would make Miss Piggy sit up and take notice. (And probably a little nervous.)


“When I invited playwrights to take part,” says event producer Kate McLeod, “I gave them all a one-word direction — bacon.”


That single marching order provided plenty of food for thought for the participating playwrights, whose credits reach from FringeNYC to Off-Broadway and beyond.


Shows all run around six minutes and range from quirky comedies and love stories to social commentaries about, says McLeod, “some of the monumental stupidities of our society.”


In “The Play About the Bacon,” David Johnston imagines a kooky conversation. “It didn’t take long to settle on the story,” he says. “What took a while was compiling every bad pun about pork, bacon or pigs that I could find.”


In Rob Ackerman’s “Forgiveness,” bacon and guilt go hand in hand with seriocomic consequences.


“DIY Speakeasy 2014,” a mini-musical by Christie Baugher and Nick Myers, assumes absurdist dimensions.


“We were inspired by an article on the NPR website about how the bacon craze could lead to bacon shortages and rationing next year,” says Baugher. “We envisioned a couple trying to throw a theme party in the near future.”


This shindig comes with Jazz Age costumes and black-market bacon. “It’s the silliest thing I’ve written in a long time,” Baugher admits.


McLeod, a journalist and playwright, co-wrote a tiny opera for the festival. She dreamed it up after writing about the Baconery — the specialty cafe at 911 Columbus Ave. in her upper West Side neighborhood devoted to you-know-what. Brownies, chocolate chip cookies and peanut butter sandwiches all pack a little pork. Strips of bacon dipped in chocolate are a salty-sweet indulgence.


Owner Wesley Klein has an interest in the arts and events. But the piggy paradise proved too small for the theater festival. “I was a little heartbroken about that,” says McLeod.


She got over it. The show will take place a block away at Ding Dong Lounge, 929 Columbus Ave. (105th and 106th Sts.), starting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. There’ll be treats up for grabs from the Baconery.


Bacon is unapologetically fatty, but the fest runs lean and mean. The productions are basically bare-bones, and will be done with minimal staging and props.


“One writer asked if she could get a refrigerator on stage,” says McLeod. “No way. Maybe there’s room for a pan.”


Tickets: $25 at bacontheaterfestival.eventbrite.com.


jziemianowicz@nydailynews.com


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Theater by the slice


Here’s what’s on the menu at the pork-happy festival


“The Play About the Bacon” — A deep conversation involves Francis Bacon.


“The Invitation” — A wedding invitation goes astray.


“The All of Us” — A gift of bacon could mean reconciliation for a troubled family.


“One Weird Trick” — A couple tries to put the sizzle back in their lives.


“The Sizzle” — Two men meet secretly to cheat on their partners.


“Forgiveness” — a story of guilty pleasure.


“Your Bacon Eyes” — An engaged couple’s happiness hinges on pork.


“Eat Me” — A man finds himself surrounded by pigs at a cafe.


“Bringing Home the Bacon” — A job interview goes up in smoke.


“Bacon for Breakfast” — A loss leads a man back to his favorite food.


“DIY Speakeasy 2014” — A story of supply and demand — and secrecy.


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