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Theater Arts: Drama for page or stage
Malia Wessel
The Father
A Play in One Act
A mix of present day and projected memories, this play pits a father’s unconditional love against a boy’s unforgivable act.
SYNOPSIS: Somewhere in America, a father struggles to reconnect with his teenage son, reflecting on the good times and the bad, trying to pinpoint where things went wrong. Over the course of a single conversation, the two slowly and painfully reach an understanding—but all that work is flipped on its head when the son confesses what he’s done. This play tells the story of a father teaching reconciliation and forgiveness, but how far can forgiveness go when the act itself is unforgivable?
About the playwrights: Malia Wessel grew up in Hawai’i and attended the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa for a bachelor’s in Theatre, before pursuing a Directing Masters at the University of East Anglia in England. In 2018, they received the Myrle Clark Award for Promising Undergraduate Creative Writer. The following year, their first play, Tony the Fantastic Fireman! Live: One Show Only, was nominated for the John Cauble Award for Outstanding Short Play. Since then, they have explored different areas of the theatre, such as design, directing, dramaturgy, and performance. Apart from the rushed work of 24-hour play festivals, The Father is their second one-act play.
About the playwrights:
Malia Wessel grew up in Hawai’i and attended the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa for a bachelor’s in Theatre before pursuing a Directing Masters at the University of East Anglia in England. In 2018, they received the Myrle Clark Award for Promising Undergraduate Creative Writer. The following year, their first play, Tony the Fantastic Fireman! Live: One Show Only, was nominated for the John Cauble Award for Outstanding Short Play. Since then, they have explored different areas of the theatre, such as design, directing, dramaturgy, and performance. Apart from the rushed work of 24-hour play festivals, The Father is their second one-act play.
Image: Sorrow Comes for You by Edward Supranowicz (contemporary). Digital art. No technical information specified. By 2022. By permission. Edward Supranowicz is an O:JA&L Featured Artist for June 2023.
