GTT�s annual fundraiser � this year benefiting The One-Act Playhouse � will be presented December 18 at 8:00 PM at the 78th Street Theatre Lab on Manhattan�s upper west side.

Executive produced by Justin Boccitto and directed by Michael Blevins, this year's event will feature a revival of QUICK CURTAINS: An Evening of Shorts by Classic and Contemporary Playwrights. QUICK CURTAINS premiered at the 14th Street Theatre in Manhattan this past summer yet the December Fundraising incarnation will feature it�s original bill of Strindberg�s THE STRONGER, the fantastical SIX WHO PASS WHILE THE LENTILS BOIL, a revised version of the classic sketch A PAIR OF LUNATICS, GTT Social Awareness piece, AFTERMATH, and an additional new piece THE POT BOILER a vaudevillian comedy by Alice Gerstenberg and adapted for this staging by director Michael Blevins.

Proceeds from the holiday event will support future One Act Playhouse evenings, like QUICK CURTAINS, and will also benefit the One Act Playhouse Jr. Educational Program currently in residence at the Emily Dickinson P.S. 75 Elementary School on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. [See "Small Plays For Small People" see front page]

This eclectic collection of playlets presents numerous GTT Company Members and New York actors including: Jane Brelvi, Jeff Brelv, Denise Brysette, Daisy Castellucci, Brian Duryea, Doug Francisco, Ari Frenkel, Juli Greenberg, Ryan Gregorio, Joe Harrington, Christopher Hoyt, Brittany Jeffrey, Cristina Marie, Alex Maxwell, Mary Ann Penzero, Tyler Rai, Nicky Romaniello, Ryan Schaars, Tommy Slivinski, Ian Smith, Lexie Speirs and Stephanie Templin.

August Strindberg's, The Stronger, features characters with no names: Mrs. X, played by Cristina Marie & Mrs. Y. played by Juli Greenberg. In this classic monologue, featuring three characters, irony abounds and sustains a dramatic intensity that few plays possess. Though but one character speaks, the souls of three are skillfully laid bare.

Six Who Pass While The Lentils Boil is probably the most popular of playwright Stuart Walker's plays. In the vein of Lewis Carroll, Stuart Walker serves us this fanciful bit of action led by Ryan Gregorio as the boy who is left home with his pet butterfly portrayed by Juli Greenberg to attend the pot of boiling lentils. They encounter six persons including a Mime, a Blind Man, a Milk Maid, a Singer and the dreadful Headsman, respectively played by Nicky Romaniello, Jeff Brelvi, Stephanie Templin, Alex Maxwell (quitar in tow) and Joe Harrington. They are on their way to the execution of the Queen played by Brittany Jeffrey who is condemned to die before the clock strikes twelve. Her crime is having stepped upon the ring-toe of the King's Great Aunt!

Long lost original material, not seen in over 75 years, from the origianl sketch by W.R. Walkes is restored in QUICK CURTAINS' new version of, A Pair of Lunatics. Brian Duryea and Mary Ann Penzero celebrate Comedia Del Arte in this zany short where upon meeting, a man and woman take each other for inmates in an insane asylum...but are they?

Aftermath, GTT's respect-your-body play for teens has been touring Tri-State Middle & High Schools for the past 3 years and is part of GTT's Social Awareness Outreach Wing. The cast features Nicky Romaniello, Jane Brelvi, Ian Smith, Lexie Speirs, Ryan Gregorio, Tyler Rai and Brittany Jeffrey who shed light on the lives of 7 young people as they face daily choices about substance abuse, promiscuity, diet, other social issues and the inevitable consequences of the choices they make. Knowledge is power � aftermath arms young people with the power of positive choices and shows young people the awesome power in every choice they make. [For more visit: www.aftermath-show.com]

The evening's new piece is The Pot Boiler, a satirical vaudeville sketch by Alice Gerstenberg. [The term "pot boiler", coined in the early 1900's, refers to a quickly and poorly written play for the purpose of supporting a playwrights daily living expenses.] In this American stage classic, adapted and updated by The Group Theatre Too, LLC the protagonist, Sudd a playwright, played by Christopher Hoyt, demonstrates how a truly great playwright writes a play by employing symbolic stock characters (named after office supplies) such as: Mrs. Pencil, played by Cristina Marie, Mr. Ruler, played by Tommy Slivinski, Indelible Marker, played by Ari Frenkel, and Mr. & Miss Scissors played by Doug Francisco and Daisy Castellucci. As Sudd�s melodramatic and cliche plot unfolds it becomes apparent that this hysterically brilliant satire could be describing several prominent modern-day playwrights.

All five plays comprising QUICK CURTAINS were selected and directed by Michael Blevins who has been hailed by national theatre critic Peter Filichia as, "A wizard of a director . . ." Steven Ferri serves as Production Stage Manager and David Melendez as Company Manager.

All ticket holders are cordially invited to the 7pm Holiday Reception prior to the 8PM curtain on Tuesday December 18th at Manhattan's 78th Street Theater Lab, 236 W. 78th Street, NYC 10024. To purchase online tickets to QUICK CURTAINS visit: www.theatermania.com or call 212-352-3101 or 1-866-811-4111. For more information visit: www.oneactplayhouse.com and stop by GTT's Online One-Act Play Library Resource that features the full and complete texts of a slew of theatrical one act gems at www.oneactplays.com.