ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — For the past three years, Different Strokes! Performing Arts Collective has been giving emerging artists a voice through its 369 Monologue & Short Play Festival. This year, the Asheville festival is bringing in more local talent, artists of color and untold stories of strength and resilience with this year’s theme, “Get Up! Stand Up!”
Different Strokes! frontwoman Stephanie Hickling Beckman created the 369 Festival in 2021 with the goal of bringing to light emerging playwrights of different ethnicities, backgrounds and perspectives. Today, it is an annual event celebrating fresh ideas, perspectives and talent.
“I think the opportunity to tell so many stories at once is exciting,” says Different Strokes! production manager Rodney Smith. “Having multiple directors ensures that you have a dynamic energy to the show. And giving them the opportunity to show the full range of their vision in multiple plays is something you don’t always have the opportunity with a single-subject, long-form play.”
Smith added that he is especially honored to have not only veteran actors and directors returning to the festival, but also two new directors and three actors who are new to Different Strokes!
Smith says monologues, specifically, hold a special place in his heart because they can create a sense of connection between the actor and the audience, converting the individual watching the play into a sort of cast member.
Though all the pieces are unique, Smith says they run the gamut of comedy and drama.
“There are a couple of pieces that may move you to tears, and others will have you rolling with laughter in the aisles,” he explains. “I truly would encourage everybody to catch both versions of this trail, so you can see the full spectrum of entertainment.”
Stories of strength, survival and inspiration
This year’s festival is subtitled “Get Up! Stand Up!,” bringing together stories of triumph, survival, inspiration, humor and personal power for a world that could use them right now.
Smith says he wanted to put together a series of shows that leaned into those themes, thinking about how depressing simply watching the news today can be.
“It’s so rare these days to hear stories of inspiration, or success, or overcoming adversity,” he says. “I’d like our audience to walk away with something positive or inspiring to think about.”
The festival will feature a rotating mix of six short plays and three monologues across three weekends. After each performance, audience members will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite pieces to be performed during the final Sunday afternoon performance, Best of 369.
369 Monologue & Short Play Festival schedule
When: 7:30 p.m. Oct. 1-3, 9-10 and 16-17; Best of 369 at 3 p.m. Oct. 18
Where: Tina McGuire Theatre at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts, 18 Biltmore Ave., Asheville
Tickets: $22.50 general admission. Buy tickets through Wortham Center for Performing Arts.