“Oh, my God! I wrote a hit play!” *

Actually, I didn’t — but my friend Michael is debuting three new short plays next week that really ought to be hits, because he’s amazingly talented. So, if you find yourself downtown next Wednesday evening at 7 p.m. (March 26) stop by the Woolly Mammoth Theatre for a staged reading of Seat Yourself, Pompa y Circunstancia, and Porcupine. I can almost guarantee that you will laugh your ass off, and chances are good that you’ll also leave seeing things in a slightly new, significantly more offbeat, way.

Michael actually thinks I have enough readership as a blogger to warrant getting a press release, in addition to our usual chatting about his plays while drinking. (I think this is slightly hilarious, but I appreciate his confidence in me!) So, in his own words, here’s what Michael’s new plays are about:

The first play, Seat Yourself, centers on a woman and a man who attempt to dine at a restaurant, only to suffer the questioning of the man’s existence by an impossible waiter with a silly accent. This work won Theatre Oxford’s 10-Minute Play Contest in 2007. The second play, Pompa y Circunstancia, concerns two brothers who mis-communicate what to wear as a prank at their graduation exercises. This ten-minute play was recently named a finalist in the 2008 Theatre Oxford’s 10-Minute Play contest.

The evening concludes with Porcupine, a one-act play that recounts Sigmund Freud’s visit to America in 1909, where he delivers a series of lectures and searches for his inner porcupine. Along with other turn-of-the-century psychological luminaries, Freud goes to the Adirondacks for a few days of deep thoughts, high silliness, and various mental and physical competitions.

* Given last week’s movie-quote post, bonus points for identifying the movie from which I snagged the title.