Chain Theatre’s highly anticipated Summer One-Act Festival returns July 10 through August 2, 2025, promising an explosive mix of daring theatrical voices and genre-defying performances. Taking place at the Chain Theatre’s home in midtown Manhattan (312 W. 36th Street), this year’s festival features over 90 new one-act plays presented in curated nightly blocks. Each performance runs 75–90 minutes, showcasing bold storytelling from emerging playwrights and seasoned veterans. Select performances will also be available for streaming.
Headlining Program Block #1 is acclaimed actor and writer Paul Calderón with a gripping double bill: The Interlude and Voices from the Edge. Calderón, co-founder of Primitive Grace Theatre Ensemble, is known for roles in Bosch: Legacy, Boardwalk Empire, and Fear the Walking Dead. In The Interlude, a weary trainer pleads with his fighter, showing signs of pugilistic dementia, to leave the ring. Voices from the Edge presents four women recounting personal encounters with gun violence. Calderón’s work is deeply influenced by his identity as a Latino artist, echoing the festival’s focus on culturally resonant storytelling.
Also featured in this year’s festival is What Happened Was, a dark comedy by Walter John Thompson. It stars three-time Emmy winner Cady McClain (Law and Order: SVU) and is directed by Obie and Drama Desk Award-winner Austin Pendleton. Set in a dilapidated bar drifting between memory and imagination, the play explores love, regret, and the tension between performance and the need to be seen. (Program #2)
The lineup also includes Peter Doyle’s Incredible Head from David Andrew Laws, co-creator of Twenty-Sided Tavern. Designed for fans of Dungeons & Dragons theater, this program promises a fantastical, disembodied adventure. (Program #13)
Screenwriter David Rich (Renegades, Stargate: SG-1) offers Meeting Marlon, a quirky comedy about two actors auditioning for a film directed by the iconic Marlon Brando.
Chain Theatre continues its mission of presenting culturally, politically, and socially responsive work. Past premieres include projects by Eric Bogosian, David Rabe, and Jesse Eisenberg, who made his stage directorial debut at Chain before earning an Oscar for A Real Pain.
For tickets, visit chaintheatre.org.