Holey Swiss! by Phil Paradis Among Five New One-Act Plays at Manhattan Rep 9/21-9/26

CINCINNATI - Sept. 16, 2015 - PRLog -- "Holey Swiss!" by Philip Paradis is one of five new one-act plays to be showcased at Manhattan Repertory Theatre, as part of Manhattan Rep's Fall One Act Play Competition on September 21, 24, 25, 26 at 6:30 pm. Other plays in the Series 5 showcase include "Disposition" by Ange Arabatzis, "Personally Yours," by Lawrence F. Schwabacher, "An Actor's Life For Me," by Bryon Krueger and Jordan Cwiazdowski, and "The Crime Is In Getting Caught," by Raven Petretti.

Says Director Mary McGinley, "HOLEY SWISS! takes place Once upon a time in a Manhattan deli." McGinley adds, "It's a slice of life comedy where the neighborhood deli man meets his match when a cranky customer complains about her last purchase and starts a holey war."

Nashville guitarist/soloist Tajci Cameron loved HOLEY SWISS! so much when she saw it at the Cincinnati Fringe Festival that she requested a command performance for family and friends and hosted a gala in her own home a few weeks later. "Holey Swiss! is my favorite one act!" says Tajci. "I wanted my boys to see it. It's hilarious and totally charming."

Directed by Mary McGinley, "Holey Swiss!" stars Stephanie Schwartz as Sara Goldstein and Rob Issen as Moise Schonenburg. Schwartz is a New York City-based actor who regularly performs with Love Creek Productions, Manhattan Theatre Works, FACT, UAPlayClub in NYC and in Westchester, Fairfield and Rockland Counties. She recently appeared in The Vagina Monologues, a benefit production for breast cancer research. Issen made his professional acting debut at age 19 playing George in “Of Mice and Men” opposite John Turturro’s  Lenny. He won an Emmy for writing and producing the documentary “Fun City Revisited: The Lindsay Years" and has written and produced segments for over 50 episodes of PBS’ “American Masters.”

McGinley teaches at Kean University in New Jersey and is director of Actors Alternative Studio where she teaches acting, Shakespeare, and coaches privately. A member of the Lincoln Center Theatre Director’s Lab and the League of Professional Theatre Women, Mary currently directs The Garden, A New Plays Project for New Millennium Theatre Works and leads Weird Sisters Consortium, an advocacy group for women working in Shakespeare. She also manages the Women’s Work Play Lab at New Perspectives Theatre.

Playwright Philip Paradis has served on the faculties of Oklahoma State University, Iowa State University, Western Carolina University and Northern Kentucky University. He resides in Fort Thomas, Kentucky. Paradis was a semifinalist in the Kentucky Theatre Association's 2014 New Play Competition for his play "The Red Badge of Stephen Crane." His play "Footprints of the Polar Bear" won the Cincinnati Directors Competition in 2008. He is currently at work on a play about the 19th Century American author Stephen Crane.

Though the upcoming production of "Holey Swiss!" will be the play's New York premier, the short comedy has been produced several times at theaters in Ohio and Kentucky, as part of "Love Knots: a love fest of five short plays," at the Cincinnati Fringe Festival, at the Emery Theatre, Cincinnati, OH, and as part of an evening of one-acts "Swiss Cheese, Sweethearts and Shenanigans," part of the Village Players Theater regular season, Fort Thomas, KY. Both evenings of one-acts received multiple performances and included several sold-out shows.

Manhattan Rep will present the Fall One Act Play Competition on Monday 9/21, Thursday 9/24, Friday 9/25, Saturday 9/26 at 6:30 p.m. at Manhattan Repertory Theatre, 303 W. 42nd Street, Suite 614, New York, NY. Tickets are $20 and are available at the door on the night of performance while supply lasts. Tickets may be reserved by emailing MRTRESERVE@GMAIL.COM. For more information, visit http://www.ManhattanRep.com.