The Riant Theatre Alumni, Ato Essandoh to guest star this Friday on NBC's Conviction

So we have another Ato Essandoh acting drive-by and it’s in Primetime, baby, Primetime!

Our friend Ato is guest-starring on NBC’s Conviction this Friday, March 24th at ten p.m as Byron “B-Fly” Williams and he’s got some game in this show, so cue up the Tivo, kick back with some tasty brew and support the handsome fella as he does that acting thang he does so well on TV.

Ato Essandoh - NBC’s Conviction

Friday at 10 pm
Be there or be square.

The Strawberry One-Act Festival Goes Worldwide By Broadcasting Plays On The Internet Via Streaming Videos

The Riant Theatre's Strawberry One-Act Festival, which is celebrating it's 11th Anniversary, is now available for viewing on the web at www.therianttheatre.com/video. 50 one-act plays were presented in the festival and competed for the title of Best Play of the Season! Awards were also given out for Best Director, Best Actor and Best Actress at the Leonard Nimoy Thalia Theatre at Symphony Space in New York City. You can see interviews with some of the nominees for FREE at www.therianttheatre.com/strawberry.html. The New York Daily News called the Strawberry One-Act Festival "the American Idol for playwrights."

Each year hundreds of plays are submitted from around the country to participate in the Strawberry One-Act Festival, which is held twice a year in New York City in February and August. There are 12 series of plays in which 4 to 5 one-act plays are presented. After the show the audience fills out their ballots and the plays with the most points moves on to the semi-finals and then to the finals. This year the Riant added the feature of bringing the festival online so our participants can give their friends and family around the world an opportunity to see their performances.

There is always alot of buzz surrounding the Strawberry One-Act Festival as industry and artists network on future projects. Some plays presented in the festival have been made into films and have been presented in film festivals around the country. We are very happy with the exposure we are able to provide our artists. In addition to being in the festival several plays are selected to be published in our anthologies. Currently, you may purchase The Best Plays From The Strawberry One-Act Festival: Volume One & Two at Amazon.com and b&n.com (Barnes & Nobel). Volume Three will be coming out this July.

We also have the CORE PROJECT, an ongoing workshop to develop new plays and screenplays with writers, directors and actors. I'll keep you posted when we schedule readings of any of these new works. If any of you are interested in participating in the CORE PROJECT you can send a sample script, one-act, or full-length play or screenplay to: The Riant Theatre, P.O. Box 1902, NY, NY 10013, Attn: CORE PROJECT. You can find out more info at www.therianttheatre.com/education.html.

Karen Page, host of Riant! Riant! Arts & Entertainment with Michael D. Jackson, nominee for Best Play & Best Direction for THREE WOMEN in the Strawberry One-Act Festival 

THREE WOMEN by Michael D. Jackson