By Alessia Viscusi
Every year, Georgetown University’s Mask and Bauble Dramatic Society hosts the Donn B. Murphy One Acts Festival (DBMOAF), a showcase of one-act plays that students write, direct, design and perform in. This year’s festival, which marked the 39th installment, took place Feb. 13-16 and featured three plays: “Ouroboros,” “Six Years Later” and “The Enfancia Project.”
The first play, Anastasia Kelly’s (CAS ’26) “Ouroboros,” directed by Nate Findlay (CAS ’27), transports us to a world steeped in legend, where the two main characters have an extensive history and are no strangers to death. Lilias, portrayed by Claire Cable (CAS ’27), is a proclaimed “god killer” who has sought out and killed countless deities throughout their life. When Cecily, a young reaper played by Alex Roberts (CAS ’26), comes to collect a soul, Lilias divulges to her the haunted nature of her conscience.
The play centers around Lilias and Cecily’s conversation in a burning bar, exploring time, memory, grief and death to unravel their histories. The reveal of the surprising connections between the two made “Ouroboros” thematically fascinating and both lead actors did an incredible job portraying characters haunted by the complexities of their extensive pasts.
The play successfully imbues the lush world with mythology without burdening the audience with unnecessary information. This is accomplished through Kelly’s expertly written script and the impressive use of design elements. As a former theater lighting technician, I was captivated by the immersive representation of fire through light and sound. The costumes and set equally work to establish the mythical world.
With a seamless transition from the ingenious multifunctionality of the set, the burning bar room was switched out for a quaint cafe in Cable’s “Six Years Later.” Directed by Rishu Nevatia (CAS ’27), the one-act sees a once-glorious superhero The Red Sparrow, played by Marre Gaffigan (CAS ’26), reunites with his former arch-nemesis, The Ghost, played by Grady McDonough (MSB ’26) under their new, civilian identities — Kit Hunter and Peter Bennett, respectively. After six years from the spotlight, Hunter still basks in his fame. Bennett, whose public defeat and faked death masked the adoption of his new identity, has settled comfortably into his newfound ordinary life. Unfortunately, all is not as well as it seems.
Through Hunter’s longing to regain his sense of purpose and Bennett’s celebration of his new identity, “Six Years Later” explores the fine line between good and evil and the difficulty of balancing personal fulfillment with public responsibility. The script navigates these themes with great skill, interspersing thought-provoking content with comic relief provided through secondary characters. The waiter, portrayed by Massimo D’Onofrio (CAS ’28), provides some of this relief, as his fanboy interactions with The Red Sparrow are hilarious.
Though a more similar world to our own than that of “Ouroboros,” Eden City is equally well-developed. Radio announcements and subtle set designs clarify the superheroes’ social status and other actors’ presence as background cafe-goers adds to the ambiance, making the setting feel believable.
The final show, “The Enfancia Project,” written by Eileen Miller (SFS ’26) and directed by Tommy Gaita (CAS ’26), is especially fitting for Georgetown, as it seeks to understand the purpose of pre-professional clubs. A satirical exploration of the toxic club culture that permeates today’s college campuses, the play depicts a resume-building experience gone wrong for undergraduate students in a consulting club. Told through a captivating alternation between interviews and flashbacks, it reveals the story of their fated meetings.
Ridiculous and funny in all the right ways, “The Enfancia Project” dives into the absurdity of consulting clubs as an institution — why do companies trust students freshly out of high school to manage real issues that can have such serious consequences? The excellent portrayal of the overly ambitious and rather misguided Crimerge Consulting’s CEO, Carla, played by Lainey Lyle (SFS ’27), successfully evokes the grim tragedy and danger that can come with placing such high expectations on students. As each of Carla’s peers is interviewed, the tragedy of the show is developed, with each student revealing the flawed yet painfully realistic reasons for their involvement in the club.
The three shows presented at this year’s DBMOAF were a testament to Mask and Bauble’s dramatic creativity and the authorial skill of the three playwrights. From the delicate and real conversation of “Ouroboros” to the intricate worldbuilding of “Six Years Later” and the relatable humor of “The Enfancia Project,” student talent shined in each show.