Fully Committed : A Play

by Becky Mode

This devastatingly funny one act follows a day in the life of Sam Peliczowski, an out-of-work actor who mans the red-hot reservation line at Manhattan's number-one restaurant. Coercion, threats, bribes, histrionics a cast of desperate callers will stop at nothing in their zeal to land a prime reservation, or the right table. Amid the barrage, Sam's got his own needs to contend with his recently widowed dad wants him home for Christmas, and he's up for a choice part at Lincoln Center. While juggling scheming socialites, name-dropping wannabes, fickle celebrities and egomaniacal bosses, can he manage to look out for himself? A wonderful acting challenge, FULLY COMMITTED has forty wildly diverse characters designed to be played by a single versatile performer.

Genres: Plays, Theatre, Humor

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Josh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely the stunt of the piece is more important than the story.

[Zack · Rating 3 out of 5]

Setting: Early December. The basement of a world-renowned, red-hot Manhattan restaurant.
Genre: Comedy Length: 1 act; 45 pages Cast Size: 1 M (or 1 W)
Basis: The characters created by Becky Mode/Mark Setlock Adaptations: None at time
Productions: Off-Broadway, Broadway (April ’16 – July ’16)
Accolades: None at time

Story:
This devastatingly funny one act follows a day in the life of Sam Peliczowski, an out-of-work actor who mans the red-hot reservation line at Manhattan's number-one restaurant. Coercion, threats, bribes, histrionics—a cast of desperate callers will stop at nothing in their zeal to land a prime reservation, or the right table. Amid the barrage, Sam's got his own needs to contend with—his recently widowed dad wants him home for Christmas, and he's up for a choice part at Lincoln Center. While juggling scheming socialites, name-dropping wannabes, fickle celebrities and egomaniacal bosses, can he manage to look out for himself? A wonderful acting challenge, FULLY COMMITTED has forty wildly diverse characters designed to be played by a single versatile performer.

On the Writing:
- Hard to keep track and appreciate all the 40 different characters just by reading it
- Sam taking all the reservations got old after a while, kept waiting for some sort of story to happen; moments with Dad and Sam striving to be an actor could have been built up more to provide more depth
- Comedic enough, but real comedy will come with the direction and the acting
- Enough character descriptions given to assist the actor and director in creating the many voices
- Very cool idea, essentially a one-man farce
- Some references to were changed for the time to keep it relevant
For Directing/Casting:
- Expert direction and staging needed to keep the humor and maintain clarity among all the characters
- 1 Man, but author’s note states that the role can easily be played by a woman and adapted accordingly

For Acting:
- Extremely challenging and demanding: physically, voices/accents, character acting, line memorization, voices within other voices
- Constant face-paced, back and forth between characters
- One act play, so no break aside from a little offstage time a half hour in

For Producing/Audiences:
- Audiences will get a kick out of seeing one actor playing so may parts, but may be confusing and nauseating if not done properly
- Rights not too expensive, one set with a handful of dressings and props may bring the cost up

[John Ellis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can only think of one reason why this play would ever be produced - so an actor can show off his acting prowess. Granted, the audience will be bored after about ten minutes. But, hey, as long as the actor gets to hear, "What incredible acting!", who cares if the audience is bored? Right?

[Stacey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exhausted after reading it. Can't imagine it as a one man show (well. I can but wow!)