Brief plays comprise Onyx’s three-night Sin City Shorts Fest

No, no! Not what we mean. (Not till after the show.)

We mean this:

"There’s something about short plays that people are willing to go to," says Sirc Michaels, artistic director of the Onyx Theatre. "Maybe it’s the shorter attention span."

Should you manage to refrain from tweets or texts for 30 to 45 minutes at a time, you might enjoy Onyx’s "Sin City Shorts Fest," dividing up six one-acts by six local troupes over three nights.

"People who might not normally go to a show might be willing to go with their theater friend — ‘It won’t be so bad, it’s short, right?’ — and maybe they’ll say ‘That wasn’t so bad’ and will be more open next time," says Michaels, who also points out the collaborative atmosphere he’s attempting to create.

"We’ve got a thing called Vegas Theater Connections to get the theater community working together: marketing, behind-the-scenes resources, workshops. We want to open the Onyx to outside groups that don’t have a venue, give them somewhere to work and grow."

Opening tonight, "Shorts Fest" debuts with Poor Richard’s Players presenting "The Worst Show in the Fringe," dealing with the relationship between critic and actor (no bloodshed, we’re hoping). Born and Raised Productions follows up, staging Eugene Ionesco’s absurdist "The Chairs," in which a man and woman arrange chairs for invisible guests in what might be a post-apocalyptic world.

Friday brings Chaos Theatre Company interpreting Israel Horovitz’s "Line," in which five people idle in line for an unspecified event, each trying to leapfrog to the front, with results ranging from amusing to violent. House of Tribes is up next with "The Colored Museum," a satirical examination of race relations that mocks stereotypes.

Closing night on Saturday features Off-Strip Productions — the performing arm of the Onyx — mounting "Barstool Company," an original piece by Michael Kimm about friendship and making connections in the modern world. Most famously, "Shorts Fest" is rounded out by RagTag Productions performing the classic "Zoo Story," Edward Albee’s first play (initially rejected by shortsighted New York producers in the late 1950s) that addresses themes including loneliness and dehumanization in a commercial society. (Just think how much more commercialized — and, arguably, dehumanized — society has grown since it was written in 1958.)

"This is really up my alley: a couple of people in a situation trying to figure (stuff) out," says "Zoo Story" director Sean Critchfield about a piece involving two men chatting on a Central Park bench — Peter, a middle-class publishing executive with a family, and Jerry, a disheartened boarding house resident desperate to have a meaningful conversation with someone.

"There’s a lot of stuff going on that’s a lot of shock (value) right now. You can still bring burning intensity and have it be done through simple storytelling."

An iconic two-hander, "Zoo" stars Drew Yonemori as Peter and Dave Surratt as Jerry. "Drew is a fantastic Everyman as Peter, and Dave has a great understated intensity," Critchfield says. "He’s never been given the opportunity to become unhinged or given a role before to push him there."

Actors around town also starring over the three nights include Lysander Abadia, Erik Amblad, Joel Wayman, Jeremy Nino, Mundana Ess-Haghabadi, Sabrina Kinney, Shane Cullum and Carla Chiron de la Casiniere.

"To reap the benefits of being in the community and not help other groups spread their wings, that means I’m just leeching," Michaels maintains.

"You’ve got guys who are brilliant but they can’t make it happen so they go away. We have the potential of having the next great actor, the next great playwright, the next great director and we have to foster that."

Contact reporter Steve Bornfeld at sbornfeld@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0256.