 JULY 2 • 2020 | 33

W

hile David Carroll 
was building a 
strong career at 
Quicken Loans, he maintained 
a leadership presence at JARC 
and the Jewish 
Federation of 
Metropolitan 
Detroit. He 
relaxed by 
watching musi-
cal theater pro-
ductions.
After retiring four years ago, 
Carroll, of West Bloomfield, 
realized a longtime dream by 
being cast for a community 
theater role in his favorite 
show, Guys and Dolls, which 
he had seen some 30 times. 
That onstage experience for the 
Village Players of Birmingham 
motivated him to find new ways 
of bringing theater to others 
while offering paid opportuni-
ties to those in the entertain-
ment field. 
At the encouragement of 
former employer and longtime 

friend Dan Gilbert, Carroll 
established a nonprofit stage 
company, Nicely Theatre Group, 
and is now executive producer 
of its first presentation, One-Act 
Festival. The group had planned 
to launch this summer with two 
live performances of Pippin, but 
that changed when COVID-19 
moved people out of theaters 
and toward digital platforms.
Although the premiere can be 
seen for free at 7 p.m., Tuesday, 
July 7, donations will be accept-
ed to benefit the Detroit Public 
Schools Foundation. For each 
person registering to watch, $3 
will be donated by Nicely.
“Maybe I’
ll be like director 
Alfred Hitchcock, making brief 
appearances in productions,
” 
joked Carroll, who is personally 
financing this presentation fea-
turing short plays that capture 
the emotions of the times.
“I’
ve learned that there’
s a 
lot of talent in the area, and I 
hope to work these people into 
high-quality theater at low tick-

et prices to benefit educational 
programs in Detroit. One-acts 
are not that expensive or com-
plicated to produce.
”
The four short works include 
Ghost Light, a love story set 
in a post-apocalyptic theater; 
Shelter, a series of monologues 
exploring youth homelessness; 
He Said, a Zoom-held argu-
ment entered into by a wife and 
her husband’
s lover; and The 
Tinker Bell Situation, a dark 
comedy about a lost pet and 
parent-child relationships.
The choices of plays were 
made by the Nicely team that 
includes Carroll, director 
Mitch Master, producer Nicole 
Broughton-Adams, techni-
cal director Eric W
. Maher 
and marketing director Tina 
Fleming.
“We had a lot of submissions 
when we were looking for plays 
to present,
” said Master, director 
of performing and visual arts 
at Frankel Jewish Academy and 
co-director of Roeper Summer 
Stock Theatre. 
Master, who has directed 
90 stage productions and per-
formed in 50 productions, is 
glad that this program will sup-
port educational initiatives. 
“We developed our presenta-
tion through Zoom recordings,
” 
Master explained. “We wanted 
to start and fin-
ish each play in 
one take so it 
would give the 
feeling of live 
theater. When 
we had sound 
or internet 
issues, we would start over.
“Mostly, performers were 
in their own homes, but we 
staged [Broadway veteran] 
Eric Gutman, in Ghost Light, 
at the Berman Center for 
the Performing Arts in West 
Bloomfield, one of the locations 
where we had planned to show 
Pippin.
”

Master explained that the 
four one-acts fall into the theme 
of people getting through rough 
situations. Given COVID-19 
issues, he felt everyone in the 
audience could relate.
Emily Rose Miller, who per-
forms one of the monologues 
in Shelter, feels a strong under-
standing of the character she 
portrays. A DePaul University 
theater student forced home to 
Franklin as schools shut down, 
she speaks the feelings of a coed 
with no place to go. 
“My character feels she has 
overstayed her welcome by 
friends but doesn’
t want to 
return to the home of her abu-
sive stepfather,
” said Miller, who 
attended the Frankel Jewish 
Academy. “I’
m grateful I could 
perform my part from my 
couch.
”
Marc Paykuss, formerly a Los 
Angeles entertainment copy-
writer, scripted The Tinker Bell 
Situation based on a friend’
s 
experiences.
“I write in a lot of different 
styles, and I’
m very excited to 
be part of an inaugural sea-
son,
” said Paykuss, now living 
near Boston but familiar with 
Michigan through visits to rela-
tives. His Jewish heritage moti-
vated the play No Entry, recently 
performed digitally by Theater 
Resources Unlimited.
The motivation for the title 
of the new theater company 
returns Carroll to his favorite 
musical. Nicely-Nicely Johnson 
was his favorite character in 
Guys and Dolls, and he hopes to 
bring theater experiences more 
than nice to draw audiences and 
encourage donations.
“We will be giving folks a 
showcase for original work,
” 
Carroll said.
” “Let’
s build some-
thing and then fundraise.
” 

To register for the free One-Act 
Festival, click on the link at 
nicelytheatregroup.org.

theater

One-Act
Festival

New stage company
provides showcase for
original works.

SUZANNE CHESSLER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Emily Rose 
Miller

Mitch Master

David Carroll

PHOTO COURTESY OF NICELY THEATER GROUP

