The Timing of a Day

A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

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Concord Theatricals

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Cast Size

1w, 3m
Duration

90 minutes
Target Audience

Adult

Details

Summary

Josh, Doug and Paige are happily sharing a cramped Harlem flat when an unforeseeable tragedy forever changes the course of their lives. Presented over the course of a single day, small moments from their years living together take on new meaning as they are forced to question – Is there really such a thing as “perfect timing”, or is all timing perfectly flawed?

History

The Timing of a Day premiered at the NYC Fringe Festival in summer 2010. Directed by Joey Brenneman, the production featured Justin Anselmi, Nik Kourtis, Adam Shorsten and R. Elizabeth Woodard. The play was later produced at Center Stage, NYC in 2011. Again directed by Brenneman, the Center Stage production featured Anselmi, Kourtis and Woodard, with Miguel Govea replacing Shorsten as Josh.

Performing Groups

DOUG – Roommate, a dancer, gay, late 20s, m

PAIGE – Roommate, an actress/activist, mid 20s, w

JOSH – Roommate, an office admin, late 20s, m

MATTY – Paige’s off-and-on boyfriend, early 20s, m

Time Period New Millennium/21st Century
Setting
A 3-bedroom apartment in Harlem, NYC. 2008-2009.
Additional Features No Intermission
Duration 90 minutes
Cautions
- Alcohol
- Strong Language
- Mild Adult Themes

Media

“Lovely… deft… beautifully evokes both the banality of daily routine and the sublime potential of human connections.” – Backstage

“A deeply affecting work… shockingly eventful… tautly constructed… these are people who haven’t realized how special their time together, their fights, or their heartbreaks actually were. But it’s with a charming, moving fervor that The Timing of a Day celebrates them – and everything else about life we seldom cherish until it’s too late.” – Talkin’ Broadway

“Owen Panettieri makes playwriting look so easy in The Timing of a Day, his impressively realistic portrait of three twenty-somethings sharing a cramped but homey Harlem apartment… Panettieri’s cleverly structured script – which hopscotches across two years – manages to enfold the past into the present, while also giving us an intentionally ambiguous glimpse of the future… With considerable craft, Panettieri lets the laughs arise organically; but he also has a gift for depicting tragedy, as well as the anger and tenderness it can trigger in equal measure.” – TheaterMania

Videos

Interview with Owen Panettieri (Fringe NYC)
Interview with Actor Justin Anselmi (Fringe NYC)

Licensing & Materials

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Scripts

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Authors

Owen Panettieri

Owen Panettieri is a three-time Finalist and invited Guest Writer for the National Playwrights Conference for his plays I’m Looking Forward to Tomorrow (2022), This Girl Is Magic (2019) and Whatever the Weather (2017). He is a resident playwright with New Light Theater Projec ...

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The Timing of a Day