Audiences usually signal approval with the volume of their applause. Managers at the Ten Fifteen Theater in Astoria are asking those attending “One Act Wonders” to actually vote for their favorite of three plays.

The winner will advance to a regional drama festival.

The show opens Jan. 24 and runs three weekends at the Astoria theater. Three shows will be performed each night: “Out At Sea” by Sławomir Mrożek; “’dentity Crisis” by Christopher Durang; and “Conflict” by Wade Bradford.

Ensemble cast members — who play all the roles — are Simon Caron, Max Chase, Dylan Disch, Cyndi Fisher, Deac Guidi, John Hoff, Jaime Britton and Sara Spangler.

‘Macabre’

Director Karen Bain staged a production of “Out At Sea” some years ago at The River Theater in Astoria. The 1962 satire was an early work by prolific Polish author Sławomir Mrożek which contrasted the powerful with the powerless, using a theater of the absurd approach to point fingers at Soviet excesses.

It features Guidi, Caron and Chase as three men adrift on a lifeboat who must decide which one will be eaten so the other two can survive. Amid flattery, lying and falsehoods, they attempt to come to a decision with a democratic vote, inevitably corrupted by mental manipulation or gaslighting.

“It is a macabre black comedy,” Bain said. “It is fun to play around with the cannibalistic dynamics.”

Characters played by Disch and Hoff swim up to the raft with messages that affect the action.

Breakdown

“‘dentity Crisis” is directed by Ryan Hull. Its author, Christopher Durang, who died last year, is known for black comedies with underlying social themes. Hull directed Durang’s “The Actor’s Nightmare” at the Ten Fifteen in 2022.

This play points up the near impossibility of self-identification in uncertain times. Roles feature Fisher as a woman suffering from a breakdown. Hoff plays her oversexed brother and Spangler as their relentlessly cheerful mother. Disch portrays a therapist and Britton his wife. More than one actor changes character.

“I like the play because it is totally insane,” Hull said. “There is no structure, and if you think it is real, it probably isn’t.

“The audience will get a laugh and question and wonder — and it might bring them closer to their family.”

‘Absurdity’

“Conflict” is directed by Deborah Jensen, who has acted in three shows at the Ten Fifteen.

“There’s a lot of freedom in the script,” she said. “I establish early on that we are looking at a troupe of actors in some sort of parallel universe.”

The action is narrated by Fisher, who identifies the key theme: “Why do we crave hardship for our main character? Why must he be tortured emotionally and sometimes physically? … Because it is fun to watch!”

Britton appears as the protagonist while Chase and Hoff are antagonists; Spangler and Disch appear as two women.

“I am really trusting my instincts,” said Jensen, who is directing at the Astoria theater for the first time. “I think it is funny, but it’s going to take an audience to prove that. I hope it gets a laugh, and I hope they look at themselves and are able to find a glimpse of the absurdity of life — and how much we crave conflict to make a story and life interesting.”

Votes

Danyelle Tinker, executive artistic director of The Ten Fifteen, said audience votes will be collected after each performance. The favored play will become the troupe’s entry in an annual festival of the American Association of Community Theatre.

A similar voting process has been adopted during the venue’s “Simple Salmon” comedy shows.

Preliminary judging will take place in late January. Productions compete for the chance to participate at the association regionals in Boise, Idaho, in late March then a national contest in Des Moines, Iowa, in June. In 2023, “The Interview,” a two-person play by David Mamet directed by Hull, placed second at the regional festival in McMinnville and earned individual acting awards for Gigi Chadwick and Mick Alderman.

“Regardless of how this plays out, I am very proud of the work we are doing here at the Ten Fifteen. The feedback and educational aspects of this competition cycle will only help us continue to grow,” Tinker said. “We have such a depth of talent on the North Coast, and my hope for this cycle is to once again positively represent our community on a larger stage.”

The show kicks off the storefront theater’s season of six productions.

‘One Act Wonders’

A series of one-act plays at the Ten Fifteen Theater, 1015 Commercial St., Astoria.

Features “Out At Sea” by Sławomir Mrożek, directed by Karen Bain; “‘dentity Crisis” by Christopher Durang, directed by Ryan Hull; “Conflict” by Wade Bradford, directed by Deborah Jensen.

7:30 p.m. Jan. 24 and Jan. 25, Jan. 31, Feb. 1, and Feb. 6 to Feb. 8; 3:30 p.m. Jan. 26 and Feb. 2. Tickets are $25 for adults and $20 for students and seniors, online at www.thetenfifteentheater.com.