The name of the local theater group, the Winged Monkeys, started as an obsession with the flying monkeys in The Wizard of Oz. For actress Shae D’lyn, who co-founded the group along with playwright and actor Jeffrey Doornbos, and actors Geoffrey Nauffts and Adam Tomei, the monkeys embodied a certain enlightenment and wildness. Doornbos shares D’lyn’s obsession. “I remember the flying monkeys being terrifying, but also I couldn’t stop watching them,” he says. “They represent the exciting nature of all that theater can be.” The group’s 4th show, “Summer Pieces,” will be performed at Park Theater in Hudson on July 18 and 19 at 7 pm, and July 20 at 3pm.

The Winged Monkeys started performing at the Park Theater in 2023. When asked to write a full-length play, D’lyn found herself able to write a 10-minute one-act play. Inspired, she reached out to other friends of hers, asking them each to contribute their own 10-minute play. She then compiled all of the plays into a collection that filled the time of one full-length play. And so, the first “Pieces” show was born. “A lot of people in the community joined in,” D’lyn says when reflecting on the project. “We had such a good time, we decided we would just keep doing it.”

This format continues to be what sets the Winged Monkeys apart. “With short plays [we’re] able to include more people from the community,” Doornbos says. “We’re not dealing with roles that are super demanding, and rehearsal times are shorter.” Their upcoming show will include seven local community members who recently got involved with the group: one playwright and six actors. D’lyn and Doornbos both swear by this format as being a great fit for audiences with short attention spans, and a good way for aspiring playwrights to get their toes wet, or workshop scenes from their longer work. “You never know what’s gonna happen next,” D’lyn says. “You’re in a moment of comedy for 10 minutes, and then a moment of realism for 10 minutes, and then a farce for 10 minutes,” Doornbos adds. “It’s like going to different machines in the gym and working different muscle groups.”

The Winged Monkeys host one of their community play readings.

This format is also a big part of their goal of creating accessible, affordable theater. “We really want to keep it cheap,” D’lyn says. “We donate all the proceeds to the theater we perform in. It’s a way to honor people who have the talent and the love and want to do something in theater but can't do it full time.” Staged once again at the Park Theater, tickets to “Summer Pieces” are $35 each, with 10 seats reserved as pay-what-you-will. “It’s a deep show,” D’lyn says. “It’s very soul-centered, and it’s funny. It seems like every piece has an energy of trying to pull people together, make connections, and just keep things from falling apart.”

The space where the Winged Monkeys perform is equipped with a stage and a bar, and is able to accommodate 50 theater goers. There are no specific dressing rooms, so all of the actors in the different plays are in the audience, watching and enjoying the theater themselves. “It’s a very intimate, casual atmosphere, and we love it,” D’lyn says. “It’s immediate,” Doornbos adds. “The audience in that theater becomes the other character in the play,” he says.

In a period riddled with uncertainty and hate, the Winged Monkeys are creating a space where people come together to appreciate live theater. “There’s so much animosity that can very easily rise between people who live in a fairly small community,” Doornbos says. “Being in a space together with people you don't know, experiencing the same story at the same time, creates a bond and an understanding. I feel emboldened to try and get people to come out from behind their [phone] screen and come into the theater and sit next to people [they] don’t know and watch this thing and laugh and have fun with people.”

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Written by
Abilene Adelman