Seven plays in one night, each of them as different from one another as they can possibly be. That's the purpose of the Ridgefield Theater Barn's night of "One Acts," to showcase a number of local playwrights and actors in a smorgasbord of minimalist theater that takes the audience on a strange and satisfying ride.

Featuring the works of playwrights Jim Gordon, David Cohen and Carol Mark (a Ridgefielder), the Theater Barn opened this past weekend to a full house Friday and Saturday -- the show continues for the next two weekends on Friday and Saturday nights at 8 p.m.

The seven plays, although completely different in tone and rhythm, form a wholly local experience that couldn't possibly be duplicated.

The show starts with Gordon's play, "Committee," which features four aspiring actors discussing (and arguing over) the plot of their colleague's work. With intriguing performances by Julia Frisoli, LeeAnn Miller, Barry Corn and an ultra-flamboyant Adam Glatzl, the metafictional plot twists subtly with wacky dialogue and very little physicality under the director Sarah Lee Michaels' hand. Dealing with issues of pretension (a Gordon specialty) and overall ambiguity, the play hits its mark in showing how complex even the simplest things can be.

The second one-act is a one-man show featuring Harry Lipstein under the direction of Cheryl Boyd, also the producer of the entire night. Written by David Cohen, "Paul's Paintings" takes the audience into the mind of a somewhat deranged and sociopathic janitor looking for love in a museum after hours. Lipstein's performance is filled with a melancholy humor and physicality that complements the plot nicely.

"Fog," by Gordon is perhaps the most poignantly effective of the plays with its strange combination of humor, sadness and drifting consciousness. With a vivid performance by Karen Olshansky, along with appearances by Jon Barb, Pattie Holzhauer and Adam Glatzl, the play slips in and out of an elderly woman's mind as she reminisces on family and considers her own mortality. The play is directed by Marla Manning.

Gordon follows that up with "Untitled Number 2," a comedy about two pretentious women who find themselves at odds over a painting each of them think they understand, although in completely different ways. Jenny Gantwerker and Paulette Layton fit the parts perfectly and the escalation is truly funny to watch. Manning is the director here, too.

Another Gordon joint, proving his range, is "Drinks With Charles," a Hitchcockian comedy about what people will do in the most extreme situations. Julia Frisoli, Alisa Pruner, Paulette Layton and Gus Zucco are excellent and give the over-the-top plot some necessary comic relief. Sarah Lee Michaels directs.

"Never Too Many" is a play by Carol Mark that shows a deep appreciation for film and its effect on human interaction. Featuring Barry Corn as an elderly Jewish film rental store owner and Sarah Cole as his young unlikely protoge, the play presents a great dialogue between the two -- the chemistry between the unlikely pair is extremely important and Corn and Cole hit the mark.

The final play is a send-up of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, and to say too much about it here is to give too much away. You have to see it to believe it. Imagine the interaction between William Shakespeare and Marky Mark, and you might have an idea of what to expect.

Bring food and beverage and $22 to the Theater Barn on Friday or Saturday for the next two weeks at 8 p.m. You won't be disappointed.