Keeping It Short and Sweet : Interact is staging West Coast premieres of three one-act works by playwright Richard Dresser.

By T.H. McCULLOH

Oct. 15, 1993 12 AM PT

SPECIAL TO THE TIMES; <i> T.H. McCulloh writes regularly about theater for The Times. </i>

NORTH HOLLYWOOD — To playwright Richard Dresser, writing a one-act play is like writing a short story.

“It has to be very economical,” Dresser says. “It’s a great challenge to do it in a very limited amount of time. What I always want to do is write a full (short) play with a beginning, middle and end. . . . When it works, it’s a wonderful thing.”

Dresser, whose longer plays have been produced successfully in Los Angeles, particularly his “The Downside” at Pasadena Playhouse, and “Better Days” at Hollywood’s Cast Theatre, is fond of one-acts. He is particularly pleased that North Hollywood’s Interact Theatre Company, at Theatre Exchange, is producing the West Coast premieres of three of his short works.

“You obviously don’t make any money writing one-act plays today. So an opportunity like this to put three of them together and make an evening of it is a treat for a playwright.”

The Interact production of Dresser’s “Splitsville,” “Bait & Switch” and “Bed & Breakfast” gives him more of a treat than that. Interact is a company made up of working actors, actors who have paid their dues. Some of them have worked with Dresser and are friends.

Director James Gleason, a regular on “The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd” (Dresser was staff writer on that show), has done several Dresser plays in New York, including “Better Days” and two of this evening’s scripts.

Marilyn McIntyre is a daytime drama veteran, currently playing Jo Johnson on “Days of Our Lives.” Her New York credits include Broadway’s “Gemini” and “Scenes and Revelations.” She appears in two of the one-acts, including “Splitsville,” which she cast for its Manhattan run.

Eddie Jones, who plays Superman’s father in the new TV series “Lois & Clark,” and who appears in “Bait & Switch,” is also a Broadway alumnus (“That Championship Season”). He appeared in Dresser’s “The Downside” in New York and Pasadena.

There’s still the question of why Interact, which last produced Dylan Thomas’ “Under Milk Wood,” decided on Dresser’s short plays as a follow-up.

Gleason explains: “After doing a classic play like ‘Milk Wood,’ it was a good mix for our company to do these, which are more comedic, contemporary kinds of plays. It shows the breadth of the company. And it suited our actors.”

McIntyre says, “A lot of people in the company know Richard Dresser, and a lot of them felt it was good to do something that’s quirky, dark American comedy after Dylan Thomas. That’s the kind of thing we’d like to be doing, back and forth.”

Jones, who appears in “Bait & Switch” arches an eyebrow at the description “dark and quirky.” “That’s Dresser’s voice,” he says, “and that’s what he loves to bring to the material. And that’s what’s fun to act for us as actors. It does have a certain realistic sense, but just a little off the center, which makes it fun to work on.”

Like most television actors who have continued to work in theater while finding their marks in front of the camera, Jones appreciates the time to explore, the time to develop a character, and the direct audience feedback. On television, Jones says, “You kind of show up and shave, and then you’re gone.”

McIntyre agrees, adding: “I get tired of listening to actors complain about what they’re not doing, and that they don’t have any control over their lives. So we’ve created this company for ourselves. That’s what this is all about. It’s a little haven that’s different than what’s out there.”

Gleason adds: “There’s a different sort of work ethic here. We’ve known each other, we’ve worked with each other. We’ve all done a lot of projects together, and we’re fulfilling that here, trying to keep that spark of artistic integrity.”

Interact is the kind of company that attracts people who need their life in the theater. Check the playbill. Original music for this production is being provided by director, composer and Tony Award-winning actor John Rubinstein, who says in his program credits: “A new member of Interact.”

What more could a playwright ask? Dresser says, “To have them all together in this little theater in the Valley, doing these plays, is wonderful. They’re working actors who are not doing it because they want to get a television show. They’re doing it because they want to do the plays.”

WHERE AND WHEN

* What: “Splitsville.”

* Location: Interact Theatre Company / Theatre Exchange, 11855 Hart St., North Hollywood.

* Hours: 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays. 2 and 7 p.m. Sundays. Ends Nov. 21.

* Price: $10-$12.

* Call: (818) 773-7862.