Twenty-two years ago, the Department of Theatre and Music Studies at The College at Brockport produced their first 10-minute play festival. Somehow, more than a score of years has flown by, and after putting out an international call to playwrights, 500 submissions were received. These were then whittled down to the final picks, culminating in the 11th biennial Festival of Ten. This year’s program of ten 10-minute plays premieres on Friday, March 1 at 7:30 p.m. in the Tower Fine Arts Center Mainstage, 180 Holley Street, Brockport. Tickets are $17 general, $12 for seniors, alumni, faculty and staff, $9 for students, and are available online at fineartstix.brockport.edu, by phone at 585-395-2787, or at the Tower Fine Arts Center box office. Several of the playwrights will attend the final performance on March 9, and will participate in a post-show discussion.
The 10-minute format is more difficult than it might appear. As with any play, the piece needs to have a beginning, a middle and an end. With less time to develop characters, the playwright is automatically challenged, as are the actors and directors, who are trying to convey the playwright’s intention.
P. Gibson Ralph, chair of the Department of Theatre and Music Studies, recalled that “since it was, and is, always so difficult for new playwrights to get their works produced, or even read, the 10-minute play was developed, allowing authors to have their voices heard.” This concept spread like wildfire, especially in academic and regional theatrical settings. “There were other 10-minute play festivals in our area, but we were the first in the region to cast such a wide net in soliciting plays,” Ralph is quick to point out. “This ensured that we would get submissions from the most talented writers in the genre and, being an international solicitation, we could occasionally receive plays about how the rest of the world views various situations.”
As a designer, Ralph enjoys looking at the 10 plays that have been selected. “Often there is a theme that helps unify the scenic design. One year, it seemed that a majority of the plays had people entering or dramatically exiting through doors, so doors became the motif for my design. Another year, it was chairs.” This year, four of the ten plays are linked by taking place in workplaces of one form or another.
“The auditions and casting process are so different, and fun,” adds associate professor Ruth Childs. “Usually a director can pick and choose their cast from whoever auditioned, but with 10 directors in the casting session, these are run like a football draft. You might end up getting a first pick and a third pick amongst your cast, but everything works out for the best. It’s quite convivial in those casting sessions.”
The memory that strikes Childs as “meaningful and special” is that of seeing the entire cast bow at the end of the evening. “People who have been on stage in 10 different plays coming together for the joy of theatre. Gets me every time.”
Performances of Festival of Ten are March 1, 2, 7, 8, and 9, at 7:30 p.m. There is also a matinee on Sunday, March 3 at 2 p.m., which will be ASL-interpreted.
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