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Click Here 43 °F Forecast | Road Cams Wednesday, February 18, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People CLASSIFIEDS Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Find a Rental Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Email Story to a Friend January 15, 2004 A celebration of brevity Festival of 10-minute plays is scheduled this weekend in Ashland By BILL VARBLE Mail Tribune ASHLAND — The theme of this year’s 10-Minute Play Festival is "new beginnings," but it could have been "really short plays." The eight plays on tap are playlets, really, just 10 minutes long each. The readings are set for Friday and Saturday at Mobius in Ashland. The mini-festival in celebration of brevity is presented by ArtWork Enterprises, the same Ashland-based nonprofit group that presents the Ashland New Plays Festival in the fall. Ten-minute plays have been called the haiku of theater. Their power comes largely from what they can suggest. Organizer Alan Donovan sums up this year’s crop as "better than last year’s." "We opened it up more," he says, "posted it on some playwright bulletin boards." Advertisement As a result there were more than twice as many entries. Last year the focus was on the Northwest. This year submissions came from around the country and even foreign countries. Such festivals create a reading and feedback opportunity for emerging playwrights who may not have a full-length play ready for a reading or production. They also offer audiences a chance to hear many diverse voices in a short time, since evenings of short plays typically include works by a large number of playwrights. But how much can a playwright say in 10 minutes? "They’re highly concentrated," Donovan says. Most are comic. One Donovan describes as "serious but not heavy." The event was moved to Mobius when the group was unable to get the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s Carpenter Hall where the June event was held. Plays were chosen by four readers. Master of ceremonies is Andy Peterson, an Ashland resident recently arrived from the San Francisco Bay Area. One of the mini-plays, called "Measuring Matthew," is about characters who know they’re in a play. "It’s very funny," Molly Best Tinsley promises. "Cell-abrasion," one of Tinsley’s plays, was also chosen. It’s about two 30-something telemarketers. One sells her grandmother a security system she really doesn’t need, then makes a move on the other, who has up to then settled for virtual relationships over the phone. New plays by Dickey Nessenger of Edmonds, Wash., and Mark Saunders of Portland — two favorites from last spring — will also represent the Northwest. Jamie Pachino, whose full-length "Return to Morality" garnered praise at the 1999 Ashland New Plays Festival, and has gone on to win eight national awards, hails from Los Angeles, as does the often-produced Mark Levine. Audience members can vote for the play they want to win The People’s Choice award of $50. Donovan promises this year’s program will move quickly. Some of June’s plays went well over 10 minutes. "It’s hard to measure from reading," he says. "But the actors will be sitting there. They’ll hop up and do it quickly." Reach reporter Bill Varble at 776-4478 or e-mail [email protected] If you go What: 10-minute plays When: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday Where: Mobius Studio, 281 Fourth Street, Ashland Tickets: $10 at the door. For details, call 482-4357 or check out the Web site at www.ashlandnewplays.org . Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback 3 WEEKS FREE! ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S RESOURCES Oregon Road Conditions & Cams SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Food for Thought Wellness Connection Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Prime Times