Theatre Odyssey marks 10 years of 10-Minute Plays

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For most of its first 10 years, Theatre Odyssey has been a quiet player in the Sarasota area arts scene.
It has popped up once a year for its annual Ten-Minute Play Festival, and more recently with a similar event for high school playwrights.

Don Walker and Jenny Aldrich Walker in "Bottle of Vodka" by Connie Schindewolfe, the winner of the 2014 Theatre Odyssey 10-Minute Play Festival. Photo provided by Theatre Odyssey

Don Walker and Jenny Aldrich Walker in "Bottle of Vodka" by Connie Schindewolfe, the winner of the 2014 Theatre Odyssey 10-Minute Play Festival. Cliff Roles photo provided by Theatre Odyssey

But as it prepares for its 10th annual festival beginning Thursday, president and co-founder Tom Aposporos said the organization is looking at ways to become more of an ongoing presence.

“Ultimately we may become a presenting organization for new plays going elsewhere,” Aposporos said. The board of directors recently underwent a strategic planning process to discuss the possibilities.

“It’s about growing from the two festivals we’re now doing to potentially longer plays and longer production runs in venues even beyond where we are currently,” he said.

For the moment, however, the company is focused on the eight plays by adult writers selected from more than 50 submitted and the winning play from the third annual student 10-Minute Play Festival, Julien Freij’s “As Long as the Moon Shines,” a story about a young man caring for his young sister. Freij is a student at St. Stephen’s Episcopal School.

The other plays also are in contention for a jury prize for best play.

Tom Aposporos is the president and one of the founders of Theatre Odyssey, which marks its 10th Annual 10-Minute Play Festival in 2015. Provided by Theatre Odyssey

Tom Aposporos is the president and one of the founders of Theatre Odyssey, which marks its 10th Annual 10-Minute Play Festival in 2015. Provided by Theatre Odyssey

Several familiar local writers are featured this year including Arthur Keyser with “High School Reunion,” Robert Kinast’s “Nimby,” Marvin Albert’s “Why” and Ron Pantello’s “It’s Time to Move.” Two past winners also have new works this year. Connie Schindewolf, who won last year’s festival with “Bottle of Vodka,” was selected for “The Dancing Lessons,” and two-time winner Bernard Yanelli has his new work “Dream On, Merry May.”

New writers selected for this year are Dylan Jones with his play “The Coward” about a mysterious man who tries to convince an American soldier that there are fates worse than death, and Tampa Bay area critic Mark Leib, with “The Locket,” about members of a family searching for a deceased aunt’s mysterious locket.

The theater troupe began reaching a broader audience last spring when it presented the festival for the first time at the Cook Theatre in the FSU Center for the Performing Arts.

“That was just tremendous for us. Theatre Odyssey was named Odyssey because we never intended to perform in the same place. We wanted to move from venue to venue. But maybe that wasn’t the best idea for allowing us to grow,” Aposporos said.

Some familiar directors will be staging the plays, including Preston Boyd, Pam Wiley, Louise Stinespring, Don Walker and Jenny Aldrich Walker, but about 60 percent of the performers are new to Theatre Odyssey.

Ben Kalish, left and Tori Greenlaw in Julien Freij's play "As Long as the Moon Shines," the student play winner that will be presented as part of Theatre Odyssey's 10th Annual 10-Minute Play Festival. Cliff Roles Photo/Provided by Theatre Odyssey

Ben Kalish, left and Tori Greenlaw in Julien Freij's play "As Long as the Moon Shines," the student play winner that will be presented as part of Theatre Odyssey's 10th Annual 10-Minute Play Festival. Cliff Roles Photo/Provided by Theatre Odyssey

The company will have 12-year-old violinist Jenny Armor perform musical bridges between each play, with music ranging from classical to bluegrass and Celtic. And on opening night, the theater has arranged for Meredith Worthly to provide sign language interpretation for the hearing impaired for the first time.

“We’re trying to reach out to that community to make them aware that there is a way for them to ‘hear’ the plays,” he said.

In addition to looking at producing longer plays, Aposporos said the company is considering venues in Manatee County and South Sarasota to present the festival.

And he wants to expand the pool of possible plays to include the entire state of Florida, instead of limiting submissions to writers from the region from Tampa Bay to Fort Myers.

“We’re also considering plays that are no longer limited to 10 minutes. They will still be short, maybe one act plays. Years ago we did do some full-length work and that opens up other opportunities for us.”

THEATER PREVIEW
Theatre Odyssey’s 10th annual 10-Minute Play Festival will be presented at 7:30 p.m. April 30-May 2 and 2 p.m. May 3 at the Cook Theatre in the FSU Center For the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Tickets are $20, $5 for students. For more information: 799-7224; theatreodyssey.org

THEATER PREVIEW
Theatre Odyssey’s 10th annual 10-Minute Play Festival will be presented at 7:30 p.m. April 30-May 2 and 2 p.m. May 3 at the Cook Theatre in the FSU Center For the Performing Arts, 5555 N. Tamiami Trail, Sarasota. Tickets are $20, $5 for students. For more information: 799-7224; theatreodyssey.org
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Jay Handelman

Jay Handelman is the theater and television critic for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, where he has worked since 1984. He also is President of the Foundation of the American Theatre Critics Association and a two-time past chairman of the association's executive committee. He can be reached by email or call (941) 361-4931. Follow him at @jayhandelman on Twitter. Make sure to "Like" Arts Sarasota on Facebook for news and reviews of the arts.
Last modified: May 7, 2015
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