Playwrights face a big challenge telling a story in 10 minutes.
Danae DeShazer, left, and Ron Pearson play two babies about to be born in Ron Pantello's "It's Time to Move" at Theatre Odyssey's Ten Minute Play Festival. Cliff Roles Photo
They need to quickly establish a beginning, middle and end with enough plot and character development to keep it interesting.
For 10 years, Theatre Odyssey has put a focus on producing a Ten-Minute Play Festival of new works by Sarasota area writers. The results of the group’s sold-out 10th festival, were decidedly mixed.
The pieces are simply staged, with just a few props or furnishings to establish time and place.
Theatre Odyssey looks to expand
There were a few fun and satisfying plays that take you inside minds you haven’t explored, while others don’t go far enough beyond a basic idea.
My favorite was Ron Pantello’s “It’s Time to Move,” in which he watch Ren Pearson and Danae DeShazer as a squabbling brother and sister arguing about whether to leave the comforts of their mother’s womb (or as they call her, “the package”) and then making some fascinating discoveries after delivery.
From left, Sarita Roche, Logan Junkins, Cammy Harris and Lynne Doyle in a scene from Connie Schindewolf's play "The Dancing Lessons" at Theatre Odyssey's 10-Minute Play Festival. Cliff Roles Photo
It’s a charmingly imagined slice-of-life story.
In “The Dancing Lessons,” Connie Schindewolf similarly takes us inside the memories of Miriam (played by Sarita Roche), who can’t speak and doesn’t react to her daughter (Lynne Doyle) until she is shown some objects from her past. Gracefully, Miriam’s face lights up as we watch her younger self dancing with her boyfriend as they celebrate expectations of future happiness.
There’s a different view of dementia in Bernie Yanelli’s “Dream On, Merry May” in which a woman (Bobbie Burrell) recalls her former career as a big band singer, which is news to her grown daughter. We begin to realize it’s a fantasy that the woman’s husband allows to keep her happy. The story doesn’t move forward as quickly as it should, but Yanelli has the germ of a good idea.
That’s true of several other pieces that could use more depth, like Robert Kinast’s “NIMBY,” about a business woman upset with plans for a homeless shelter in her neighborhood. But when she meets a former friend now living on the streets, she quickly changes her views. Too quickly, perhaps.
John Forsyth, left, and Dan Higgs play classmates at their 83rd reunion in Arthur Keyser's "High School Reunion" at Theatre Odsyssey's 2015 Ten-Minute Play Festival. Cliff Roles Photo
That also happens in Marvin Albert’s potentially touching “Why” about a a bitter woman who finally meets her birth mother and wonders why she was given up for adoption. The same things are said more than once, and attitudes change quickly.
Arthur Keyser’s “High School Reunion” has a fun idea, an 83rd high school reunion, with only one 101-year-old surviving class member. At least, until another shows up unexpectedly. There’s an idea that could be developed. The play was named the festival's best by a panel of three adjudicators -- actress and Urbanite Theatre co-founder Summer Dawn Wallace, actor and theater manager Jim Sorenson and Bradenton Herald critic Marty Clear.
Dylan Jones’ “The Coward” starts out as one of the most involving plays, but doesn’t have a payoff in a story of an American soldier who meets an ancient Sumerian who is brought back to life every day as punishment for being a coward when he was alive. It was named runner-up by the judges.
Tori Greenlaw and Ben Kalish play siblings in Julien Freij's "As Long as the Moon Shines," the high school winner in the 2015 Theatre Odyssey 10-Minute Play Festival. Cliff Roles Photo
Mark Leib’s “The Locket” features a family searching a dead aunt’s home for a locket always made her cry. Her grown nephew is desperate to find out who the secret person is but the surprise doesn’t match the buildup.
Julien Freij’s “As Long as the Moon Shines,” the winner of a student playwriting festival, is a touching story about a boy trying to protect his younger sister after they have been left alone by their parents. While there are some extraneous moments, it shows a maturity of thought.
THEATER REVIEW
TEN-MINUTE PLAY FESTIVAL
Presented by Theatre Odyssey. Reviewed May 2. Presented April 30-May 3, Cook Theatre. For more information: theatreodyssey.org
