Chandler Craig and Nick Husband act in ”Bad Thing” on Oct. 24 at the Powerhouse.
Photo by Alex Edwards I The Daily Mississippian
This past weekend Theatre Oxford held its annual Ten Minute Play Festival at the Powerhouse Community Arts Center. Over the last few days, the Powerhouse Community Arts Center filled with people who came to see the final product of Theatre Oxford’s hard work.
The festival was created as a way for local playwrights to showcase their talents and also get involvement from the community. For the past 14 years, Theatre Oxford has hosted the Ten-Minute Play Festival. The National 10-Minute Play Contest was founded in 1998 by two local playwrights, Neil White and L.W. Thomas. In 2000, The Annual Ten-Minute Play Festival started and featured locally written plays.
One of the reasons the festival has been so successful is its format. Each play only lasts for 10 minutes, so audience members see multiple plays all in one night.
This year’s festival featured “Evaporated,” “The Soulmate Train,” “Unusual Suspects,” “One of Many Strange Things That Happen On a Cruise Ship” and “Bad Thing,” which won the National Contest.
“The subjects range from two children being caught in a basement after a nuclear bomb, to three monsters being interrogated by a detective after Halloween, to two brothers riding in a car reminiscing about their parents and thinking about the future,” director Alice Walker said.
Staying true to its roots, some of this year’s plays were written by local Oxonians Bill Dabney and Judith Isacoff. The festival also once again featured a play of two-time National Contest winner Austin K. Steinmetz of Columbus, Ohio, who was dubbed an honorary member of the Oxford community. His Halloween-themed play, “Unusual Suspects,” tells the story of three monsters and their take on Halloween.
Theatre Oxford is a gateway for anybody ranging from the grandpa to the granddaughter to have the opportunity to act on the local level and have fun. For Ole Miss graduate Nick Husbands, this is the perfect opportunity to do something he loved in high school.
“I’ve only acted in community theater here in Oxford since I came here in 1998,” Husbands said. “It is great because it is one of the only chances I get each year to be on stage. When I first started acting, I would get nervous, but now that does not happen much. Without the butterflies in my stomach, I can really just enjoy being on stage and pretending to be someone else.”
After the show, many audience members gave rave reviews for the plays. The actors in the production ranged from middle-school students to a middle-aged adult. Many people enjoyed the sense of community at the festival. During intermission, many of the actors mingled with audience members.
“I could tell you about some of the 10-minute plays from 10 years ago; they were that good,” Margaret Wylde said. “It’s great because we get to see works of people who aren’t professional playwrights, and they come up with some really great stuff.
“We had some really great casting. The actors were amazing. The plays were written very clever. My favorite was ‘The SoulMate Train;’ it told three different stories all in one, short 10-minute play. It was great because he didn’t just focus on the one couple but two others as well.”
Many of the playwrights attended the show, and some for the first time, got to finally see their piece of work come alive. Steinmetz came all the way from Ohio to see his play.
“It’s a lot of joy when you watch it, especially with comedies” Steinmetz said. “It is so great to be in there sitting and hearing people laugh at the line you created. It’s pure joy.”
His inspiration for the play was his love for Halloween.
“I really wanted to write a Halloween play. I got great characters, the witch, Frankenstein and the werewolf. It all just fit together,” he said.
For an hour and 30 minutes, the audience came away with five different plays and a night of fun.
The deadline for the 2014 National 10-Minute Play Contest is Feb. 15, 2014.
