THE ART GALLERY 10-Minute Plays On Stage at Heartland Throughout June

Heartland Theatre's annual 10-Minute Play Festival has been a highlight of the summer season in Bloomington-Normal since it began back in 2002. The first year, local authors were spotlighted, but since then, the competition has become global, with playwrights from all over the world entering their work. This year, on the Art Gallery theme, plays came in from the United States as well as the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia and New Zealand.

THE ART GALLERY 10-Minute Play Festival opens Thursday, June 2, with a Pay What You Can preview, with 7 pm performances on the 3rd and 4th. The Festival continues on June 9, 10, 11 and 12; 16, 17 and 18; and 23, 24 and 25. For the complete list of show dates and times, click here.

This year's theme means that all of the plays are set in a gallery of some sort, with all different kinds of "art" in play. Here's the line-up of winning plays, with added information about who's directing and acting:

Sold! by Donna Hoke, East Amherst NY
The value of a piece of art may be hard to figure out, especially if a savvy buyer decides to play cat and mouse – or Clutter and Johnson – with a newbie collector. Directed by Connie Chojnacki Blick. Cast: Christopher Stucky, Kristi Zimmerman and Chris Stevenson.

The Art Gallery by Dan Borengasser, Springdale AR
Candace has an assignment to write about a new gallery for her newspaper. But the gallery – "The Art Gallery" – is both less and more than she expected. Directed by Rob Goode. Cast: Minette Donhardt, Aaron Thomas and Wes Melton (June 9-12).

Critic's Choice by Patti Cassidy, Watertown MA
Marian is an art critic. She thinks she knows exactly what Charles intends with his art. Charles thinks she has no clue. Who gets to decide what a painting means? Directed by Cristen Monson. Cast: Rick Clemmons, Michelle Woody, J. Michael Grey (June 12) and Carolyn Stucky (June 12 and 16).

Performance Art by Judy Klass, Nashville TN
"Experimenting with the whole art gallery experience in bold new ways" is all fine and good until you can't tell whether you're coming or going or Hecuba Rosenblatt is putting you on. Directed by Ron Emmons. Cast: Aszure Dorton and Abby Scott.

Abby Scott (L) and Aszure Dorton in Performance Art
Photo credit: Dana Colcleasure

I Was Fine Until You Came in the Room by Rich Orloff, New York NY
Fifty-one years ago, Pete saw Helen at an art gallery. He thought she was cute and she thought he looked nice, but… Somebody's going to have to say something! Directed by Ron Emmons. Cast: Elsie Cadieux, Chuck Pettigrew, Lizzy Selzer and Chris Stevenson.

The Art of Reincarnation by Nicole Neely, Van Alstyne TX
An artist has been digging through Lily's garbage, looking for inspiration, for hope. But how can evidence of her failures begin to add up to something beautiful? Directed by Cristen Monson. Cast: Lizzy Selzer, Aaron Thomas and J. Michael Grey (June 9-12).

The Painting by Ron Burch, Los Angeles CA
Just because you’re married doesn’t mean you see things the same. With the help of a selfie and Facebook, maybe, just maybe, the red blob can reach out to the center spot. Directed by Rob Goode. Cast: Chuck Pettigrew and Irene Taylor.

Honorable Mention by Shawn Samuelson Henry, Grosse Pointe Park MI
Kids will be kids and adults should be adults, until the adults start messing with the kids' art contest. Don’t forget, Mom and Dad – there’s "honor" in "honorable mention." Directed by Connie Chojnacki Blick. Cast: Rick Clemmons, Carolyn Stucky and J. Michael Grey (June 12).

Returning winners include Dan Borengasser, whose Auld Lang Syne earned a slot in last year's CLASS REUNION plays, and Ron Burch, who wrote Polly, one of the winning FOWL PLAYS two years ago.

For more information on THE ART GALLERY plays, click here for an overview, here for show times, and here for the list of plays and playwrights. Call 309-452-8709 or email boxoffice@heartlandtheatre.org for reservations.

And if you'd like to see (a rather impressive) list of winners from all 15 years of Heartland's 10-Minute Play Festival, try this page.

Heartland's ART GALLERY 10-Minute Play Competition Open for Entries Till February 1

If you're still putting the finishing touches on your little work of art -- an ART GALLERY 10-minute play -- you have till February 1 to share it with Heartland Theatre.

Heartland's annual 10-minute play competition is always a popular part of its season, with last year's CLASS REUNION plays making a strong impression. If you'd like to see your work as part of this summer's 15th annual 10-Minute Play Festival, you have three weeks left to polish it up and get it in under the wire. Or under the sketch, painting, sculpture, textile... Or whatever other kind of art you've chosen to write about.

Robert Caney, Stage Set with Paintings and Statues

Here's how Heartland's website describes what they're looking for:

"Art has been used as a canvas to explore issues of creativity, culture, censorship, passion, talent, ownership, class, race, privilege and aspiration, with a variety of theatrical imaginations taking it as a jumping-off point.

"And it isn’t just one kind of drama… Art as a weapon, art as a scam, a political football, a gift or a forgery, tortured artists trying to create and unsure whether what they’re doing will matter, art as something reserved for the upper classes, some people’s art valued more than others because of the color of their skin… Whether you choose to write about one of those ideas or something completely different, there is fertile ground in an art gallery."

They're asking you to keep in mind that the theater will have to recreate your vision on stage, so what you want represented in front of an audience needs to be within the realm of the possible. Feel free to create any kind of theatrical art that can be accomplished at Heartland with two, three or four actors in about ten minutes.

Edouard Vuillard, The Conversation

For more information, click here. The official rules for the competition are here, with the entry form about 2/3 down the Rules page. Playwrights need to fill out and submit the entry form, attaching their plays right to that form. Questions should be directed to: playfest@heartlandtheatre.org

Paul Gaugin, Haystacks in Brittany

The artwork displayed here is from the National Gallery of Art's open access collection.

Winners (and Auditions!) for Heartland's 10-Minute Play Festival

Heartland Theatre Company has announced the winning playwrights and plays in its annual 10-minute play festival, along with audition information. Auditions will be April 20 and 21, from 7 to 9:30 pm.

This year's theme is Class Reunions, with each play somehow involving that idea. For the first time, there are nine winning plays instead of the usual eight, with a total of 23 roles available for characters from 18 to 90. Heartland notes that the ages attached to the scripts are for the characters, not necessarily the actors. They also note that actors are welcome to audition even if they have conflicts with performance dates because it has been possible in the past to double-cast a role to cover conflicts.

Auditioners will be asked to read from the script, with no monologues or prepared audition pieces required.

And here is all the info you'll need on the winners:

AULD LANG SYNE by Dan Borengasser, Springdale AR
Fifty years ago, Blake and Jack each thought they came first in Lily’s heart. Now that they’re older and presumably wiser — and without spouses — they’re still vying for Lily. May the best man win!
2 M, 1 W, 60s.

BITTERSWEET SAMBA by Sean Crawford, Waltham MA
David needs to get into this reunion. Bad. Unfortunately, it isn’t his reunion, and Gary, the gatekeeper, isn’t about to let him pass. Rock, meet Hard Place. How will David get past Gary into the one place that holds his heart’s desire?
1 M, 20s and 1 M, 30s

DEVEREAUX REDUX by Tim West, San Diego CA
Dixon is sidestepping his reunion to go straight to the professor — stern, exacting taskmaster Devereaux — who once made his life difficult. Why is he still trying to figure out Devereaux? Why do we keep poking at the past?
1 M, 30s, and I M, 60s

HAPPY HOUR by Deborah Duane, Milburn NJ
It’s pretty unconventional to put a class reunion in a funeral home. But when 90-year-old Sister Mary Bernadette shuffles off this mortal coil a few days before the big reunion, plans are going to have to change. Welcome to Happy Hour, with a dead nun who is still dispensing advice even from the Great Beyond.
2 W, 30s to 40s, and 1 W, 90

IT’S BEEN YEARS by Scott Tobin, Waltham MA
Dominic seems to know every single detail of Rose Ella’s life, even though she doesn’t remember him at all. Better watch out for snoopy ex-classmates who think Facebook “friends” are the real thing.
1 M, 1 W, 30s to 40s

OLD FLAMES by Erin Considine, Lawrenceville GA
It’s hard to predict where you will go when you leave high school. But “Most Likely to End Up a Phone Sex Operator” and “Will Never Be Kissed” were not in the yearbook, which means Mary, a teacher at the same school she went to, and Gina, “Most Likely to Smoke in the Teachers’ Lounge,” are working without a net.
2 W, 1 M, 30s to 40s

THE SONG WE SHARED by Jimmy Holder, Milledgeville GA
Lou and Mo are too young to be swimming in the waters of emotional maturity, but that doesn’t stop them from putting a toe in a murky puddle. In twenty years, will they be going to their reunion with regrets and apologies? Together? Apart? Singing a different song?
1 M, 1 W, 18

A SUPER REUNION by Candace Perry, Welfleet MA
There’s a lot to live up to when your entire graduating class is super. Wanda once saved the world, but now she’s worried about sexist superhero costumes, which of her colleagues are using their X-ray vision in creepy ways, and whether her cape makes her butt look big. Super or not, reunions are tough!
1 M, 1 W, 50s

VALIDATION by Robin Pond, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Fenton Crisp has a master plan: Bring together the people who wronged and ignored him in high school and make them pay. He’s now got buckets of money, and if he has his way, old classmates Allan, Debbie and Judy will grovel for the bucks. Grovel, do you hear? Bwahaha!
2 M, 2 W, 50s

Performances of Heartland's Class Reunion 10-Minute Play Festival are scheduled for June 4-6, 11-14, 18-20 and 25-28, 2015. Click here for audition information

New Plays Await, but the Deadline for Humana Festival Reservations Looms

Although Actors Theatre of Louisville's 39th annual Humana Festival of New American Plays has already begun, there's still time -- a little time -- to reserve a package of tickets to the "Industry Weekends" that wrap up the Festival in April. The deadline for registration for the Industry Weekends is March 11, which means it's time to get moving if you want to be there!

There are other new play festivals around the country, but the Humana Festival remains one of the most accessible, prestigious and enjoyable. The Industry Weekends -- the last two weekends of the Festival -- bring together press, producers, directors, agents, artistic directors, literary managers, playwrights, publishers and other theatre professionals, gathered to see a crop of new works by rising and established playwrights.

From the descriptions offered by Actors Theatre (although they always claim there is no overriding theme), this year's slate seems to be about how we embrace life and each other, bridging gaps or falling in between. Actors Theatre rolls out their Humana Festival choices over the weeks between March 2 and April 12, with weekend packages offering the possibility of three plays March 20 to 22, five plays March 27 to 29, six plays April 4 to 5, and all six plays plus a program of 10-minute plays April 10 to 12.  Here's what you'll see if you come that last weekend, when the full array is being performed:

THE ROOMMATE
by Jen Silverman.
Sharon considers herself a sensible, middle-aged Midwestern woman. But when she finds herself in need of a roommate to pay the bills, she ends up with Robyn, a vegan from the Bronx who is secretive and a smoker. Sharon is persistent in her efforts to get to know Robyn and to show her that sharing and growing can be good things. But it may be Sharon who changes the most.

DOT
by Colman Domingo
At Christmas time, the Shealy family -- Dotty and her three grown children -- is in need of a whole lot more than a tree to brighten their inner-city home. In this "wild and moving dark comedy," Dotty Shealy and her kids will find open up issues of elder care and midlife crisis along with their Christmas gifts.

I WILL BE GONE
by Erin Courtney
Ghosts, earthquakes, haunted memories... That's the world seventeen-year-old Penelope discovers after her mother dies, when she movies to a small town in the mountains in California to live with her aunt. Set next to a ghost town, I Will Be Gone looks at "the beauty and awkwardness of living with the knowledge that everything ends."

THE GLORY OF THE WORLD
by Charles Mee
Thomas Merton was a world traveler in his youth, but a Trappist monk in Kentucky by the age of 26. He wrote some 70 books on faith and social justice before he died at 53. In this play, Mee celebrates what would have been Merton's 100th birthday with "a wildly theatrical meditation on happiness, love, the values of solitude and...seeking heaven on earth."

I PROMISED MYSELF TO LIVE FASTER
Text by Gregory S. Moss and Pig Iron Theatre Company
Philadelphia's Pig Iron Theatre Company brings its "unique method of performance research and collaborative creation, plus a signature physical approach to character" to Louisville with this delirious science fiction allegory about intergalactic nuns in search of a Holy Gay Flame.

THAT HIGH LONESOME SOUND
by Jeff Augustin, Diana Grisanti, Cory Hinkle and Cherise Castro Smith
This year's showcase for Actors Theatre's Apprentice Company is all about bluegrass. Or, as Actors Theatre puts it, "In a lively theatrical album of scenes...four writers respond with playfulness and poignancy to the signature sounds, inherited stories, and cultural impact of this very American—and very Kentucky—music tradition."

Note that Charles Mee's The Glory of the World is the one Actors Theatre's Artistic Director Les Water has chosen to direct.

In addition to these six full-length plays, the Humana Festival also features a program of three 10-minute plays during the second Industry Weekend. Those are Rules of Comedy by Patricia Cotter, Joshua Consumed an Unfortunate Pear by Steve Yockey and So Unnatural a Level by Gary Winter. Winter's play won this year's Heideman Award, granted by Actors Theatre to the winner of its national 10-minute play contest. The Heideman Award also comes with a $1000 check to the winning playwright. To read more about the three 10-minute plays chosen to be performed as part of the Humana Festival, click here.

For more information about the entire Humana Festival of New American Plays and to find reservation information, visit Actors Theatre's website here.

Heartland Theatre Wants Your 10-Minute CLASS REUNION Play

It's interesting when the postcards, emails and Facebook alerts for class reunions start popping up in your various mailboxes. Some people -- and not necessarily the ones you expect -- are really gung ho at tracking down every last member of the class and pushing them into not just coming to the reunion, but organizing flash mobs and surprise parties and cocktail hours and picnics. Others -- and not necessarily the ones you expect -- hide from every appeal, every message, every attempt to find them.

Heartland Theatre is interested in both those camps, as well as everybody in between, for its annual 10-minute play contest on the CLASS REUNION theme. Or, as they ask the dramatic question, "Who are you now? Who were you then?"

"Once the invitation to a class reunion lands in your mailbox, the questions begin. It’s not just whether you want to go or whether you have anything in common with those people anymore, but who might show up, who might not show up, what secrets they’re hiding or getting ready to spill, who did what to whom back then, and just how far past it you are now."

It's true that reunions have long been fodder for dramatic imaginations, from Jeffrey Sweet (Flyovers) to Stephen Belber (Tape), Jason Miller (That Championship Season) and Tyler Perry (Madea’s High School Reunion).  A hit man man going home for his reunion (Grosse Pointe Blank) is decidedly different from an unhappy housewife (Peggy Sue Got Married) or the last surviving members of Miss Lucy’s last Tapping Toddlers Class.

Who are you now? Who were you then? 

If those questions inspire you to write a 10-minute play, Heartland Theatre would like to see it. the basic idea is 2 to 4 characters that can be played by actors between 18 and 80, no more than ten minutes in length, and something to do with a class reunion.

Heartland Theatre provides info here, as well as rules and guidelines here. You will need to visit the rules and guidelines page to get to the entry form, which you will fill out and attach your play to officially enter.

The final deadline is February 1, 2015, but if you get your play in by January 1, Heartland's judges may offer a revision option if your play is close but not quite there in terms of advancing to the next round.

What are you waiting for? Get that Class Reunion play going!

Last Weekend for Heartland's FOWL PLAYS

There's only one weekend left in Heartland Theatre's annual 10-Minute Play Festival. These Fowl Plays have flown by over the first three weekends in June, pulling in crowds and earning rave reviews.

The winning Fowl Plays cover a variety of birds, from two sets of crows -- one noisy, one involved in murder -- to a pair of eagles, a mallard duck decoy, a Great Horny Owl and a foul-mouthed parrot. Some are funny, some are thought-provoking or "aww" provoking, and some are a little bit out there. It's no wonder Marcia Weiss called the eight bird-related plays "a real hoot" in her review in the Bloomington Pantagraph.

The winning playwrights cover a lot of territory, as well, with Joe Strupek (The Decoy) from right here in Bloomington, Blaise Miller (Bird on a Ferry) down in Texas, Brigitte Viellieu-Davis (Fly Girl Fly) and Nancy Halper (The Murder of Crows) from New Jersey, Russell Weeks (Whoooo?) from Seattle, Ron Burch (Polly) and Tim West (Two in the Bush) from southern California, and Claire BonEnfant (The Caw Caw Conspiracy) from Toronto, Canada.

The company of 13 actors include some new to Heartland Theatre, like Connie Blick, J. Michael Grey, Andrea Henderson, Gabrielle Lott-Rogers, Abby Scott, Eliza Sturdivant and Dave Yates, and some familiar faces, like Nathan Bottorff, Gayle Hess, Dave Lemmon, Nancy Nickerson and Kevin Wickart. Rob Goode falls between the two categories -- he was the costume designer on Iron last spring, so he is familiar with Heartland Theatre, but this is his first acting job there.

It's that kind of mix -- comedy and drama, East Coast, West Coast and Midwest sensibilities, fresh faces and old favorites -- that keeps Heartland's 10-Minute Plays fun and different every year.

Even the directors mix old and new. Ron Emmons, who acted as this year's overall director, and IWU Emeritus Professor John Ficca have been at the helm of Heartland plays before, while Cristen Monson, who directs Summer on Stage and the Intercity Shakespeare Troupe, is directing for Heartland for the first time. And I have been associated with this particular 10-Minute Play Festival since 2001, but it's also my first time directing here. If you're coming out to judge how I did, the plays I directed are Ron Burch's Polly and Joe Strupek's The Decoy.

Joe and I visited WGLT to talk about the Fowl Plays and especially The Decoy, and we brought along Dave Lemmon and Gayle Hess to perform a piece of Joe's play on air. That was added to an interview with Deanna Frautschi, who, along with her husband, Alan Bedell, have sponsored Heartland's 10-Minute Play Festival for the past 11 years. Frautschi is a bird-lover and a wonderful wildlife and bird-life photographer, and that love and those talents are what inspired the entire Fowl Plays theme this year. If you missed that radio piece, you can listen to it here at the WGLT site. Note that Dave, Gayle and The Decoy start at about the ten-minute mark, while Deanna begins about 17 minutes in.

If you are smart, you'll make reservations now to catch one of these last four performances, before the Fowl Plays fly away into the sunset. Tonight, Friday and Saturday performances are at 7:30 pm, while Sunday's matinee begins at 2. Reservation information is here, with showtimes here.

Auditions Tonight & Tomorrow for FOWL PLAYS at Heartland

Heartland Theatre is gearing up for its annual 10-minute play festival with eight winning plays written on the theme FOWL PLAYS set for production all four weekends in June. A festival with eight different plays means lots of roles are available, covering a range of ages in a range of styles, and auditions for all those roles are set for tonight and tomorrow from 7 to 9 pm.

The plays under the FOWL PLAYS umbrella are detailed below, including general descriptions of the characters. Note that Heartland often casts actors in more than one role, and sometimes casts more than one actor in the same role to cover conflicts in the busy month of June. Ages given below are the approximate ages of the characters, but not necessarily the ages of the actors. That means if you think you might be interested but you have a conflict or you are not the exact age listed but think the FOWL PLAYS sound cool, it's best to come out and audition just in case. The more actors at auditions, the more options directors have.

Here are the winning FOWL PLAYS:

BIRD ON A FERRY by Blaise Miller, Frisco TX.
A couple on a blind date is confronted by a disheveled man carrying a small box with a bird inside. But appearances can be deceiving.
One woman, 25-35. Two men, 25-35. One man, any age.

THE CAW CAW CONSPIRACY by Claire BonEnfant, Toronto ONT Canada.
When Earl takes a page from Hitchcock and The Birds to get rid of a neighbor he doesn’t like, he may be hoist with his own paper crow.
One woman, 40-70. One man, 40-70. One man, 20-40.

THE DECOY by Joe Strupek, Bloomington IL
A hand-carved duck decoy could be a very valuable thing. It could be the one spark in Drew’s very lousy day. Or it could just be a decoy.
Three men, any ages.

FLY GIRL FLY by Brigitte Viellieu-Davis, West New York NJ
A young graffiti artist discovers what it means to be “something” when she runs into a woman in the park sketching birds.
One woman, 18-22. One woman, 40s-60s. One man or woman, any age.

THE MURDER OF CROWS by Nancy Halper, Summit NJ
Divorced parents Debra and Greg aren't sure what to make of their child’s strange drawing of crows at a parent-teacher conference.
One women, 25-40. One woman, 25-70. One man, 25-40.

POLLY by Ron Burch, Los Angeles CA
John wants to introduce his new girlfriend to his best friend Maureen. But his girlfriend Polly is a parrot. Or is she?
Two women, 20-40. One man, 20-40.

TWO IN THE BUSH by Tim West, San Diego CA
Some birds mate for life. Some mate seasonally. And some couples have a hard time keeping it together when they try to catch an eagle with a camera.
One man and one woman, 30-60, as long as they match each other.

WHOOOO? by Russell Weeks, Seattle WA
A man tells his psychiatrist that he has lost his beak, his wings and his feathers as part of a transition from owl to human. What kind of doctor would believe him?
One man and one woman, any age.

Directors will rehearse on a rotating schedule during May, with performances from June 5 to 29. Auditions will consist of cold readings from scripts, and will take place at Heartland Theatre tonight and tomorrow night from 7 to 9 pm.

If you would like more information, send an email to playfest@heartlandtheatre.org or click here to see the FOWL PLAYS page on Heartlands website.

Finishing Up Your FOWL PLAY for Heartland?

Heartland Theatre announced the new theme for its annual 10-minute play contest last summer, after the Package Plays were put to bed, with entries accepted as of September 1. For next summer's plays, the central idea is birds. And that's why they're calling them Fowl Plays.

The ultimate deadline for all entries is February 1, 2014, but January 1 is another important date. That's the date playwrights need to know if they want to be eligible for revisions. Since this is a new play contest, Heartland instituted the revision rule a few years ago, allowing their judges to ask playwrights for changes if they think there is something fairly easy to fix that would give the play a better chance to advance. So, for example, if there are five characters instead of the four allowed, but the judges otherwise really like the play and think eliminating that pesky No. 5 wouldn't be too tough, they can give the playwright the option of making that change. The same thing applies if the judges think the play would run longer than ten minutes as written. They can send a message through Heartland's 10-Minute Plays Administrator to see if the playwright would be willing to shave a page or two off the script so it better suits Heartland's needs.

That doesn't mean everybody automatically gets the chance to revise things. Just people who get their plays in by January 1 (so that there's time for revisions before the February deadline). And just with plays where there's something fairly simple to fix that could give the play a better shot in the contest. Playwrights have indicated in the past that the chance for revisions was a really positive thing for them, so don't underestimate that January 1 option.

As we wind down 2013 and head past Christmas, we're also seeing some fine inspiration for Fowl Plays in general, what with "The Twelve Days of Christmas" and all the birds it involves. Playwrights could write about any one of the following, after all:

7 Swans a-Swimming

6 Geese a-Laying

4 Calling Birds

3 French Hens

2 Turtle Doves

And a Partridge in a Pear Tree...

This particular partridge is from birdorable.com, a blog with all kinds of bird art, including "The Twelve Days of Christmas" sketched with representations of the real birds involved in the song. Just in case you wondered what a Calling Bird looks like... They've also interpreted Five Golden Rings as Five Gold-Ringed Tanagers and subbed in Twelve Drumming Ruffled Grouse, Eleven Piping Plovers, Ten Lord Howe Woodhens, Nine Lady Amherst's Pheasants and Eight Milky Storks to keep all "Twelve Days" avian. What more inspiration do you need? I'm kind of in love with those Gold-Ringed Tanagers.

For the whole scoop on Heartland's Fowl Plays, click here.

Heartland's FOWL PLAYS Open for Submissions

As of September 1, Heartland Theatre's annual 10-minute play contest is open for entries. That means playwrights who have a never-before-produced 10-minute play dealing with or inspired by birds in any way, shape or form -- any bird aphorism, idiom, song, fairytale, sports mascot, game, or that dream of dancing Swan Lake you've had since childhood -- may now enter those plays through the Heartland website.

This year's theme is FOWL PLAYS, as described above, and each play must contain some reference to or involvement of a member of the bird family, whether that's a chicken dance, a restaurant that specializes in duck a l'orange, or an adult with a pesky addiction to Big Bird on Sesame Street. (Who isn't addicted to Big Bird? He's awesome.) That addiction could also be to the Illinois State University Redbird, the Baltimore Oriole, Angry Birds, Edgar Allen Poe's Raven, or Alice's dodo (or flamingo) in Wonderland. The bird field is wide open!

The eight winning plays selected in this year's contest will be performed during the annual 10-minute play festival in June, 2014. It's a popular part of Heartland's schedule and last year's festival was very well-attended, making this a great opportunity for playwrights to see their work on stage and hear their words in performance.

You can get all the details here, and take a look at the rules and guidelines here. Suffice it to say you need at least two characters but no more than four, a play that depends mostly on dialogue, and a play that is really, really good, with something to say.

The deadline for all entries is February 1, 2014, but if you'd like the possibility of feedback or revisions from the judges, that deadline is January 1. Note that that's the possibility of feedback, not a guarantee. The revision possibility is left open for those scripts in by January 1 which are otherwise well-written and strong submission, but contain something which doesn't quite fit Heartland's needs -- a fifth character, a script that seems likely to run just a bit longer than ten minutes -- that the judges feel it would be fairly easy to fix. This revision option is used infrequently and is only for strong plays with some small issue that doesn't quite work for Heartland.

In the meantime, work on that Fowl Play!

Post-Show Panel Discussion Opens Up All of Heartland's "Packages"

I've mentioned a few times that I am working on Heartland's annual 10-Minute Play Festival again this summer, and in fact, I am a bit more up close and personal with the production side of it than in recent years, since this year, I am acting again. With two weeks of performances finished, the cast and crew will begin the second half of the run tonight at 7:30 pm, opening up the eight winning Package Plays (all written to include some sort of package or parcel, which I will detail for you in a moment) for two more weekends and eight more performances.

Every year, we give playwrights a topic -- sometimes a place or location, like the back porch and the coffeeshop in past years, and sometimes a more general concept, like "One Shoe" or this year's "Package, Parcel or Present" -- and then we sit back and wait to see how that fires the playwriting imagination. I'm not going to give away everything (you'll need to come to the panel discussion to hear the whole list) but I will tell you that we saw a lot of spies and a lot of ashes this time out. Why did the notion of a package conjure up ideas of spies and cremains for playwrights? Something in the zeitgeist, I suspect. (It wasn't in the water. We got 0 water plays. I'm sure 17 Ashes, 0 Water says something...)

And this weekend, after the 2 pm Sunday matinee, we will undertake the annual panel discussion reflecting on the process of reading and evaluating this year's ten-minute plays. First-round judges Ron Emmons, Holly Rocke and Todd Wineburner and I will discuss what we did and how we did it with the 302 short plays submitted this year, and also offer some insight into what kinds of plays we saw this time out. In other words, if you attend this year's Festival, you will see before you eight little plays that survived three rounds of judging, a host of different opinions, frequently a request for reformatting or revision, and sometimes even a spirited argument or two.

In any event, you have eight chances left to see all the parcels, bags and briefcases for yourself. Click here for performance dates and times and here to read more about Heartland Theatre's 10-Minute Plays.

To get you started, here are the eight plays presented this year and the package(s) each brings to the stage. (Please note that the images below are merely representative and not the exact items you'll see on stage.)

STANDING ROOM ONLY by C. J. Ehrlich
A shopping bag.

DEAR SUSAN, LOVE HAROLD by James Walczy
A shoebox.

DO NOT OPEN by Candace Perry
A large Fed Ex box.

MINCED SPIES by Doc Watson
A small parcel hidden inside a newspaper.

THE CHEESECAKE PLAY by John Frusciante
A Junior's Cheesecake shipping container.

A MILLION TIMES OVER by Molly Campbell
A ring box, a hat box, and several other boxes of varying sizes.

LAST CALL by James McLindon
A bowling bag.

AND TWICE ON SUNDAY by Brad Sytsma
A briefcase. Or maybe more than one briefcase. And maybe a purple rhinoceros. Or maybe not.




If you've already seen the plays, this should be a handy refresher. If you haven't, you can ponder what exactly is happening with each of these and then come out to Heartland to see if you're right.

Get Ready to Open Heartland's PACKAGE PLAYS June 6

Heartland Theatre Company's annual 10-Minute Play Festival is always popular, probably because eight short plays are pretty easy to take in. After all, if you don't like the one you're watching, you only have to wait ten minutes for another one!

This year's theme was packages, parcels and presents, which means there are lots of things to open in the plays chosen. And lots of surprises for the audience. Off the top of my head, I can tell you the containers on stage include a bowling bag, at least four briefcases, a delivery container from a famous New York emporium, one huge Fed Ex box, a hatbox, a jewelry box, a small parcel stuck inside a newspaper, a shoebox and a shopping bag. Now you can try to mix and match with these shows:

STANDING ROOM ONLY by C. J. Ehrlich, Chappaqua NY
After a tough day, Charlene is determined not to give up her extra seat on the ferry. Until she meets a stranger who bears a strange resemblance to Frederic-Auguste Bartholdi.

DEAR SUSAN, LOVE HAROLD by James Walczy, Hilton Head Island SC
It’s understandable that a man would be upset when he discovers a box of intimate love letters written to his wife long ago. Who was this Harold, anyway?

DO NOT OPEN by Candace Perry, Wellfleet MA
A big old package lands in the middle of three sisters enjoying a weekend away at the beach. Uh oh. It’s from Mom, who never could resist inserting herself into their lives.

MINCED SPIES by Doc Watson, Bath, Somerset UK
Spies, pies, newspapers, teapots, aardvarks, and, of course, a mysterious parcel… Things can get tricky when you’re testing spies. And pies.

THE CHEESECAKE PLAY by John Frusciante, Astoria NY
Jeff and Andrea fume when the people upstairs are noisy and thoughtless and downright annoying. But revenge can be sweet when their cheesecake wends its way to your door.

A MILLION TIMES OVER by Molly Campbell, Chicago IL
A handsome man keeps bringing pretty little packages to Marie as she rests in a hospital. They look like empty boxes. Except they’re not empty at all in Marie’s memory.

LAST CALL by James McLindon, Northampton MA
Melissa has brought a bowling bag to the bar her dad loved best. Why a bowling bag? She’s dying to tell someone that story.

AND TWICE ON SUNDAY by Brad Sytsma, Kentwood MI
If you wear a trench coat to the park and you sit next to somebody carrying a lethal-looking briefcase, you have to expect there to be… Misunderstandings.

For information on show dates and times, click here, and for reservation info, click here. Opening night is June 6, followed by Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday performances through the end of June. Note that there is no performance on Father's Day, June 16, but there is a talkback with the 10-minute play committee judges after the matinee on June 23.

AUDITIONS! Heartland Theatre Needs You for a Package, Parcel or Present Play

 Heartland Theatre Company has announced the winners in its annual 10-minute play competition, with the eight winning plays -- each involving a package, parcel or present of some sort -- to be performed in June. Heartland will hold auditions for these 10-minute plays on Tuesday, April 23, and Wednesday, April 24, from 6:30 to 9 pm at the theater. If you choose to audition, you will be asked to read from the script. No monologues necessary.

Here is the list of winners and casting requirements:

AND TWICE ON SUNDAY by Brad Sytsma, Kentwood MI
If you wear a trench coat to the park and sit on a popular park bench to await a package drop, you have to be able to tell a chipmunk from a rhinoceros. Or there will be… Misunderstandings.
1 Woman* any age. 3-4 Men* -- 20s-40s

THE CHEESECAKE PLAY by John Frusciante, Astoria NY
Jeff and Andrea are less than thrilled that the people upstairs are noisy and thoughtless and downright annoying. But revenge is sweet when the neighbors’ cheesecake delivery goes astray.
1 Woman, 20s-30s. 2 Men, 20s-30s.

DEAR SUSAN, LOVE HAROLD by James Walczy, Hilton Head Island SC
It’s understandable that a man would be upset when he discovers a box of intimate love letters written to his wife long ago. Who was this Harold, anyway?
1 Woman, 60s. 1 Man, 60s

DO NOT OPEN by Candace Perry, Wellfleet MA
A big old package lands in the middle of three sisters enjoying a weekend away at a secluded beach. Uh oh. It’s from Mom, who never could resist inserting herself into their lives.
3 Women, mid-30s to early 40s.

LAST CALL by James McLindon, Northampton MA
Melissa has carried a bowling bag to the bar her dad loved best. Why a bowling bag? She’s dying to tell someone that story…
1 Woman, 20s-30s. 2 Men, 1 20s-30s and 1 30s-40s.

A MILLION TIMES OVER by Molly Campbell, Chicago IL
A handsome man keeps bringing pretty little packages to Marie as she rests in a hospital. They look like empty boxes. Except they’re not empty at all in Marie’s memory.
2 Women, 1 70s and 1 30s. 1 Man, 20s.

MINCED SPIES by Doc Watson, Bath, Somerset UK
Spies, pies, newspapers, teapots, aardvarks, and, of course, a mysterious parcel… Things can get tricky when you’re testing spies. And pies.
1 Woman* any age. 2 Men* any age.

STANDING ROOM ONLY by C. J. Ehrlich, Chappaqua NY
Charlene is so upset about seeing what love could be, she won’t give a stranger a seat on the ferry. Until he pushes his way past her comfort zone.
1 Woman, 50-60s. 2 Men, 1 20s and 1 any age.

*Gender flexible or not specified. 

That creates a total of 24 roles, with approximately 11 female roles and 13 male roles. Note that several roles are either not specified as male or female or flexible. Some age ranges may also be flexible. So if you don't fit perfectly, never dear. Audition anyway!

Performance for these Package Plays will be June 6-9, 13-15, 20-23 and 27-30, and rehearsals can be expected to take up some of your evenings in May. For all the details, come out for the auditions on Tuesday and Wednesday, or before that, email mdobbins@heartlandtheatre.org with questions.

What's Coming Up From Heartland Theatre Company in 2013-14

Heartland Theatre Company has announced the schedule for its 2013-14 season, and it's full of mystery, secrets, deception and relationship drama.

Heartland's season will begin in June with the Annual 10-Minute Play Festival, every year presenting eight new short plays by winning playwrights from around the globe. This year's theme is "The Package,” with each play somehow involving a package, parcel or gift.

Next up is the Douglas Post play Earth and Sky, a tense psychological thriller, set for performances in September, 2013, and then Annie Baker's award-winning Circle Mirror Transformation, a sweet and insightful play about the members of an acting class, scheduled to hit Heartland's stage in November.

After the holiday break, Heartland will be back in February, 2014, with Jon Robin Baitz's Other Desert Cities, a look at a privileged family with secrets, and Scottish playwright Rona Munro's Iron, moving mother-daughter drama inside a women's prison, in April, 2014.

Heartland's season announcement notes that flex passes to cover this whole season go on sale on April 30th. You can see all the details here.

In the meantime, here's the rundown of shows to whet your appetitie:

Annual 10-Minute Play Festival: THE PACKAGE
June, 2013
Packages have been used as McGuffins in more plays, movies and TV shows than you can fit inside the largest box UPS will deliver. But it’s what’s inside the parcel that counts, whether it’s mysterious microfilm, memories of the past, the key to your heart, an urn full of ashes, a dangerous snake or somebody else’s cheesecake. There’s plenty of dramatic potential inside every package!

EARTH AND SKY by Douglas Post
September, 2013
Doug Post’s neo-noir thriller opens when Sara McKeon, a “would-be poet and part-time librarian” is told that her lover, David, has been killed while involved in terrible crimes. How can she believe what the police are telling her? How can she not? EARTH AND SKY will keep you on the edge of your seat as it vaults from love to betrayal, from mystery to deception, from truth to lies.

CIRCLE MIRROR TRANSFORMATION by Annie Baker
November, 2013
This look at a hapless acting class in a small town in Vermont was chosen as one of the Best Plays of 2010. There’s warmth and humor as well as all kinds of insight in this lovely piece about the power of seemingly silly acting exercises like the circle and the mirror to transform the lives of the people willing to leap into them.

OTHER DESERT CITIES by Jon Robin Baitz
February, 2014
The wealthy Wyeths of Palm Springs enjoy access to the highest levels of American life. But then daughter Brooke comes home with the tell-all book she’s written about the family’s murky secrets. Baitz is a specialist when it comes to dysfunctional families, and OTHER DESERT CITIES, a nominee for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize, is one of the best.

IRON by Rona Munro
April, 2014
Fay has spent the last 15 years in prison for murdering her husband. When her daughter Josie visits for the first time after all these years, she wants to know why it happened, what he did, what her mum did. She can’t even remember what her dad looked like. But there are no easy answers in Munro’s wrenching look at the justice and injustice in crime and punishment.

A New Ten-Minute Play Contest Just for High School Students

Eureka College Theatre and the Peoria Live Theatre League are working together on a new project to find and produce short plays written by high school students. The brand-new contest, called the Illinois High School 10-Minute Play Festival, is looking for new, original, unproduced, unpublished scripts written by students currently enrolled at Illinois high schools.

The reading panel will choose six winning scripts to be produced at Eureka College in November, 2013. Their intention is to choose one script written by a freshman, one by a sophomore, one by a junior and one by a senior, with two "at-large" scripts chosen from any class to round out the production.

They are asking for scripts that last ten minutes, which should be in the range of six to ten actual pages, depending on how the dialogue plays out. They also have a specific style sheet detailing their requirements for what a script should look like.

The deadline for submissions is July 1, 2013, which means students have the rest of the semester and a month or so to fine-tune their scripts, and they will accept either print or email entries.

Click here to see all the details or email Marty Lynch at martyl@eureka.edu with questions.

Get Your "Parcel or Package" 10-Minute Play in Now!

We are perilously close to the deadline for Heartland Theatre's 10-minute play contest. Which means you still have one week left to work on your "Parcel, Package or Present" play, but you'd better be quick. Heartland will accept ten-minute plays involving a package, parcel or present of some sort (and, yes, they're looking for a physical package like the ones you see in the banner above, anything larger than a ring box and smaller than a microwave oven) until February 1, and after that... Well, you'll have to wait till summer, after this year's eight winning Parcel, Package and Present plays have been performed at Heartland Theatre, to see what next year's theme is going to be.

But for now... If you have a parcel play that's ten pages or less, following Heartland's stylesheet, you'll need to send it in before Friday, February 1.

Here's what the "Parcel/Package/Present" theme is all about:

"The Misdelivered Package is a plot staple, whether the parcel in question contains the Maltese Falcon, a bomb about to go off, the names of all the spies in Poland, or a kilo of cocaine from Colombia. There have been more packages used as McGuffins in plays, movies and TV shows than you can fit inside the largest box UPS will deliver.

When you have a parcel, when you don’t know what’s inside, when the recipient is suspicious of the giver or the sender, when the giver can’t rely on how the recipient will react, there’s plenty of dramatic potential.

Your 10-minute play can center on a tiny blue box from Tiffany & Co., a beautifully wrapped birthday present, a weird old shoebox with breathing holes poked in the top, a wooden crate full of albums from the 70s, a plastic “cremains” container, a makeup case with Barbie stickers on the outside, or a strange, lumpy parcel covered in stained brown paper and secured with string, bearing no return address but postage from Ulan Bator.

It can be any kind of parcel, package, packet, box, bundle, case, carton or container, as long as it’s no smaller than a ring box and no bigger than an orange crate. Anything in the middle is just fine. And what’s inside this mysterious parcel is completely up to you.

You have:
…No more than 4 characters…
…No more than 10 minutes…
…And unlimited possibilities to write a winning play for Heartland Theatre’s Parcel, Package or Present 10-Minute Play Festival."

Rules and guidelines are here and the all-important stylesheet is here. Don't be late! February 1!

Feeling Chatty? Join Heartland Theatre for a 10-Minute Play Post-Show Discussion 6-24

We are now into the third week of performances of Heartland Theatre's annual 10-Minute Play Festival, this year with the theme "Playing Games." And as we round that third-week corner and head into the last week, Heartland is offering a post-show discussion with the 10-Minute Play Committee (which includes me) after the matinee this Sunday.

Fans of the 10-Minute Play Festival are often curious as to what the judges look for in a successful play, what the process is like in general, and what kinds of submissions the judges see. Holly Rocke, Ron Emmons, Todd Wineburner and I will be tackling those topics and addressing questions at approximately 3:50 pm on June 24th, as soon as the afternoon's performance concludes and people have time to take a short break.

If you've seen the plays and have questions, feel free to come back and join the discussion. If you haven't seen the plays, this may the perfect chance. And, yes, you, too, can pose questions or offer your opinion.

And here is a sneak peek and a piece of trivia from this year's entries... Playwrights chose all kinds of games to write plays about for this year's Festival. Which among the following games do you think was the most popular among the playwrights who sent us their plays? Your choices are: Angry Birds, Bingo, Chess, Poker, Scrabble, Twister or Yahtzee.

I can also tell you that we got lots of plays on four of those choices and not even one play about two of them. But you will have to come to the panel discussion on Sunday to find out which is which!

"Playing Games" and Other Entertainments at Heartland

A lot is happening at Heartland Theatre right now!

Dave Lemmon and Gayle Hess in "It"

Heartland's annual 10-Minute Play Festival, always a summertime treat, opens its second weekend of performances tonight with more "Playing Games" plays. In case you've missed the memo, this year the plays, chosen from among 366 entries, involve some kind of game, and that includes Scrabble (Austin Steinmetz's "Wordplay"), Bingo (Meny Beriro's "Final Bingo"), Rummikub (Alexis Roblan's "Bourbon Whiskey Rummikub"), a video game (Jerry McGee's "I Am. I Think"), the children's game of Tag (Mike Poblete's "It"), tug-of-war as a metaphor for divorce woes (John D. Poling's "Destiny's Tug-of-War") and the dating game as translated for a new world on Craigslist (Marj O'Neill-Butler's "Missed Connections").

Five of the eight playwrights were in town to see their plays last Saturday night, which was also my first opportunity to see
"Playing Games" realized on Heartland's stage. I chair the 10-Minute Plays committee for Heartland, and as a result, I read all the plays and help the judging process along for the first two rounds. That means I am in no way an unbiased audience member when it comes time to see the whole program. But it's always interesting to see how what you read on the page comes alive on stage, and how different directors and actors can make the material.

My (completely biased) judgment this year is that Poblete's "It," nicely directed by Rachel Krein and starring Dave Lemmon and Gayle Hess, both terrific as wise-beyond-their-years children, is the funniest and sharpest among the produced plays, and that John D. Poling from Clinton, Illinois, has created the most heartfelt piece with his "Tug-of-War," with George Freeman offering a warm and sweet performance as a divorced man caught between his ex, her new girlfriend and their injured dog. O'Neill-Butler's "Missed Connections," directed by Ron Emmons, with Kent Nusbaum and Alyssa Ratkovich doing good work as a pair of mixed-up singles, is also fresh and timely.

In terms of the scripts, McGee's "I Am. I Think." goes for the most depth -- McGee actually tries to discuss the concept of Free Will versus Fate in ten minutes! -- and features excellent performances from both Dana Anderson and Dave Lemmon, who goes from a kid on the playground in "It" to a harried commuter worried about his very existence in "I Am. I Think." in the space of twenty minutes.

If you are a game player, this is the Festival for you. You have three weekends left to catch these hot-off-the-press 10-minute plays, with reservation and show time information on Heartland's website.

Also of note -- tomorrow marks the annual Summer Showcase from Heartland's Young at Heartland acting troupe for seniors. This year, a corps of 24 actors will perform scenes centering on the idea of "Opportunities." That's tomorrow, June 15, at 1 pm at Heartland Theatre, and you are advised to arrive early if you want a seat. There is no charge for admission, but they suggest a donation at the door as you enter.

And last but not least, Heartland has launched a new website this week. If you've visited heartlandtheatre.org before, you will notice that it has a new look and lots of information on the upcoming season, on the 10-Minute Play Festival, New Plays from the Heartland, Young at Heartland and their summer schedule of performances, and even the Board of Directors, of which I am a member.

5 of Heartland's 8 Winning Playwrights Coming to Bloomington-Normal

Heartland Theatre Artistic Director Mike Dobbins has announced that five of the eight winning playwrights in Heartland’s annual 10-minute Play Festival, this year on the theme “Playing Games,” are planning trips to Bloomington-Normal to see their plays on stage and to attend a reception hosted by the 10-Minute Play Festival’s sponsors, Deanna Frautschi and Alan Bedell.

So far, John Poling from Clinton, Illinois, will be traveling the shortest distance among the playwrights, and he will be joined by Meny Beriro (Queens NY), Jerry McGee (Brooklyn NY), Marj O’Neill-Butler (Miami Beach FL) and Austin Steinmetz (Columbus OH).

Here is the Who’s Who of playwrights coming to Bloomington–Normal:

Meny Beriro says that he learned quickly from his students that if you don’t keep the story moving, a hand goes up and asks for the bathroom pass. Meny is a Social Studies teacher at Newtown High School in Queens, New York, one of the most culturally diverse schools in the country. He has written short and long plays about many topics ranging from pigeons to Papua New Guinea. His most recent work is called CHANGE, and it’s about Neanderthals and politics, not necessarily in that order.

A retired actor, Jerry McGee is now an avid playwright. He was a 2012 Finalist for Firehouse Theatre’s Festival of New Plays (QUIET SIDE OF TOWN) and 2010 Playwright-In-Residence at Woodstock Fringe Festival. His plays have been produced at ShortPlayFEST in Bellerica, MA (THIS IS ME TODAY), Wintergreen Arts Center, VA (THE LADY ELGIN), Ruskin Theatre, Santa Monica (DO YOU SMOKE AFTER SEX?), and Collision Festival, NY (JEANNIE WITH THE LIGHT BROWN HAIR). He is a member of Dramatists Guild. He grew up in Nebraska, misses the Midwest and is very happy to be back at Heartland after last year’s HOW TO WEED YOUR GARDEN.

Marj O’Neill-Butler, a member of the Dramatists Guild and the International Center for Women Playwrights, is a produced playwright of TRUE BLUE at The Women’s Theatre Project, eight Theatre for Children scripts, the short plays WHAT IF? and now MISSED CONNECTIONS and a reader’s theatre script called THE WOMEN OF THE BEAT GENERATION. A proud member of Equity, SAG, and AFTRA, she has worked as a professional actor, director and stage manager for over 30 years. Visit her online at www.marjorieoneill-butler.com.

John D. Poling tells us that he is honored to have his play selected for this year’s festival. This is his first foray into playwriting. Most of his theatre experience has come in the realm of acting and directing, with past roles including John Wilkes Booth in ASSASSINS, Rulon Stacey in THE LARAMIE PROJECT and David Sabin in Heartland Theatre’s THE END OF THE TOUR in April 2011. John directed Ken Ludwig’s LEADING LADIES in 2010 and will be directing the comedy MARRYING TERRY in 2013. When not satiating his theatre addiction, John is a history instructor at Parkland College in Champaign.

Austin Steinmetz of Columbus Ohio, is thrilled that his play WORD PLAY was chosen as a winner of Heartland Theatre Company’s National 10-Minute Play Contest! Recent accomplishments include winning spots in the 2011 and 2012 Theatre Oxford National 10-Minute Play Contests, 2012 Evolution Theatre’s Columbus Bicentenial Playwright Festival, and 2011’s MadLab Theatre’s 6-in-60 Greatest Hits, among others. He earned his BA in Creative Writing in 2005 at Ohio Wesleyan University. He thanks his wife, Cara, for her editing eye and enduring what he coins brain farts.

And here are bios for the other three winning playwrights, who have not as yet confirmed:

Erin Moughon is a NYC-based playwright, by way of Georgia and several other states. She has an MFA from Columbia University. Other works aside from IN MEMORY OF CALVINBALL, the play to be performed at Heartland in June, include SURVIVED BY, SLIP HER A MICKEY and PRETEND THAT YOU OWE ME… as well as the short plays [death]match.com and WHAT IF…? She has been a semi-finalist for both the Princess Grace award and the National Playwrights Conference. In 2007, she was one of the U.S. representatives to World Interplay, an international young playwrights conference in Australia. She works as a 7th and 8th grade public school science and health teacher in Manhattan.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Mike Poblete has lived in Ireland, Canada and the Netherlands. His full length plays include ANTENORA (Robert Moss Theatre); TREADING WATER (The New Theatre – Ireland); THE NEW YORK MONOLOGUES (Theatre For The New City, Smock Alley – Ireland, J Lounge – Vancouver); FLACCID PENIS SEEKS VAGINAL DRYNESS (Dixon Place) and STOKER (The New Theatre – Ireland). One acts staged in 2012 include DATING SUCKS and McRIB McFLURRY. Mike is currently studying playwriting at Trinity College Dublin. www.mikepoblete.wordpress.com

Alexis Roblan is a Brooklyn-based playwright and independent theatre producer. She grew up in Coos Bay, Oregon, and is a graduate of the University of Southern California’s MFA in Dramatic Writing program. In 2007, Alexis was one of three American delegates to the World Interplay Festival for young playwrights in Townsville, Australia. Her play, GENESIS, has been developed at The Inkwell in Washington, D.C., and was a Semi-Finalist for the Princess Grace Playwriting Fellowship in 2011. With Rachel Kerry, Alexis co-founded Brain Melt Consortium, a theatre/media arts group based in New York City, in October 2010. She is a member of the New Perspectives Theatre Company’s Women’s Work Project Short Play Lab, and her play, DAUGHTERS OF LOT, performed as part of the 2012 FRIGID New York Festival, and will be performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland this summer.

For the full scoop on casts, directors and what the eight plays being performed this year are all about, click here. The "Playing Games" 10-Minute Play Festival opens June 7, with performances continuing through July 1. You can see reservation and box office info here.

"Playing Games" at Heartland Opens June 7

Heartland Theatre's annual 10-Minute Play Festival, this year featuring eight new plays on the theme "Playing Games," has been cast, with 15 actors taking on 18 roles. Those roles range from Jerry, a duplicitous Scrabble champ, to Hector, who fears he is just a character in a video game, to Judy, Ryan and Kyle, 7-year-olds playing Tag during recess.

Here are the plays, including directors and casts, you'll be seeing when Heartland's 10-Minute Play Festival opens on June 7th:

FINAL BINGO

by Meny Beriro (Forest Hills NY) 

Sarah Salazar, director 

Cast: Sara L. Flanders (Carol) and Lynda Straw (June) 

Carol and June have been playing bingo in the same place for 20 years. But now that their favorite bingo parlor is closing, will they still be friends? Or were they ever friends at all?

I AM. I THINK.  

by Jerry McGee (Brooklyn NY) 

Ken Kendall, director 

Cast: Dana Anderson (Sybil) and Dave Lemmon (Hector) 

Did you ever wonder if you existed, or if you were just a character in a video game? No? Well, the line between game and reality is only too real for Hector. Unless it's imaginary.

IN MEMORY OF CALVINBALL

by Erin Moughon (New York NY) 

Matt Campbell, director 

Cast: Tori Allen (Murphy) and Kyle McClevey (Jones) 

Ms. Murphy and Mr. Jones may've been playing their made-up game for three years, but it's probably more like three hours. The one thing they can count on is that no rule ever stays the same.

MISSED CONNECTIONS

by Marj O’Neill-Butler (Miami Beach FL) 

Ron Emmons, director 

Cast: Kent Nussbaum (Bob) and Alyssa Ratkovich (Rosie) 

Did Rosie meet Bob in the pasta section or the dairy aisle? Was he wearing red running shoes or scarlet Crocs? Whose "Missed Connection" was whose? All is fair in the Mating Game!

IT

by Mike Poblete (Brooklyn NY) 

Rachel Krein, director 

Cast: Jay Hartzler (Ryan), Gayle Hess (Judy)
and Dave Lemmon (Kyle)

Kyle and Judy are OVER. No more Ring Around the Rosy. No more sharing the Mickey Mouse car. But on the playground of their relationship, being tagged IT may be the ultimate romantic gesture.

DESTINY'S TUG-OF-WAR

by John D. Poling (Clinton IL) 

Chris Gray, director 

Cast: George Freeman (Jason), Jay Hartzler (Dr. Schieder ), 

Gayle Hess (Kristen) and Hannah White (Sally) 

Divorce, a new partner, a custody battle... This time, the one caught in the middle is a puppy named Destiny, after a scary trip to the vet brings the whole triangle and its tug-of-war into sharp focus.

BOURBON WHISKEY RUMMIKUB

by Alexis Roblan (Brooklyn NY) 

Misti Dawn Crossland, director 

Cast: Jessica Arbuckle (Sue) and Kent Nusbaum (Jake)

It's time for Jake to meet the parents, but Sue insists that he learn - and master -- her family's favorite game before they go. Can this relationship survive cutthroat Rummikub?

WORD PLAY

by Austin Steinmetz (Columbus OH) 

Marty Lynch, director 

Cast: Nathan Bottorff (Jerry) and Ivey Buchanan (Webster) 

If people find out that 5-time National Scrabble Champion Jerry Diddle has been hiding Es up his sleeves, he may just lose everything. Or he may find out there's more to life than Triple Word Scores.

Heartland Theatre's "Playing Games" 10-Minute Play Festival opens on June 7 with a special Pay-What-You-Can preview, followed by performances June 8-10, 14-17, 21-24, 28-30 and July 1. Thursday, Friday and Saturday performances begin at 7:30 pm, while Sunday matinees begin at 2 pm.

To make reservations or check the schedule, click here. To see more about the plays and playwrights, click here.