The USC Dept. of Theatre and Dance will present the 10 Minute Play Festival, a fun and eclectic evening of short plays, October 24 – November 3 at the Lab Theatre.
Show times are at 7:30pm, October 24-26 and November 1-2, and 3pm on Sunday, Nov. 3. Tickets are $10 and are available online at sc.universitytickets.com or at the door. The Lab Theatre is located at 1400 Wheat St. on the first floor of the Booker T. Washington building.
Enjoy a fast-paced evening of laughter, heartbreak and everything in between as we present a collection of (very) short plays, each directed by a different member of our theatre performance faculty. “A ten-minute play is a streak of theatrical lightning. It doesn’t last long, but its power can stand your hair on end.” (Take Ten, Vintage Books).
Featured plays include:
The Lobster Quadrille (Directed by David Britt)
Playwright Don Nigro’s quirky story depicts a casual encounter that quickly becomes a chaotic dance, as two lovers navigate the neurotic pitfalls of a one-night stand.
So I Was Visiting Dad on His Birthday... (Directed by Lyle Browne)
In this sensitive and witty script by DC Cathro, a chance meeting between two women in a cemetery – one visiting her deceased father and the other hoping to join him in the afterlife – sparks an unlikely bond.
Dead Giveaway (Directed by Mario Haynes)
Daniel Guyton’s unorthodox exploration of romance is set on Valentine’s Day, as Robert gifts his wife arrangements of the "final" variety, leading both to question the meaning of “’til death do us part.”
Tea Time (Directed by Patrick Michael Kelly)
Stabbings. Missing tea. A dropped goose. Something is afoot in Lady Gertrude's manor, and it is certainly not a game. Class and reality are dissected in Will Dunne's absurd comedy of manners and murder.
Cast in the plays are undergraduate students Isnerys Carrasquillo, Josh Cooke, Calvin DeLude, Donovan Dempsey, Destiny McCorvey, Reagan Michael, Aza Nyberg, and Morgan Passley.
While the wide variety of situations presented in these compact stories makes for a uniquely entertaining experience for the audience, the faculty directors say that the actors’ work is just as challenging and fulfilling as doing a full-length play.
“While the audience only sees these characters for 10 minutes, the actors have to develop characters that have lived full lives up to [the performance of] the play,” says instructor Lyle Browne. “Just as with a full-length play, that time has to be spent to engage the audience and bring them in.
Senior instructor David Britt concurs. “It really gives the actors a chance to study a character and flesh them out in one scene. It’s all or nothing, and that is exciting to an actor.”
For more information on the 10 Minute Play Festival or the theatre program at the University of South Carolina, contact Kevin Bush by phone at 803-777-9353 or via email at bushk@mailbox.sc.edu.