THEATRE + COMEDY

Ten short prize-winning plays written by 10 Houston area playwrights will be staged Aug. 26-29 by Scriptwriters/Houston at Country Playhouse  at the Scriptwriters/Houston 20th Annual 10 by 10 Showcase of New and Original Plays.

Three of the plays deal with the impact of Hurricane Ike on Houston and Galveston area residents. Six of the other plays explore conflicts between devout Christians, two strangers on a train, a couple in a platonic relationship, a dysfunctional father and son, and sisters with different dreams and sisters with opposite views of their late father. Another play focuses on a woman’s internal conflict in the wake of an unexpected pregnancy.

The plays, which had to be in the 10-minute range, won a competition judged by theater professionals from more than 60 plays submitted by members of the group. The 2010 award-winning plays are: 

In Aaron Alon's "The Great Storm," five characters speak in interrupted monologues, relating their experiences of Hurricane Ike, from devastation to unexpected elation when any change is for the better.

Joe Barnes’ “Quality Time” is the blackest of black comedies. The protagonist, Timothy Lawton, is willing to do anything it takes to earn his father’s respect – even if it means using a hammer and four-inch nails. 

For every hot political debate, there are a thousand individual stories that never come to light. Asmara Bhattacharya’s “Life Choice” explores the unique circumstances of one such story when a woman finds herself facing an unexpected pregnancy. 

In Fernando Dovalina's "Water Line," the first anniversary of Hurricane Ike’s landfall brings together a battling Houston couple, a Galveston bartender with a horrifying secret and a jaded newspaper reporter. In a Galveston Seawall bar, the exchanges among the four zero in on humanity’s instincts for survival. 

“Catching Falling Stars,” by Nicholas Garelick, explores how we see the world and the concepts we hold onto as we age. One sister is leaving for college. The other watches the sky, hoping a falling star will come her way. They will come to an understanding on what wishes are worth making and how they come true.

With nothing else to do in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike, a young couple is forced to examine their relationship and themselves in "Night 4," Eric James' humorous look at "THE talk." Was the force of the hurricane enough to break down more than just physical barriers? 

Why should never having met stop you from marrying the love of your life? "All Dressed in White," a comedy by Elizabeth A. M. Keel, presents a woman in a train car asking exactly that, and she’s already wearing the white dress. The businessman next to her must decide if she's certifiable, or somehow... sweet.

In Leighza Walker’s “The Games We Play,” a man and woman test the boundaries of platonic friendship with mind games and banter. 

"Flowers From Our Father," by Carl Williams, finds two sisters clashing in the aftermath of their father's memorial service. The younger was close to her father, while the older sister was estranged, leading to a breakdown in their own relationship, which they struggle to overcome.

Inspired by an incident during the Civil War, “Uncle John and the General” by Gordon Williams depicts not just how this conflict pitted brother against brother and father against son, but how brothers in Christ Jesus were also divided against one another.

The directors are Debra Schultz, who is also artistic director, Steve Carpentier, Chelsea Curto, Reena DeSanto-Alvis, Barbara S. “Bunny” Hartman, Joey Milillo, B. Renda, Laura Schlect, Angela Smoke and Michael Steinbach.

“Theatre is first and foremost about people and the decisions they make,” said “Ten by Ten” artistic director Schultz. In “Ten by Ten,” she said, “the playwrights had to make two decisions--to write or not to write and what to write about; the judges had decisions about which plays were to be selected; the directors made decisions about which play to attach to and what actors to cast; the actors made decisions about how to best represent their characters and their intentions. All those decisions wound together give us this unique event.

“These plays provide a whole scope of characters and their decisions--whether they be Hurricane Ike survivors or Civil War soldiers, or a woman figuring out if she can handle being a mother, or two siblings finding their ways through the life. “All of the ‘Ten by Ten’ plays give us that new experience, that new insight, that new set of decisions. You can't hope to do better than that--to give your audience such a look at what theatre is supposed to do: Show us what it means to be part of the human condition and how even our day-to-day choices and decisions ripple through our lives and the lives of those around us.”

In the two rehearsal photos:

ONE YEAR AFTER IKE—A bartender, Anthony, played by Sedric Willis, left, regales his customers at a Galveston Seawall bar with his thoughts on Winston Churchill, gin, pinball machines and last, but never least, Hurricane Ike. Listening are, from left, Julieta, a newspaper reporter doing a first-anniversary story on the storm, played by Lisa Garcia Pendleton; and Missy and Harry, a vacationing and bickering couple from Houston, played by Sandi Morgan and Ricky Welch. Their play, “Water Line,” written by Fernando Dovalina, is one of 10 short plays being produced Aug. 26-29 at Country Playhouse.

IT’S ALL IN THE GAME—Richard Hahn and Nora Hahn play a couple in a platonic friendship in Leighza Walker’s short play, “The Games We Play.” The play asks whether this relationship can go on to another level, and the two principals engage in mind games and banter to find a conclusion. The play is one of 10 award-winning short plays being produced Aug. 26-29 at Country Playhouse.