On August 23rd and 24th Island Theatre will present its third annual Ten-Minute Play Festival. Sixteen works by local playwrights will be performed, eight each evening. Festival goers will be invited to vote for an audience choice award for each night, and an overall festival favorite, determined by the judges, will be awarded a cash prize at the close of Sunday night’s performance.

In this podcast Island Theatre’s Kate Carruthers, who is the producing director of the festival, tells BCB host Lyssa Danehy deHart the story behind the plays, which were selected from 57 submissions from Bainbridge Island and Kitsap County playwrights.  Eight directors are working with 32 local actors to produce two fabulous evenings of thought-provoking drama and comedy.

This year’s featured playwrights include eleven returning winners from the 2012 and 2013 festivals – James Anderson, Connie Bennett, Robert Dalton, Jeff Fraga, Charlie Hamilton, Paul Lewis, Steven Lee Palay, Miller Shor, Ulla Solberg, Ned Thorne, and Wendy Wallace – plus five newcomers: Gwen Adams, Trish Bittman, John Ellis, John Ratterman, and Diane Walker.

The festival is only recommended for ages 13 and above as some plays include strong language and adult subject matter. Check the Island Theatre website, http://www.IslandTheatre.org, for the final schedule.

Admission is FREE, though donations are of course welcome – and be sure to get there early, as previous festivals have sold out!

Credits: BCB host and audio editor: Lyssa Danehy deHart; BCB studio tech: Joanna Pyle; “What’s Up” music splash: Tim Bird; BCB ferry music: Dogfish Bay Studios; Podcast art: artopia creative. Island Theatre photos and poster by Steve Stolee.