A new form of theatre has taken the world’s theatrical stages by storm – The Ten-Minute Play, and it’s coming to Lake of Bays.
The Ten-Minute Play has grown in popularity due to its quick storytelling and character development. Its rise can be traced back to events like the Actors Theatre of Louisville’s Humana Festival in 1977, which showcased this format to encourage new audiences to engage with theatre.
In 2006, Artistic Director Dominik Loncar for inspiraTO, wanted to see if high-quality theatre in only ten
minutes could tell a compelling story and engage an audience. Turns out, people loved it. The festival’s
popularity grew exponentially, going from a mere weekend trial run to a yearly event that now receives
over 600 ten-minute play submissions from more than 100 theatre artists, and is performed in Toronto’s
cozy Alchemy Theatre.
Notable Canadian 10-Minute Festivals are: Canadian National, Kanata Theatre, Newmarket
National, FireWorks in Niagara Falls and Canada’s biggest 10-Minute Festival, inspiraTO.
Kareen Burns, a former and popular board member of the Huntsville Festival of The Arts, picked up on a
popular event sweeping Scotland, called PIE, PINT & a PLAY, and brought it to Muskoka in 2017 sparking the enthusiasm of local performers. And its popularity continues to sell out every January.
And so, it is no surprise that the Lake of Bays arts and cultural organization DOWN BY THE BAYS, would
jump on the bandwagon and present its own version.
TEA, TARTS AND TENNERS is being presented for 3 shows to celebrate WORLD THEATRE DAY at Pioneer
Memorial United Church Hall in Hillside, Lake of Bays, to which $10 from each ticket sold will be donated.
On March 26 and 27, at 7 pm, and March 28 at 3 pm, audiences will be treated to hot beverages, home-baked tarts, and goodies, along with five 10-minute plays written by local playwright JS Jacklin.
“It’s a new challenge, to be sure, to write a complete script, in just 10 pages, that will engage an audience
with interesting characters and relevant story lines,” says Jacklin. “But we were spoilt for ideas. And once
we got on a roll, we had a blast.”
The five plays: NEVER LET GO -BURDEN OF GUILT -AFTERTHOUGHT -SOUNDS HEAVENLY! And P.S.A.-
are all comedies, but one, and are performed by the talents of Jodie Auckland, Joan Bendon, William
Colgate, Steven Jacklin, Cydney Jones, Emeleigh Stroud and Clayton Stroud.
The plays are funny, thought-provoking, and deeply human, offering sharp insight into the human
condition in a compact and engaging format. And the home-baking will satisfy the sweetest tooth.
More details and ticket info for TEA, TARTS & TENNERS, can be found at www.lakeofbaysunitedchurches.org
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I’m really looking forward to these performances presented at Pioneer Memorial Church in Hillside, but I must offer a correction. The actors in the photograph along with this terrific little article are Joan Bendon and William Colgate not Steve Jacklin and Jodi Auckland. All four actors are truly wonderful–but credit needs to be given where credit is due.
Respectfully
Meg Jordan