Theatre Odyssey and the Student Ten-Minute Playwriting Festival
By Ryan G. Van Cleave
By its very nature, community or local theatre is the most inclusive form of theater there is. For many of us, it’s the first theater we witness, the first theater that allows us to participate meaningfully in, and the last theater we’re ever involved with during our time on this earth. The nonprofit 501©(3) organization Theatre Odyssey comes from that same spirit of community creativity and collaboration, having been founded in 2006 to “encourage & promote the efforts of local playwrights and actors.”
It came about when members of the Manatee Players’ national award-winning production of “Metamorphoses” got the idea to create a local theater company that delivers performances in a variety of venues. And that’s what they did. To this day, Theatre Odyssey doesn’t have a permanent home. There is no building in Manatee County or Sarasota County with a marquee that welcomes you to the Theatre Odyssey facility,” explains Preston Boyd, Artistic Director of the Student Ten-Minute Playwriting Festival. “Yet there are many, many artists who can claim a connection. Playwrights, directors, actors, technicians, and various other artists will list Theatre Odyssey on their professional resumes. The same phenomenon can be said of audiences. Over the years, Theatre Odyssey has produced numerous new works and enjoyed great audience response.”
Great audience response is what this group knew from the start. From a crowded one night only event at Arts Center Sarasota to a sold-out staged reading of Federico Garcia Lorca’s “The House of Bernarda Alba” at the JABU Center in Sarasota, the interest in and support for Theatre Odyssey has grown and grown. But that’s not the case everywhere. Boyd notes that he’s seen community theater in the Midwest cancel shows because the performers outnumbered the audience members.
When asked about trends in the world of live theater, Boyd explains, “I’d say more and more live theatre venues are turning toward profit motivation over artistic motivation. In general, season are selected based on box office projections with fewer and fewer examples of season that might include “Waiting For Godot” or “The House of Blue Leaves” in their line-up.” Regardless of what’s going on in the other community theaters around the country, Theatre Odyssey strives to create an environment where artists can explore the creative process from beginning to fruition (from either side of the footlights).
One of the exciting additions to what Theatre Odyssey does is run the student Ten-Minute Playwriting Festival where students (grades 9-12) are invited to submit original scripts for possible professional production. The winning play of the second annual Student Playwriting Festival this January will be automatically entered in the 9th annual Theatre Odyssey Ten-Minute Play Festival for professional playwrights.
The winner also receives a $300 cash award. The deadline for original 9-11 minute scripts from theses students? October 31. There’s no entry fee so encourage any age-appropriate student in your life to test out their inner bard. You never know who’ll turn out to be the next William Shakespeare, Arthur Miller, or Wendy Wasserstein.
Founding member Tom Aposporos says, “The ten-minute play is no passing fad. If there is any surprise, it is that it took us seven years to produce a Student Ten Minute Playwriting to complement our annual Ten Minute Play Festival.” Judging from how many entries the contest had last year, the student interest in writing short plays is no fad, either.
Theatre Odyssey is in the middle of its eighth season right now. It’s been active, too, having produced nearly 70 original short plays. It’s even published two volumes of these works. Since the early days of this theater, plays first produced here have gone on to larger theaters and received international exposure. Not bad for a couple of actors with a good idea a decade or so ago!
Dan Higgs, current Theatre Odyssey President, adds, “This is NOT amateur theater; there are many professional actors trodding the stages of local theaters and many of those theaters have dropped the word “community” from their names so as not to encourage the public to pre-judge their productions before they enter the door.” He also points out that every local professional theater uses local, non-union talent in most of their productions. An organization like Theatre Odyssey creates and expands the extraordinary talent pool in our midst who can participate in those productions.
The entire point of Theatre Odyssey is that it exists to provide a venue to promote the works of local playwrights as well as to provide opportunities to local actors, directors, and writers. As the great poet Walt Whitman said, “The powerful Play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.” Enter the contest, attend the festival, or donate your time or money. You’ll be glad you did.
