Playhouse Nashville's Slate of New 10-Minute Plays Continues Tonight

Playhouse Nashville's popular Ten Minute Playhouse continues at Street Theatre tonight with staged readings six more new plays by Middle Tennessee writers including well-known Nashville playwrights from the Writer's Stage and the Tennessee Repertory Martha Ingram New Works Project.

Playhouse co-curator and current Ingram New Works Lab playwright Garret Schneider's play A Tale for My Lost Son will be performed Monday evening. Also tonight, Ingram New Works Lab alumni Kenley Smith and Joe Giordano will have readings of their respective new plays Death in the Wires and The Second Coming.

Writer's Stage founder Jim Reyland's play The Contest was performed Sunday. Reyland's play Stand recently completed its successful tour of 13 Nashville-area theaters and today was named one of First Night's Top 10 Theatrical Events of 2012.

The other eight plays and playwrights selected for this edition of the Ten Minute Playhouse are: Fell Wishers by Stephen Paul Smith, Statistical Reasoning by Margy Ragsdale, The Day the Duck Died by David Sanders, Feathers by Darren Michael, Like You Talk by Jenny Noel, Christmas in Hell by Christopher Bosen, Violets Are by Sara Gaddis and Sparrows by Emily Pitts.

Since its debut in 2011, The Ten Minute Playhouse has quickly become a mainstay of the Nashville theatre scene and the premiere opportunity for local playwrights to present their work to the community. To date, a total of 54 new plays by 37 local playwrights have received public readings utilizing more than 100 local actors and directors.

All twelve plays-six per night-will be performed and directed by volunteers from around Nashville. Audience feedback sessions moderated by Playhouse Nashville co-curators follow the readings.

Playhouse Nashville's year in-residence at Street Theatre officially begins with the world premiere of Nate Eppler's new comedy SEXTAPE February 28-March 10. Eppler's other plays include Long Way Down (produced by 3Ps Productions in Nashville, it was First Night's Best Original Play of 2011 and a semi-finalist 2011 Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award), City of the Dead and Larries. He is currently Tennessee Rep's Playwright-in-Residence.

 "We're going to announce our four-person cast of SEXTAPE over the two nights of the Ten Minute Playhouse," says SEXTAPE director and Playhouse co-curator Chris Bosen. "We are thrilled to have assembled this talented quartet for our inaugural production in-residence at Street Theatre under our Playhouse Nashville banner. We can't wait to share their names, you'll definitely recognize them!"

The residency partnership between Street Theatre and Playhouse Nashville continues throughout 2013. SEXTAPE will be followed by a Ten Minute Playhouse April 28-29, a second world premiere production by a local writer August 1-11, and a Halloween-themed Ten Minute Haunted Playhouse October 20-21.

Performances of The Ten Minute Playhouse are December 9 and 10, at Street Theatre Company located at 1933 Elm Hill Pike. All shows start at 7:30 p.m., doors open at 7. Tickets are $5 at the door. For more information please visit TenMinutePlayhouse.com. Additional details about Playhouse Nashville's 2013 season in residence at STC are available at PlayhouseNashville.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/PlayhouseNashville, and by joining the email list at PlayhouseNashville@gmail.com.

Pictured: Jim Reyland

Jeffrey Ellis is a Nashville-based writer, editor and critic, who's been covering the performing arts in Tennessee for more than 25 years. He is the recipient of the Tennessee Theatre Association's Distinguished Service Award for his coverage of theatre in the Volunteer State and was the founding editor/publisher of Stages, the Tennessee Onstage Monthly. He is a past fellow of the National Critics Institute at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center and is the founder/executive producer of The First Night Honors, held during Labor Day Weekend, which honor oustanding theater artists in Tennessee in recognition of their lifetime achievements and includes The First Night Star Awards and the Most Promising Actors. Midwinter's First Night, held the first Sunday in January after New Year's Day, honors outstanding productions and performances throughout the state. Further, Ellis directed the Nashville premiere of La Cage Aux Folles, The Last Night of Ballyhoo and An American Daughter, as well as award-winning productions of Damn Yankees, Company, Gypsy and The Rocky Horror Show, with Ellis honored by The Tennessean as best director of a musical for both Company and Rocky Horror.

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