Santa Cruz County Actors’ Theatre Celebrates Special Anniversary

From the Actors’ Theatre:

December 18 2019

8 Tens @ 8 Short Play Festival Celebrates Silver AnniversaryFestival Showcases 16 Award-Winning Short Plays in Repertoire, Jan. 10 - Feb. 9, 2020Santa Cruz, CA—Santa Cruz County Actors’ Theatre celebrates the 25th Anniversary of the 8 Tens @ 8 Short Play Festival, January 10 through February 9, 2020, at the Center Stage Theater in downtown Santa Cruz.

The annual ten-minute play festival is one of the most anticipated and popular events of the theatre season in Santa Cruz. The festival stages sixteen award-winning plays from the 2019 international playwriting contest, shown in repertoire over the five-week festival.

“Actors’ Theatre is now the longest running and most respected short play festival in the United States,” says Artistic Director and Festival founder, Wilma Marcus Chandler. “We have proudly kept in touch with many of our winning playwrights and have seen them go on to have plays produced in larger venues, knowing it all started for them here in Santa Cruz.”

Every summer, Actors’ Theatre holds a international playwriting contest, judged by a select group of local writers and directors. The winning plays are then produced into fully staged productions for the January Festival. The contest has become nationally renowned, with well over 200 entrees every year from around the world.

The sixteen award-winning plays will be presented as an “A” and “B” night, eight ten-minute plays on each night, in rotation. A special ticket package is available to see any “A” and “B” night showing throughout the run of the Festival. “Our 25th season,” adds Chandler, “offers a wide variety of comedy and drama. They are plays with heart, conscience, and humor.”

The 2020 Festival roster includes:

“A” NIGHTLIFE ON LAND by Tom Sime. Director, Gerry Gerringer

THE ARGUMENT by Seth Freeman. Director, MarNae Taylor

MORE THAN STINK by Brian Spencer. Director, Jim Schultz

THE WINNER by Lori Londigan. Director, Nat Robinson

WAKING UP by Gail Borkowski. Director, Wilma Chandler

VANISHING BORDERS by Elyce Melmon. Director, Buff McKinley

STRANDED TRAVELER by Eric Thomas. Director, Kathie Kratochvil

UNCLE NUTTY ‘S FINAL DAYS by William J. Royce. Director, Daria Troxell

“B” NIGHTKNOTS by Robert Moulthrop. Director, Brian Spencer

THE MEMORY OF US by Mary Caroline Rogers. Director, Andrew Davids

COUNTING PEDESTALS by Carlos Jerome. Directors, Noel Warwick & Suzanne Schrag

WHY GOD MADE BEGGARS by Steve Koppman. Director, Marcus Cato

THE FISH POND by Joe Lauinger. Director, Cathy WarnerFLORIDA by Steven Doloff. Director, David Halper

THE NEXT IVAN SHARANSKY by Jim Geoghan. Drector, Hannah Eckstein

PRESS PRAY by Seth Freeman. Director, Miguel Reyna

What: Actors’ Theatre presents 8 Tens @ 8 Short Play Festival

When: January 10 - February 9, 2020
Wednesday - Saturdays @ 8 PM | Saturday and Sunday Matinees @ 3 PM
Please visit www.sccat.org for a full calendar and tickets

Where: Center Stage Theater, 1001 Center Street, Downtown Santa Cruz

Tickets: $32 General | $29 Senior/Student
$58 General Package, $54 Senior/Student Package – for any two-nights of the Festival
Purchase at sccat.org, brownpapertickets.com, or 800-838-3006

ABOUT ACTORS’ THEATRE
Founded in 1985, Actors’ Theatre has a long history of being a vital part of the greater Santa Cruz area’s theatre community, known for its productions of contemporary, cutting edge theatre, and new plays. Actors’ Theatre produces the acclaimed 8 Tens @ Eight Short Play Festival which is greatly loved not only by the public, but also by the theatre community for being an outlet to develop their skills. Actors’ Theatre also supports emerging playwrights from around the country and beyond, in their annual short playwriting contest and staged reading twice a year with their Playwrights’ Arena series. Actors’ theatre believes in nurturing local talent by presenting two sholarship awards each year to Drama students at Cabrillo College. Producer/President: Bonnie Ronzio. Artistic Director: Wilma Marcus Chandler. www.sccat.org.

This press release was produced From the Actors’ Theatre. The views expressed here are the author’s own.