Each January brings a feeling of fresh motivation to Santa Cruz. While local residents attempt to adhere to their New Year’s resolutions by joining a gym, paying attention to their eating habits or finding a new hobby, the acting community celebrates the return of a Santa Cruz tradition: the 8 Tens @ 8 Short Play Festival.
Held at the Actors’ Theatre in the Santa Cruz Art Center and sponsored in part by the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz, Arts Council of Santa Cruz County, California Arts Council and the Good Times, the festival has been running for 30 years and is a stalwart of the theater scene.
Each year, hundreds of playwrights around the country submit their 10-minute plays to the festival’s play reading committee, and a total of 24 plays are selected to be brought to life for the first time (submissions may not have been run in any other theater in order to qualify for 8 Tens).
As in years past, eight plays are selected for Part I, eight more for Part II and another eight qualify for what’s affectionately known as “The Best of the Rest,” which are performed at the end of the festival as staged readings, meaning no set changes, etc.
This year’s iteration of the festival is run by Co-Artistic Coordinators Kathie Kratochvil and Buff McKinley, and the lineup of plays includes those that are scientific, heartfelt and out-of-the-box to one with a simultaneously comical (offstage) sex scene that will leave the audience in stitches.
For all the various emotions that are tapped on both nights of the festival, Part I’s “Henry’s Epitaph” is a gut-punch of realism that audience members will carry with them. Starring Alexis Makayla Williams as Riri, Darren Jackson Wilkins as Junior and Gail T. Borkowski as Ma, the three-person play is riveting, unfolding itself into a glorious affirmation of families, faith and love. Upon exiting the theater, “Epitaph” seemed to hold the most impact of all as audience members could be heard discussing the exquisite performances and heartfelt ending.
In Part I’s “Small Cat Negotiable,” Brad Roades plays a pushy real estate agent that is careening his way into a sale regardless of what the prospective purchasers actually want.
“I was cast to be a very, aggressive salesperson and that morphed into, ‘Do anything you can to make the sale,’ and then it kind of became halfway Trump-mocking in a way,” Roades said. “Eve (Schewe) and Noah (Syren) are both delightful and earnest, and that plays well against a go-for-broke, shifty real estate agent.”
Roades also gave credit to director Hannah Eckstein.
“She encouraged me to continue to go bigger and more aggressive and find creative things to do throughout the scene, so she’s been inspirational in that way,” he said.
Susy Parker has played both dramatic and comedic roles in her career, but she never played a deity—until now.
“I play God in (Part I’s) ‘Pronouns,’ a comedy about the origins of the Bible. Not surprisingly, it was as controversial before it was written as it is now. Considering how short the play is, I think audience members will discover a surprising number of layers to it upon reflection,” said Parker, who also plays “a needle-happy henchwoman in (Part I’s) ‘The Moment Before,’ a riveting, not-at-all-campy spy thriller that will keep you guessing until the end,” she added.
Part II’s “Code A” features two actors who found their theatrical footing with Mountain Community Theater in Ben Lomond. Scotty Kravitz plays an operations manager for Disneyland while Emerson Kapture plays “Tink” Disney Brown, a descendant of Walt’s who is looking to bring a whole new level of Disneyesque “celebrations” to the park.
“It’s about mortality and grappling with the anticipated loss of a loved one. How do we best honor those who we’ve loved and lost?” Kravitz said. “It’s also about someone pitching their idea in a language they think will be convincing, only to discover that the strategy works against them. When the true motivation is revealed, it presents the concept in a much more relatable way.”
Kapture’s role as Tink is a portrayal of the joyful and the macabre—a way to think outside the box when it comes to honoring the legacy of those who have gone before us, and a Pollyanna approach to the afterlife.
“Everyone deals with death differently, and I think that Tink is a very smart and vivacious young woman,” said Kapture, noting that “Code A” director Gerry Gerringer kept the rehearsal schedule to a minimum before the festival opened. “He just wanted us to know our lines,” added Kapture, who intimated that the performances would unwind a little more organically thanks to a reduced number of rehearsals.
In addition to her turn as Tink, Kapture also stars in Part II’s “Blue Bag” with Larissa Farias, who plays a woman seeking safe haven in a war-torn country. Kapture plays a soldier with the kind of crisp affect of a woman trying to do her job on the battlefield despite the pleas of Farias’ character who only wants to head home, but can’t due to the ongoing conflict. The piece grows more frantic and uncomfortable with an ending that left the audience spellbound.
“‘Blue Bag’ puts people on edge; it can be a little bit tough to watch because of the verbal violence that my character inflicts on this poor woman,” Kapture said. “It affects audience members by just being an intense piece to watch while it confronts people with these situations that are currently happening. (Director Christopher Peak) wanted to uncover the fact that these are just two people in war together, and to find those human moments and those human connections was a really important piece in the story.”
If the darkness of war casts a pall on the evening, Chad Davies and Tara McMilin bring on the fun in Part II’s “Sacred Trust,” a piece written by local Andy Waddell about some post-wedding “festivities” that happen in a hotel room following the ceremony and reception.
McMilin provides great insight into the premise.
“This piece, set in a hotel room, gives the audience a peek into the slightly inebriated, playful and affectionate banter of a husband-and-wife couple following their attendance at his son’s wedding,” McMilin said. “Over the course of their bedtime wind-down routine, they touch on themes of the outdated ritual of marriage, varying ceremonial choices, divorce statistics, jealousy, change and exciting sex lives. While that seems like a lot to cover, the piece moves quickly and merrily into a rockin’ ending, leaving all laughing in hysterics at its conclusion.”
McMilin added, “This unforgettable comedy is an audience favorite—both the script and the performers grab the audience from start to finish. The stage chemistry between Chad and I is palpable, and the characters they portray are entirely believable and relatable. Their interplay is a masterclass in effortlessly blending humor with convincing emotion. The dynamic duo bring authenticity and hilarity to every scene, and the term ‘climactic finish’ has triple meaning in this piece.”
Santa Cruz theater mainstay Ward Willats takes center stage in two Part II productions: “Stephen Hawking’s Train” as esteemed Person 2, and “Pelusa,” where he plays The Neighbor. Each, Willats said, is a trip in its own right.
“‘Stephen Hawking’s Train’ is a fun bit of science fiction that tells a clever story with a definite twist using some sparkling language. I think audiences will be surprised and charmed by the piece,” said Willats, who went on to describe “Pelusa” as “a surreal comedy that involves a strange conflict between two suburbanites that rapidly escalates out of control. And if anyone in the audience speaks Swedish, they’ll enjoy my character’s exclamation in that language.”
Watching these quick bursts of well-acted stories provides a punch of energy to the spirit, and a terrific way for those with short attention spans to get a feel for the theater. There are twists and turns in nearly every performance that will leave audiences engaged and debating their favorites with each other as they exit the theater.
Wanna join the debate? 8 Tens @ 8 runs until Feb. 15 every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night at 8pm and Saturdays and Sundays at 2pm with Part I and Part II alternating nights. The “Best of the Rest” staged readings run Feb. 27-March 8, with performances at 8pm on Friday and Saturday nights, and Sundays at 2pm. For more information or to purchase tickets for any of the performances, visit santacruzactorstheatre.org.
