Posted by Randi Bjornstad

This is the 14th year of Oregon Contemporary Theatre’s NW Ten Festival made up entirely of plays lasting 10 minutes or less, and this year’s version is called NW10: Long Story Short.

The festival runs through April 10, and this year’s world premiere production includes works by playwrights from Eugene, Florence, Creswell, Lake Oswego, Portland, and Central Point as well as Spokane. The contest is open each year to writers from Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and British Columbia.

This year’s call-for-submissions brought in dozens of possibilities, and the finalists were chosen by Zeina Salame, a scholar and educator of theater arts as well as an alum of the University of Oregon. The selections were made in a blind judging in which the playwrights’ names and locations were not revealed.

Here’s what will be onstage:

  • Better Living Through Chemistry, by Jennifer Chaney (Florence)
  • CRABS(DOT)COM, by Rachael Carnes (Eugene)
  • Going in Blind, by Tamar Shai Bolkvadze (Lake Oswego)
  • Monsters Beyond the Midnight Zone, by Lindsay Partain (Portland)
  • Moving On, by Cameron Jackson (Eugene)
  • Structural Integrity, by Matthew Weaver (Spokane)
  • Appointment, by Hannah Teryn (Central Point)
  • Wings of Change, by Isabelle Rogers (Creswell)

For those interested in pursuing the craft of the 10-minute play, Eugene playwright NW10 co-founder Paul Calendrino will teach a Writing the Perfect Ten workshop from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 9 at Oregon Contemporary Theatre. Enrollment may  be made by calling OCT at 541-684-6988.

NW10: Long Story Short

When: 7:30 p.m. on April 1-2, 7-9, and 2 p.m. on April 10

Where: Oregon Contemporary Theatre, 194 W. Broadway, Eugene

Tickets: $20, available online at octheatre.org or by calling 541-465-1506