Theatre Oxford Celebrates 25th Anniversary of the 10-Minute Play Festival February 16–17

Featuring more than a half-dozen plays, a reading of late playwright Jim McCauley’s work, workshops, and a raffle

A marriage counselor is unsure whether he’s counselor or adversary to a long-married couple who’ve come for advice. Elvis runs a wedding chapel in Las Vegas. A retiring Chicago gangster learns he’s to be replaced by an AI robot! These are just a few of the stories told in Theatre Oxford’s Ten-Minute Play Festival scheduled for February 16 and 17 at the Powerhouse.

Celebrating the festival’s 25th anniversary, Theatre Oxford has dedicated this year’s event to the late Oxford playwright Jim McCauley, whose works highlighted festivals in the past. This year’s festival also includes workshops on writing and directing, a reading from McCauley’s plays, a raffle, plus a “Spirit Night” fundraiser at Newk’s Friday, February 16.

“The contest was truly international this year, with entries from the Czech Republic, Canada, the UK, Iceland, New Zealand, Portugal, Brussels, and from coast to coast in the US,” festival coordinator Jennifer Mizenko said. “It was truly an international 10-minute play contest. Out of 245 submissions, we managed to narrow it down to six wonderful plays.”

In addition to the six plays selected, the festival also features a commissioned play, Limpia, by Leonard Madrid, an award-winning New Mexico-based playwright. “The performance will be a wonderful evening of laughter, tears, entertainment, and beauty,” Mizenko said.

The plays will be performed both Friday, February 16, at 7:30 pm, and Saturday, February 17, at 2 pm and at 7:30 pm. A reading of a Jim McCauley play will take place after the Saturday matinee performance at 4:30 pm. A “Meet the Playwrights” Reception and Raffle Drawing will be held after the Saturday evening performance.

Three workshops have been scheduled in connection with the festival. The first is “Expanding the Ten-Minute Play” by playwright/actor George Kehoe, scheduled for Friday, February 16, from 4 to 5:30 pm. The other two are “The Art of Directing” by Oxford High School theatre director John Davenport on Saturday, March 2, from 10–11 am and “Collaborating with Directors” with playwright Kate Leslie on Saturday, March 2, from 11 to noon.

All three workshops will be offered at the Powerhouse as well as by Zoom. The cost of the workshops will be $30 for one, $50 for two, and $75 for all three.

A raffle for tickets to various performances in the area is also scheduled during the festival with tickets costing $5 each or five for $20. Also featured will be “Spirit Night” at Newk’s (across the street from the Powerhouse) on Friday, February 16, from 6 to 8 pm. Every person who orders a meal there at that time will help raise funds for Theatre Oxford, which will receive 15 percent of each order placed.

Theatre Oxford’s production of The Ten-Minute Play Festival is made possible in part by the support of the Mississippi Arts Commission and Yoknapatawpha Arts Council. Tickets will be available at the door and seats can be reserved at OxfordArts.com/TheatreOxford.

The Powerhouse is located at 413 South 14 th Street in Oxford (on the corner of
University Avenue). Parking is in back near the water tower. To learn more about Theatre Oxford, visit TheatreOxford.org or follow them on social media @theatreoxford.