Eclectic company presents Hurricane Season 2010 festival of short plays

Eclectic Company Theatre presents Hurricane Season 2010  its seventh annual competition/festival of short plays beginning Friday, July 9.

"Talented playwrights compete for hundreds of dollars in cash and non-cash prizes in this popular annual competition of short plays. Playwriting finalists have been pre-selected by a jury. They will compete for cash prizes during the final week of the festival. Prior to that, there will be three blocks of plays, each of which will run for two consecutive weeks, and each of which will include one of the Finalists. Non-cash prizes for the playwrights, actors, directors, and overall production will be voted on by the audience."

Actors and directors of The Eclectic Company will stage the plays selected for the competition. RJ Farrington, Susan Lee, Beth Ricketson produce.

The schedule is as follows:

Block One, July 9-11, 16-18:

Ouija--Written by Jason Britt and Chelsea Sutton. Directed by Wendy Radford. Although it’s Great Aunt Margaret’s wake, she’s still able to reveal some family secrets to the youngest generation of nieces and nephews, thanks to a Ouija board. Cast: Jason Britt, Jen Kuhn, Mark Bradford Hill, Shaina Vorspan.

Good Cop--Written by Walt Vail. Directed by Jaceson Mann. A police officer is under investigation. He’s had a distinguished record, until now. Why did he brutally beat the young suspect? Cast: Dean Bruggeman, RJ Farrington.

Blonde Alibi-- Written by Robert Taylor. Directed by Susan Lee. On Homecoming Night, Lauren and Teesha find Daisy in a hotel room with the body of her now-dead boyfriend. Teesha and Lauren have to figure out how to cover up the (possibly justified) murder. Cast: Allie Costa, Ashleigh Boiros, Jessica Mills.

Block Two, July 23-25, July 30- August 1:

The Last Sacrament of Belle--Written by Jason Britt and Kerr Seth Lordygan. Directed by Chelsea Sutton. Assistant director: Questa Gleason. There’s a store called Rig-Store Mortis, where they sell….dead things. It just gets stranger from there. Cast: Erin Treanor, Beth Ricketson, Rebecca Lane, Kevin McKim, Cody Kopp.

Appleblossomtime--Written by Joan Eyles Johnson. Directed by Zhenya Che. War is over in the Pacific, and Sam is coming home to his wife Lily. But Lily, in the meantime, has been keeping company with their longtime friend Angus. Cast: Angela Landis, Scott Reynolds, John Haegele.

The Opening--Written by Bilal Dardai. Directed by Cassandra Vincent. A man from the U.S. Department of Defense conjures up an ancient god of war. But things prove to be not under the modern man’s control. Cast: Brad Wilcox, Taylor Ashbrook, Anthony Cutolo.

Block Three, August 6-8, 13-15:

The Confession--Written by Lyssa Ray Richardson. Directed by Maria Markosov. In Ireland, in 1925, a woman schemes to punish her adulterous husband and the niece who has taken her place in his bed. Cast: Elizabeth Southard, Andrew Hagan, Jason Britt, Jenny Halterman.

The Limp--Written by John Lane. Directed by Jeff Newman. In this short comedy about the corporate world, Roger finds that his slight limp may turns out to be a great asset. Cast: Mason Hallberg, Danielle Cintron, Jason Williams.

Grunge Is Dead--Written by Katherine Sherman. Directed by Kerr Seth Lordygan. A young couple in love and involved in the drug culture go through trial of fire and water. Will their love survive? Cast: Rachel Kanouse, Dave Buzzotta.

The Finalists: August 20-22--Blonde Alibi, The Opening and Grunge Is Dead.

The plays perform 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday, July 9 through August 22. Tickets are $18. Student, senior and group discounts are available upon request. Call 818- 508-3003 or visit www.eclecticcompanytheatre.org.

The Eclectic Company Theatre is located at 5312 Laurel Canyon Blvd. (between Chandler and Magnolia) in Valley Village.

Send questions, comments and suggestions to columbuscommunications@yahoo.com.

Image courtesy of Eclectic Company Theatre.

For more information: www.eclecticcompanytheatre.org.