5th annual Stillwater Short Play Festival set for May 19 and 20


Media Release

As part of its continuing community outreach efforts, Town & Gown Theatre, along with Troupe d’ Jour Performing Artists, presents the fifth edition of ‘The Stillwater Short Play Festival’ on May 19 and May 20. For the second year in a row, proceeds from the event go towards the non-profit Kickin’ Childhood Hunger, to support children in need in the Stillwater-Perkins area.   

This edition of the festival features eight plays, lasting 10 to 15 minutes each, written by playwrights from across the United States. The plays will be performed at Town & Gown Theatre. “It’s the theatre enthusiasts in Stillwater-Perkins area who keep us going. Their overwhelming support for the festival encourages us to make it bigger and better every year. This time around, for ‘The Stillwater Short Play Festival’ we got 42 submissions from playwrights from as far as Seoul, South Korea, and New Zealand! It was a tough task to select just eight plays, which is two more than last year’s edition. The eight selected plays are a mix of comedy and drama and recommended for 13 years of age and above,” says Debbie Sutton, organizer of the event.

Actors Jacob Boyd and Valerie Thrasher during a rehearsal session

The selected plays are Steering into the Skid, written by Arnold Johnston and Deborah Ann Perry (Kalamazoo, MI); The Forgiven by Alexander Wilkie (Moorestown, NJ); Everafter.com, by Emily Hageman (Sioux City, Iowa); It’s All in the Eye, by Marj O’Neill-Butler (Miami Beach, FL); Not Dead, Just Sleeping, by Roy Proctor (Richmond, VA); The Stevens Sisters, by Amanda and Karen Ball (Medford, OK); The Priest’s Donkey by Janis Contway (Oklahoma City, OK) and Night of Terror by Barbara Shepard (Edmond, OK).

All the plays are limited to five actors and the set is restricted to four boxes, two chairs and a table. All the performers are Town & Gown regulars. There’s a People’s Choice Award during the festival and patrons will get to vote for their favorite playwright.

The performance begins at 7 pm on Saturday, May 19 and at 2.30 pm on Sunday, May 20. Tickets can be purchased at the venue and ticket prices are $10 per person.