Ten-minute plays cater to impatient audiences
I've been known to say that we live in a "microwave society."
People want stuff - news, TV shows, movies, relationships, dinner - instantly and like yesterday.
I mean, over the winter people were incredulous that a movie like "Avatar" dared to take more than two-and-a-half hours.
Your computer takes more than three seconds to load a website - the nerve of it!
So if you're impatient, have a short attention span or just want a drama to cut to the chase, than the latest Janus Theatre production is the right thing for you.
The Elgin-based group will host its first Elgin Short Play Festival from May 28 through May 30, featuring the short plays of award-winning playwright Theresa Rebeck.
Janus Theatre Producing Director Sean Hargadon summed up best what people can expect:
"The 10-minute short play is like a theatrical bolt of lightning," he wrote in a news release. "Emotions run high as a story is set up, developed and resolved in a flash, usually with a climatic ending. Because of the limited running time, small moments are big and every word and action counts. Nothing is wasted."
Rebec is a playwright, novelist, screen and television writer for "NYPD Blue," "L.A. Law," "Third Watch" and "Law and Order."
The cast features actors and actresses from Elgin, Carol Stream, Batavia, East Dundee, Palatine, St. Charles, Arlington Heights, Wayne and Elburn.
The festival, which also is sponsored in part by the Elgin Cultural Arts Commission, will be held at the Elgin Art Showcase on the eighth floor of the Professional Building, 164 Division St.
Play times are 8 p.m. May 28 and 29 and 3 p.m. May 30. Tickets are $12 and may be reserved by calling the box office at (847) 841-1713. For more information, visit janustheatre.wordpress.com.
Congrats, rising star: Anne Marie Boyer, a lifelong Elginite, graduated summa cum laude from Bradley University in Peoria on Saturday with a double major in theater and English and a 3.97 grade point average. Boyer graduated from St. Edward Central Catholic High School in Elgin in 2006.
Boyer, 22, has a summer internship at the Lookingglass Theatre Company in Chicago.
Mayor's Awards: At the 21st annual Mayor's Awards for Preservation last week, the Elgin Heritage Commission honored Elgin residents for a variety of achievements to preserve the city's history and architecture and efforts to keep neighborhoods strong.
Stacey Reynolds and Kathy Moore were lauded for their work to educate folks about the Elgin Heritage Commission's Building Plaque program, which has resulted in 27 plaqued structures in the last two years.
Laurie Faith Gibson-Aiello was recognized for rallying support to save the Lords Park Zoo. Dawn Hartney was commended for serving as chairwoman for the Trolley Tour by the South West Area Neighbors. The First Congregational United Church of Christ was honored for remodeling a 1960s addition to the church.
The Habitat for Humanity of the Northern Fox Valley was honored for partnering with the city to rehabilitate 467 Division St. and also rehabilitating 524 Bent St.
Resident Paul Eyrich was applauded for restoring his home at 809 N. Spring St. and JB Harris and Company was honored for rehabilitating numerous houses throughout Elgin over the past 15 years.
Harry Hitzeman covers Elgin, South Elgin and Gilberts. E-mail him at hhitzeman@dailyherald.com.