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About The Bulletin. (Bend, OR) 1963-current | View Entire Issue (April 21, 2022)
THE ARTS PAGE 8 • GO! MAGAZINE ThursdAy, AprIl 21, 2022 • ThE BullETIN Continued from previous page It makes sense on paper and in person: A cadre of community actors perform- ing a succession of 10-minute plays vary- ing greatly in approach, tone, genre, and more. If a weighty drama isn’t your thing, good news, there’s a comedy coming up next if you can cool your jets for 10 min- utes. Local talent on stage and behind the scenes are staples of community theater, but most Main Stage shows tend to be written by the Ken Ludwigs and Neil Simons of the theater world. This one’s a little different in that it gives local playwrights a chance to see their cre- ations performed, and involves more actors and directors than a single, full-length pro- duction tends to demand. “It’s the only event, I think, in the theatri- cal space where we give local Central Ore- gon talent an avenue to display their writing and their directing and their acting,” said Desi Thrower, producer of this year’s Cas- cades 10. Just as Cascades 10 has been popular with audiences, the opportunity it affords inspires plenty of scribes to sit down and write. “I know a few years ago, they got over 100 submissions,” Thrower said. “This year, we received about 30 — I think it’s because people were just getting back into life. We chose nine plays out of the 30.” Emily Cady in “Enjoy the Show,” one of nine 10-minute plays in the 2022 iteration of Cascades 10, in performance this weekend only at Cascades Theatre in Bend. Courtesy CTC/ submitted photo It also provides opportunities for people such as Vreyah Palmantier — a performer who’s appeared in shows including “Into the Woods” at Theater in the Park — to step into new roles. Palmantier is directing “Who Gets Harvey?” by playwright Sara Freedman. “Who Gets Harvey?” explores the story of three siblings, the setting being their fa- ther’s house, where two of them are going through his belongings after their father’s death. When a deer head that holds some familial importance goes missing, “they as- sume that the younger brother stole it,” Pal- mantier said. This leads to a discussion of the meaning the deer head held for each of them, how the two older siblings treated their younger sibling, the nature of who their father was, “and how they can change now that he’s gone,” Palmantier explained. “It’s comical, but it’s very heartfelt, and it’s just a beautiful story,” Palmantier said. Sets are kept simple to facilitate quick set changes, and casts of each play are gener- ally small given they’re one-act plays. “Who Gets Harvey?” for example, has a cast of only three: Jared McVay, Mary Kilpatrick and Jennifer Ryker. If you’ve read this far and are still won- dering why the show is called Cascades 10 when there are “only” nine plays, producer Thrower can help with that. “People kind of get the ‘10’ part a little mixed up,” she said. “‘Cascades 10’ refers to the length of the one-act play, which should be about 10 min- utes. But we are trying to get to the point where we also have 10 plays every year. We got close this year.” e Reporter: 541-383-0349, djasper@bendbulletin.com If You Go What: Cascades 10 When: 7:30 p.m. Friday-saturday, 2 p.m. sunday Where: Cascades Theatre, 148 NW Greenwood Ave., Bend Cost: $20 adults, $18 students Contact: cascadestheatrical.org or 541-389-0803. Courtesy CTC/submitted photo Julian Riker, left, and Peetie McCook in a scene from “Bad Habits,” written by Patrick Blute and directed by Nick Kaufman.
