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.