Stage It! Festival Goes Live At Center For Performing Arts Bonita Springs

The long-awaited performance of the International Stage It! 10-Minute Play Festival will finally be presented on October 9-11 at Centers for Performing Arts Bonita Springs. Originally scheduled for one-week after the state's pandemic lock down in March, plays from around the world will be performed for a live audience-social-distancing required.

This year, the competition grew to include 346 entries from around the world for publication in the fourth volume in the Centers' series Stage It! 10-Minute Plays books. Ten short plays will be performed each night with subjects varying from alien invasions to jewelry heists, from drunken nights on park benches to film noir on stage. Festival Coordinator and Film/Theatre Director Frank Blocker took advantage of the lockdown to extend the Festival online over the summer via the Social Distancing Short Play Festival. "Now, we finally get to go Live!, albeit, cautiously, of course."

The playwrights that will be presented are:

• Jonathan Josephson of Pasadena, California (Dostoevsky)
• Joe Carlisle of Croton-on-Hudson, New York (First Contact)
• Martin Keady of London, United Kingdom (Last First)
• W. L. Newkirk of Celebration, Florida (Locker 142)
• Craig Moeckly of White Bear Lake, Minnesota (No Honor)
• Judy Klass of Nashville, Tennessee (Private Dick)
• Colleen Nicole O'Doherty of Omaha, Nebraska (Ricky and Ready)
• Michelle Pascua of Celebration, Florida (Single Rider)
• Marc Paykuss of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts (The Tinker Bell Situation)
• Lindsey Brown of Auckland, New Zealand (Unreasonable Situations)

This incredible lineup of scripts will be performed by an equally incredible cast: Giselle Cairney, Amanda Carrion, Leeanne Chiaramonte, Shaun Cott, Brianna Rodriguez Day, Mia Figueroa, Melissa Hennig, Marilyn Hilbert, Eduardo Marin, Lena Neal, Luis Pages, Sayoneria Seawright, and Fedor Steer. Directors include Gary Obeldobel, Eduardo Marin, Luis Pages, Toni Palumbo, Marilee Warner.

Masks and a temperature check are required for entrance into the venue. Performances take place at Center for Performing Arts Bonita Springs located at 10150 Bonita Beach Road, Bonita Springs, Florida. For tickets, call (239) 495-8989 or visit artcenterbonita.org.