10 minute plays

I loathe the form, and hate the idea of a sketch being called a play. But they are popular, and don't seem to be going away. Take a situation and find some interesting wrinkle -- conflict -- or surprise. An ironic twist. Think of Noel Coward's CAVALCADE, when the honeymoon couple stand mooning at one another on the deck of a ship, contemplating a rosy future, only to part and reveal a TITANIC life preserver. The O'Henry tag.

Or something that works for friends of mine: Write a 20, 30 or 40 minutes play, then separate the final ten minutes as a stand-alone. Sometimes, amazingly, it works. Audiences will be fascinated by what they don't know, and play catch-up. (Think how many times in acting classes that climactic scenes are more compelling.) Whatever you do, don't take the first ten minutes. Serve the old playwriting adage -- start as late in the story as you can.

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15 Reasons Not to Be in a Play.

I think this play is longer than 10 minutes, but you can take scenes out of it. It's HILARIOUS!

There's a great 10 minute piece by John Wooten called "The Role of Della" Its a real tour de force for one of the actresses, and has a fun twist at the end. I'm not sure where to find it, but I believe it's in a short play collection. Good Luck.

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