Showcase features ten short plays written by ten Northwestern Ontario playwrights
#LSN_Arts Lakehead University student Bronson Carver he wrote a ten-minute play
THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO April 4, 2018 (LSN) 10x10 is a year-round theatre creation project in Thunder Bay, Ontario, featuring the 10x10 Play Showcase, our annual production of original ten-minute plays by regional playwrights, developed and performed by local directors, actors and technicians.
Lakehead University student Bronson Carver thought that trying something new seemed like a fun idea, so he wrote a ten-minute play and submitted it to the Sixth Annual 10x10 Play Showcase. Carver’s play, The Soul-Mate, has been selected to open the show, presented this year for the first time on the Magnus Theatre stage.
At age six, Carver wrote his first story, a picture book about an old lady and her dog. Since then, he’s been writing a science fiction novel that has grown to be several hundred pages long. Carver recently completed his HBA and BEd to become a certified English teacher and now he’s finishing the HBSW program at Lakehead. “I studied lots of plays for my undergrad,” said Carver, “so I thought to myself, why not try writing one? A few months later, here I am, about to see my play produced on stage.” Carver credits his university studies and his love of fiction for helping him understand the craft of dramatic writing well enough to create a play up to the high standards of 10x10. A three-member jury selected The Soul-Mate for production, calling it “charming and witty.”
Director John Condon said, “It is hilarious. Laugh out loud when you’re alone kind of hilarious. It is whimsical but deep at the same time.”
Carver said he received great advice from the 10x10 jury and development workshops which helped him to fine-tune his script, but it was feedback from lead dramaturge Jeff MacKay which illuminated the process for him. Carver said, “I learned some things about my play that I didn’t initially realize were there, allowing me to appreciate my own work on an even deeper level.”
Carver believes his play has got something for everybody. “Whether you’re looking for a quick belly laugh, a meaningful life lesson, or something in between, my play has what you need,” he says.
The showcase features ten short plays written by ten Northwestern Ontario playwrights. There will be three performances, on Friday April 13 at 7:30 pm and Saturday April 14 at 2:00 pm and 7:30 pm. Tickets are $15 - $25, available through the Magnus Theatre box office (https://magnustheatre.com or 807-345-5552).