Actress Dickie Wilson performs in a play at the 2019 10x10x10 festival at Fells Point Corner Theatre. This year’s festival of 10 plays lasting 10 minutes each is scheduled for Aug. 11 through 27. Photo courtesy of Fells Point Corner Theatre

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Did you know the average human attention span is about eight seconds? That’s less than that of a goldfish. So, the prospect of having to sit through a play that might run two or even three hours? Egad, pass the Benadryl and good night!

Fortunately for drama enthusiasts, the Fells Point Corner Theatre (FPCT) has an alternative: the 10x10x10 Short Play Festival, which will take place August 11 through 27.

One of FPCT’s most popular seasonal features, the festival — 10 plays, 10 minutes each, performed by an ensemble of 10 actors — debuted in 2011.

According to Laura Malkus, FPCT president (whose first-ever performance was with Fells Point when she was just 14 years old), the festival is in its ninth year, having missed a few due to the pandemic.

The festival is also a competition. Eligible playwrights — who must be local or have strong ties to the Baltimore region — may submit up to two plays.

Then a committee of “anywhere from 20 different individuals — writers, actors, directors, audience members — reads the plays blind, so [they have] no information about the plays or who wrote them,” Malkus said.

“It must be a compelling piece, interesting to watch and doable. If the play calls for a $50,000 set, we can’t do it.”

Despite the geographic limits to eligibility, plays continue to roll into the theater for consideration “from international folks and all over the country,” Malkus said. “We’ve even gotten submissions from people in prison.”

Audience votes on winners

At the end of each performance, audiences have the opportunity to vote for their favorites among the 10 plays. At the close of the run, the top winners will receive cash prizes.

The 10x10x10 Festival remains popular after more than a decade, Malkus said. “We’ve got patrons who wait and wait for it, are deeply invested in it, and it tends to be one of our best sellers every year.

“Patrons say it’s very enjoyable because it’s widely variable, given the episodic nature of the show, where people don’t know what’s coming next,” she said.

Plays have tackled such topics as a meeting between conservationist and Silent Spring author Rachel Carson and the Devil himself; a man being interrogated by a Nazi (or just his therapist?); a powerful exchange between a blue-collar roofer and a white-collar playwright; and an unexpectedly comical twist on two people experiencing the “last 10 minutes” of their lives.

These last two plays are the work of local playwright, actor and teacher Mark Scharf, 67, who has “made the cut” several times for the 10x10x10, he said.

“I’ve never gotten first place — two seconds and a third, but never first,” Scharf said. For him, writing is not about cash prizes but creativity.

“Sometimes a play has legs and turns into a larger play,” Scharf noted, explaining how one of his scripts, which began as a 10-minute work or “an emotional snapshot,” turned into a full-length piece called Scorpions.

Scharf noted that it’s also gratifying to view the works of the other nine playwrights. “When you witness in an evening 10 different voices, something is going to appeal to you.

“Taking part in the competition is an opportunity for me, as a play doesn’t exist until it is on its feet, in front of an audience. A play isn’t meant to be simply read and stuck away.”

Testing ground for plays

Canton playwright Rosemary FrisinoToohey — whose play Sleeping Beauty was among the initial 10 plays produced in 2011 — said the festival can act as a writing workshop of sorts.

“Every writer has big ideas that demand a full-on treatment…but one has other ideas, shorter ‘what-ifs,’ that can be pulled off in a much shorter time frame,” said FrisinoToohey, a retired radio anchor who is in her 70s.

“Writing a 10-minute play takes a lot less time than crafting a full-length [one]. There’s less character development, fewer complications, but you need an idea that can grab the audience right away.”

If a “full-length” play is like a big-size candy bar, you might say Fells Point Corner Theatre’s mini-plays offer audiences a bag of “fun size” treats to consume.

But for Malkus, this Forrest Gump box-of-chocolates philosophy is not the only reason for the 10x10x10’s popularity.

“We have so many people who work on this show — from the play readers to the box
office volunteers and everyone in between, almost 100 people — to create this community arts program. We’re proud of that,” she said.

“Plus, we [at Fells Point Corner Theatre] have always had a commitment to produce original work, so the 10x10x10 is deeply rooted in our mission.”

The Fells Point Corner Theatre is located at 251 S. Ann St. in Baltimore. Its 2023 10x10x10 Short Play Festival runs Aug. 11 through Aug. 27. Fridays and Saturdays are at 8 p.m.; Sundays at 2 p.m.

At 8 p.m. on Thurs., August 10, “Pay What You Can” preview night, audiences can choose their own ticket price. Tickets are $24 for all other performances. For more information and tickets, visit fpct.org.