January 5, 2024 – Audience members will enjoy a unique theatre experience with live music in a jazz club atmosphere when Theatre Santa Fe presents the “Take 5” 10-Minute Play Festival at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 26, 2024, in the Jackson N. Sasser Fine Arts Hall at the Northwest Campus of Santa Fe College (SF), 3000 NW 83 Street, Gainesville.
Tickets are $15 for adults; $9 for seniors, students, military service members and children 12 and under; and free for SF students, faculty, and staff with college ID cards. Tickets are available from the Fine Arts Hall box office at 352-395-4181 or online from Showpass at: showpass.com/10-minute-plays-2.
“The live music will reflect the themes of the plays, which are all about relationships,” said SF Assistant Professor of Theatre Matthew Lindsay, who is coordinating “Take 5” and advising the student directors.
The “Take 5” title riffs on the popular Dave Brubeck jazz tune and refers to the five student directors and the five 10-minute plays selected for the festival. A quartet with piano, drums, bass and saxophone will add to the jazz club atmosphere by providing music before the performance and during transitions between the short plays. SF Associate Professor of Music and Band Director David L. Smith will direct the musicians.
The plays include “Chocolate,” which portrays a random meeting between a young man and a woman who is guarding herself against the world. “Tirade” is spoken by an actress who relates her love-hate relationship with another actress. “Jeffrey Slugworth: Ex-Embalmer” is a poignant piece about forgiveness, moving on and healing.
“Choices” follows a young college student into a meeting with an insurance agent who represents a shady company that is offering to pay off all the student’s debts. “Please Have a Seat and Someone Will Be With You Shortly” reveals how two people waiting for their respective therapists form a personal connection.
“The eight-student cast is a good mix of both theatre and non-theatre majors,” Lindsay continued. “Some of the students have directed plays in high school and others are learning about directing. Two of the plays have only one actor. It’s particularly challenging to direct just one person, to find the arc and transitions in their monologues without having other actors involved.”
“Take 5” is organized and sponsored by the Santa Fe College Fine Arts and Entertainment Technology Department.
For more information about “Take 5,” call Matthew Lindsay at 352-395-5092. For more information about tickets, call the Box Office at 352-395-4181.