Northfield Arts Guild to Host Sixth Annual Very Short Play Festival

By many peoples’ reckoning, the American attention span is getting shorter.

Rather than protest this, the Northfield Arts Guild will embrace the trend during its sixth annual Very Short Play Festival. The event—which is April 29 and 30 at the —features 14 brand-new, very short plays from local writers.

The playwrights have varying levels of experience. Some are still in middle school, while others have been writing since those teens were in diapers. Many live in the Northfield area, but others will drive in from Mankato and the Twin Cities.

Thomas Ett, who spends his days working on Wells Fargo’s digital mortgage database, wrote his first play for the upcoming event. Ett hosts an annual murder-mystery party whose script he always writes, and last year’s festival prompted him to use those creative skills for more artistic ends.

“It spurs people into trying something new," said Libby Glimsdal, the Northfield Arts Guild’s Theater coordinator.

The festival also gives writers an all-too-rare opportunity to produce their work in a public setting.

“Not all stages are welcoming to new playwrights, so we’re very happy to give these writers a place to stage their works,” said Glimsdal.

Chris Kallman, a writer whose “Romancing Pickle” will debut at the festival, agreed with Glimsdal.

“The Arts Guild does a good job of giving people the chance to be creative and put their work out in front of an audience," Kallman said.

But the Northfield Arts Guild only provides the performance space—the writers have to cast their own productions. Attendees will likely recognize some performers from school or the checkout line at the grocery store. This has helped make the event successful in past years.

“It's been an extremely popular event because people like to see their friends work on stage,” said Glimsdal.

Ett also noted that community has always been important to Northfield Arts Guild productions.

“People from all walks of life that walk into the theater, and they share one thing: putting on the play. And they have a lot of fun doing it," he said.

But, then again, audience members might not recognize some characters—one playwright used Craigslist to find his actors.

WANT TO ATTEND THE VERY SHORT PLAY FESTIVAL?
WHEN: 7 p.m. April 29 and 30
WHERE: Northfield Arts Guild Theater, 411 W. Third St.
WHO: The Friday performances are friendly to a younger audience, while Saturday's plays treat more adult themes.
PRICE: $10
TICKETS: go to northfieldartsguild.org, call 507-645-8877, or visit the Center for the Arts in person.