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ArtsCenter Stage presents ninth annual PlaySlam

One night. 14 plays.

On Saturday, the Carrboro ArtsCenter gave audiences the unique opportunity to sample the very best of local talent with its ninth annual PlaySlam. Both amateur and veteran playwrights showcased three-minute versions of their original plays for the event.

Every year, the popular event challenges both actors and playwrights to connect with audiences in a very short amount of time. The actors only have three hours to rehearse the plays before the performance, and the playwrights can only use minimal set pieces provided by the center to bring their vision to life.

What ensues is an evening of frenetic storytelling, humor, heart and sometimes improvisation. Perhaps the most innovative part of the event is that the audience decides which plays make the final bill.

During round one, audience members vote for their favorite plays, and the five playwrights with the most popular plays present an additional work after intermission. Audiences vote for a final winner — and while the votes are tallied, the center hosts a question and answer session with the playwrights.

“It’s important to let people in on the process,” said Jeri Lynn Schulke, the director of ArtsCenter Stage. She emphasized that engaging and educating audiences is a vital part of the center’s overall mission.

“The ArtsCenter is all about community,” Schulke said.

All 12 playwrights who submitted plays for the event agreed that creating a compelling three minute play was a daunting task.

“You have to keep the dialogue snappy,” one playwright told the audience.

Durham resident David Davis said that voting enhanced his experience as an audience member.

“It really makes you think about the plays critically,” he said.

The event lets each audience member embrace their inner critic. Even if you hated a play, in a minute it was over and an entirely new scenario had sprung to life in its place.

The rapid parade of plays explored a broad variety of topics, ranging from the absurd to the somber.

One play showed an encounter between a woman and a judgmental grocery store scanner. Another featured an elderly man whose final wish was to put Mozart’s name on his gravestone because the famous musician was buried in an unmarked grave.

The winning play, titled “One Life,” was perhaps the most moving piece of the evening. Three narrators chronicle the life of a playwright as he struggles to connect with others and find passion in his work. The playwright does not speak, but stands in the middle of the narrators and reacts to their discussion of his life.

The vulnerability and poignancy of the work resonated with the audience and led playwright Mark Cornell to victory.

To learn more about The ArtsCenter and attend upcoming events, visit www.artscenterlive.org.

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