I.T. TEN-MINUTE PLAY FESTIVAL
ANNUAL SHOWCASE OF ORIGINAL PLAYS BY LOCAL AUTHORS
Every August, Island Theatre presents FESTIVAL WEEK – a weeklong celebration of ten-minute plays, playwrights, and play writing.
The centerpiece of FESTIVAL WEEK is the Ten-Minute Play Festival – a juried selection of plays by Kitsap County playwrights—both established and aspiring. The winning plays are fully staged and performed at Bainbridge Performing Arts in both evening and matinee performances.
The deadline for play submissions each year is Valentine's Day, February 14th. Sign up for our mailing list below to receive notifications.
FESTIVAL WEEK kicks off with Meet the Playwrights, a panel discussion and Q&A with the playwrights behind each year’s winning plays.
We round out the week with the TEN-MINUTE PLAYWRIGHTING WORKSHOP – a half-day workshop that gives you a jumpstart on writing a play for next year’s Festival.
Join our mailing list to learn about our next Island Theatre at the Library performance!
Meet the Playwrights!
Wednesday, August 5th
7:00 pm
Bainbridge Public Library
FREE
(no tickets necessary)
A lively panel discussion and Q&A
with the ten local authors behind Island Theatre’s
2025 Ten-Minute Play Festival!
Come meet the local playwrights behind this year’s Ten-Minute Play Festival! Hear them share insights about their creative process, inspirations behind their plays, and the journey from idea to stage. Enjoy a lively conversation about writing, storytelling, and the vibrant world of theatre. Audience questions are encouraged!
This year’s ten plays were selected from over 65 submissions by Kitsap County playwrights and reflect a wide range of genres—from heartfelt drama to absurd comedy, from the real to the surreal. There’s truly something for everyone—and a brand new story every ten minutes.
Chris Albrecht has mostly written about technology for the bulk of his career. He had a digital cartoon short produced by Nickelodeon in 2015, and two original feature film scripts optioned. This is his first play. He has lived on Bainbridge for more than a decade with his wife, Jen, son, Oscar, and dog, Boots.
James E. Anderson III
“Your Chances of Winning” marks James’ 5th play selected for the festival. He is grateful for the opportunity to have his work seen, and hopes you enjoy it.
James is currently at work on a trilogy of full length plays spanning three decades, all set in California motels.
A 25 year Bainbridge Island resident, James currently lives in Dublin, Ireland with his wife, Lori. James is a proud member of The Dramatists Guild of America.
James dedicates this work to his late, and beloved friend, Bob Tull.
“Let go.”
Jeffrey M. Brown is a playwright, actor, and director. His work has been produced by Oregon Contemporary Theatre, Key City Public Theatre, Island Theatre, and Edmonds Driftwood Players, where his play Another Fad won the Audience Choice award. On stage, he has been seen at BPA, Island Theatre, The Jewel Box, Edmonds Driftwood Theatre, Port Gamble Theatre, and the Lesser- Known Players. Most recently, he directed The Realistic Joneses at The Jewel Box.
This year’s theme reminds us of the immersive power of live theater to be a healthy “escape” into imagination and regeneration. Thanks to Island Theatre for once again offering this much needed “escape hatch” for performers and audiences alike.
Jason Erickson is the playwright of Barking Mad in this year’s Ten-Minute Play Festival. He is a screenwriter, editor, actor, and director. His editing work includes Alan Rudolph’s New York Times Critics’ Pick Ray Meets Helen. He wrote and directed Complications of a Walking Baby, a winner at the Celluloid Bainbridge Film Festival, and wrote and starred in a segment of the feature film Bench Stories.
Jason is the founder of MechBlocks and proud husband and father of three.
Like her characters in “Hilltop,” Nora Vitz Harrison regularly hikes the trails of Bainbridge Island. A published short story writer, Nora now combines her acting experience with her writing skills. Her first play, developed during Island Theatre’s 2024 playwriting workshop, was a winner in an international 10-minute play festival in Oregon. “Hilltop” is her second play. Nora also will be playing the title role in “The Half Life of Marie Curie” at BPA, September 11-14.
Gina King is a BHS grad and returned resident. She is a conservation biologist who dabbles in writing and art, and was thrilled to have her 2nd attempt at a 10-minute play (Advance Team: Zoo) selected for last year's festival. Now she is doubly excited to be included again with Lesser Known Snakes of the Bayou.
She swears she named Team Flamingo long before it became a hyper-local political statement, but has no regrets.
Aleks Merilo is an award-winning playwright. His script, “The Snowmaker” was winner of the Playwrights First Award, The Chameleon Theatre Circle New Play contest, Playhouse on The Square’s New Works @ The Works Festival, and was a finalist for the Oregon Play Prize.
His play “The Widow of Tom’s Hill” played Off-Broadway at 59E59, where Broadway World called it “A truly distinctive piece of theater.”
His play “Exit 27” was called “The best original play to be produced this season” by the Houston Chronicle; was voted best new play by Broadway World, Houston; and played most recently at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival. He has an MFA in playwriting from UCLA and is represented by the Robert A. Freedman Dramatic Agency.
Jennifer Pippin-Montanez has acted and directed for Island Theater’s Ten-Minute Play Festival off and on for the past decade. “Time for a Chat” is her second play produced for the festival. She has appeared in community theaters across Kitsap County, including Bainbridge Performing Arts, Island Theatre and Port Gamble Theater. She teaches English at North Kitsap High School, where she finds limitless material for her characters.
KAREN POLINSKY is a former Bainbridge Island high school teacher, and currently a freelance writer living in Portland, Oregon. In April her biography of Ian Mackay debuted. Mackay is a quadriplegic, consultant for Apple, world record breaking athlete, and advocate for accessible trails.
Her first book Dungeness, like Ian’s Ride, is set on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington. She’s written more than a dozen staged plays, including her recent comedy Regret, performed with live music and puppets in Portland's Fertile Ground Festival.
She enjoys camping and biking and hiking with her husband Michael and her border collie Pearl.
Doug O’Connor is a long-time Bainbridge resident and still believes it’s the best place in the known universe to live.
His play “Buffaloed”, derived from his short story by the same name, is his first work to go public and he’s thrilled that the presentation is on “The Island”.
After retirement from corporate work he began his fiction writing journey by earning certificate in fiction writing at the University of Washington. He is a member of Pacific Northwest Writers and is an aficionado of short courses on the craft of writing.
He’s also deeply appreciative of the lessons learned from his writing partners and his oh so patient readers.
