Theater Masters Presents Fifth Annual Take Ten 5/3-7

Aspen's acclaimed Theater Masters will present its fifth annual "Take 10," an evening of nine 10-minute plays from award-winning MFA graduate playwriting students across the country as part of its National MFA Playwrights competition on May 3- 7th at Off-Broadway's The Wild Project (195 E 3rd St).

"Theater Masters' Associate Director Pesha Rudnick and I read over 100 scripts submitted from ten of the top graduate playwriting programs in the country, and distinguished Writer/Actor Eric Bogosian served as our guest adjudicator to help us select the 9 winning plays. These remarkable new plays are from some of the finest young playwrights this country is developing." said Julia Hansen,Theater Masters founder/Artistic Director - and former President of New York's Drama League. "In many ways, how I started the Drama League's "Director's Project" is how I am now developing new playwrights and giving them their first chance to have their work receive a New York premiere."

The 10-minute plays are:
? Painted Desert by Deborah Yarchun (University of Iowa)---Cody, an unemployed guitarist, finds himself stuck in the middle of the Painted Desert with hundreds of hoodoos (fantastically shaped desert rock formations), a perpetually setting sun, a dozen orphan shoes and his ex-girlfriend, Eva.
? Religion of Freaks and Ice Cream by Matthew Quinlan (UCLA) --- Daniel schedules a rendezvous with an escort in the park-only its midday and it's not just the girl he's interested in.
? Bacteria by Rachel Jendrzejewski (Brown) --- David sleeps and Abital dreams as the outside world incessantly rings. A fleeting portrait of calling and volition.
? On Principle by Terrance T. Brown (Northwestern) --- When a black fourth grader in a predominantly white school uses the N-word aloud in class, his mother must meet with the new black Principal and her son's white teacher to defend her son's right to say a word that she herself despises.
? Ten Minutes to Boston by Liz Ellison (Carnegie Mellon) --- Two strangers, Debra and James, meet at a bus terminal and hit it off immediately. But when James discovers Debra isn't who she says she is, she's forced to face the truth about what she's leaving behind and where she really wants to go.
? Camberwell House by Amelia Roper (Yale) ---A tale of old age, murder and ginger nut biscuits.
? Moby Dick by David Myers (UCSD) ---Moments before his wedding, a man has a bad run in with his organist.
? Some Old Black Man byJames Anthony Tyler (NYU) --- Calvin returns to the south to convince Donald, his 92 year old bigoted ailing father, to move into his New York City home. A generational clash ensues over race and opportunity.
? Ground by Sarah Saltwick (UT Austin) --- Somewhere in East Texas, Shelby and Martin search for the perfect resting place.

The evening will be directed by Adam Immerwahr, Pesha Rudnick and Rob Urbinati, and features set design by Tom Ward and lighting design by Eric Southern.

Based in Aspen, Colorado, Theater Masters is a non-profit organization whose core mission is to seek and nurture the next generation of artists for the American Theatre and present their work.

"Take 10" performance schedule is as follows: Tuesday, May 3rd @ 7:30pm, Wednesday, May 4th @ 7:30pm, Thursday, May 5th @ 7:30pm, Friday, May 6th @ 8pm, Saturday, May 7th @ 8pm. General Admission is $18. (Special reserved seating available for $30 & $50 which includes a contribution to Theater Masters' fifth season sponsor campaign.) For more information and to purchase tickets by phone, call Ovation Tix 212.352.3101, or online log onto https://www.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/821515