This North Coast Weekend

Opening on Wednesday April 25 for five performances is the 14th annual 10 Minute Play Festival at HSU. There are seven plays this year by five student playwrights. Though the plays are the usual mix of comedy, drama and fantasy, there’s a linking format. The playwrights are Keosha Chambers, Jessica Charles, Christin Hunter, Sarah McKinney and Alan La Police. All but one (directed by Liz Uhazy) are directed by this year’s coordinator John Heckel. Though this is a perennially popular show, changes in class offerings largely forced by budgets mean this is probably the last 10 Minute Play Festival on the HSU schedule. It plays Wed.-Sat. at 7:30 and Sunday at 2 in Gist Hall Theatre. 826-3928. http://HSUStage.blogspot.com.

Speaking of HSU, it’s practically an alumni and current student reunion—including participants in the 10 Minute Play Festival on the same weekend—at the Redwood Curtain play which begins previews on Thursday, April 26. For Better is a comedy by Eric Coble about a wedding and the defining roles of gadgets in contemporary life. HSU grads and students involved include director Kristin Mack, scenic designer Liz Uhazy, costume designer Jessica Charles and cast members Kyra Gardner, Ken Klima, Colleen Lacy, Sarah McKinney and Kyle Handziak. How did Anthony Mankins get in there? (Ooops--he's from HSU, too.)  Official opening night is April 28, and performances continue weekends through May 19. 443-7688.  redwoodcurtain.com.

Dell'Arte International's First Years also present one of the more popular shows on their annual calendar: their clown show.  The Clowns Are Here this weekend, Thursday to Saturday at 8 p.m. in the Carlo.  Admission is pay-what-you-will and a sellout is expected. 668-5663 ext. 20 for tickets.

This week's Tri-City Weekly features a neat piece by Pam Service, who makes use of her years of service to North Coast Rep in particular with fascinating profiles of several notable North Coast theatre figures: actors Bob and Lynn Wells; actors Nathan Emmons, Kim Haile and David Hamilton (all in NCRT's just concluded Much Ado About Nothing) and current reviewer Beti Trauth (whose review of HLOC's Damn Yankees is also in that issue.)

One of Pam Service's observations is likely to focus some comments in this space, and possibly elsewhere, in the near future, along with several other items in this post.