The sizeable cast of “Sobriquet, What’s in a Name?” is shown rehearsing for their upcoming performance in the two-day 10-Minute Play Festival, produced by the Yellow Springs Theater Company. The festival runs Friday and Saturday, Feb. 13 and 14. (Submitted photo)
Yellow Springs 10-Minute Play Festival returns this weekend
- Published: February 11, 2026
Have a laugh: The annual 10-Minute Play Festival, produced by YS Theater Company, returns Friday and Saturday, Feb. 13 and 14, at 7 p.m.
Now in its 16th year, the annual festival is returning to its original boards in First Presbyterian Church’s Westminster Hall, at 314 Xenia Ave. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. both nights.
This year’s festival spotlights seven original plays — all roughly 10 minutes — produced by local directors, featuring local actors and written by Ohio playwrights. Also performing at the festival will be local psychedelic Americana band Pinehouse.
Tickets are $15, and all proceeds benefit YS Theater Company. The event is sponsored by the Yellow Springs Community Foundation.
• “Sobriquet, What’s in a Name?” by villagers Steven Deal, Amy Bennett, Shiloh Deal and Nancy Mellon. Directed by Amy Bennett. Cast: Justin Simons, Matthew Willis, Brenda Bertrand, Shiloh Deal, Chris Hodgson, Sandy Lemming, Marie Hertzler and Steven Deal.
Playwright Steven Deal said the play was born out of a daily struggle between him and his wife over the pronunciations and alternate pronunciations of their medications. He had been “kicking around a send-up of the drug-naming process.”
• “Changes in Their Cages,” by Faye Sholiton. Directed by Robb Willoughby. Cast: Scott Stoney and Marjorie Strader.
Of the play, Sholiton said: “The idea for this play was born while chatting with other retirees about finding fun/meaningful projects outside the home. I learned about one man who was volunteering at the Cleveland Zoo, babysitting orangutans while the new Rain Forest was being built. The primates had become bored, lonely and lethargic due to the loss of human traffic nearby. Never had he been so excited about an assignment.’
• “Cats (Not That One),” by Brian Day. Directed by Brian Day. Cast: Daniel Ramirez, Lauren Pelham and Shawn “Bingo” Green.
Day said this play originally started as a comedy sketch, but he wanted to further explore the concept of an indoor and an outdoor cat meeting for the first time.
• “A Vegetable Tale,” by Reilly Dixon. Directed by Amy Wamsley; Cast: Thor Sage, Niki Sage and Ellen Lee.
“A Vegetable Tale” is about an ordinary couple beset by the doldrums of domesticity and pedantry. It’s a lesson in choosing one’s battles and eating healthy.
• “Ask Your Fantasy,” by Jerry Holt. Directed by Ellen Ballerene; Cast: Ellen Ballerene, Beeca Bayman, John Kusnierek, Chris Hutdon and Chuck Moran.
Playwright Holt said “Ask Your Fantasy” came about from his desire to share some interesting information in a comedic format.
• “Oat Man,” by Antonella Shock. Directed by Ellen Ballerene; Cast: Matthew Salazar, Ellen Lee and Chuck Moran.
Shock’s work is dialogue-driven and grounded in humor and awkwardness, with a focus on writing conversations that feel real. She explores friendship, anxiety and the quiet absurdity of everyday interactions through character-driven storytelling.
• “Heist,” by Anthony Fife. Directed by Lauren “Chuck” Shows; Cast: Jeanna GunderKline, Lauren “Chuck” Shows, Anthony Fife, Ben Guenther and Reilly Dixon.
In an alternate universe, “Heist” was originally written and directed by Mabel Terhune and performed by The Mabel Terhune Players: Desdemona Krauss, Gordon Fludge, Hub Stidwick, Halifax G. P. Ronston, Brandella T. Plorse, Telly Cando, Nelly Gorky, Herman Bunn, Breef Lanigan, Theadora Klimte and featuring … Gayle Terhune-Dixt!
For additional information on the 10-Minute Play Festival or the Yellow Springs Theater Company, visit the group’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/ystcohio.
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