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VINCENNES, Ind. - Two Vincennes University students and four local theatre representatives have accepted the challenge to participate in the International Red Eye Play Festival to be held at Vincennes University’s Red Skelton Performing Arts Center on Sept. 30.

The Festival is a worldwide collaboration and celebration featuring six original ten-minute plays being performed in theatres around the world at 8 p.m. in their respective time zones. From cast selection through rehearsal through performance, the entire event takes place within 24 hours, Sept. 29-30.

The Vincennes University Theatre program is one of ten international host sites for the Red Eye Play Festival and will open with a reception on Sept. 29 when VU students will be cast to fill the roles in all six plays.

Directing the ten-minute plays will be Andrea Tscherter and Steven Gray, representing Old Town Players in Vincennes; Robin Overbey, representing the Broadway Players in Princeton; Sam Mikeworth, representing the Lawrence County Arts Council, Lawrenceville, Ill.; and VU students Jake Sexton of Bloomington and Elizabeth Ruppel of Vincennes.

Rehearsals will begin on the morning of Sept. 30 and continue until show time at 8 p.m.  Throughout the day, host theaters around the world will share pictures and messages via the Red Eye Play Festival Facebook page and Twitter, which automatically stream to the RedEye10s.com website to create a collaborative excitement and connection between the different groups. 

The public is invited to attend the Red Eye 10s Festival play presentations on Sept. 30. Admission is free. the Skelton Center auditorium will open at 7 p.m. and the band Sydney Paige and the Midnight Fire will offer a pre-show concert beginning at 7:30 p.m.  The Festival shows will begin at 8 p.m.

More information is available by contacting VU host coordinator Debra Fisher at dafisher@vinu.edu.

RED EYE 10s FESTIVAL SCHEDULE, Vincennes

Details about the Festival are available at RedEye10s.com.

1. “The Go-Between” will be directed by Andrea Tscherter and Steven Gray, representing Old Town Players in Vincennes. The play is by Roy Proctor of Richmond, Virginia, and is based on the short story “By Courier” by O. Henry.

2. “Storm People” will be directed by VU student Jake Sexton, Bloomington, and feature Kendra Clauser, assistant director of communication at VU. The play is by Jo-Anne Walton of Portland, Maine.

3. “Toil and…” will be directed by Robin Overbey, representing the Broadway Players in Princeton. The play is by David Guaspari from Ithaca, New York, and is a spoof loosely based on “MacBeth.”

4. “Seven Minutes in Heaven” will be directed by VU student Elizabeth Ruppel, Vincennes. The play is by Matthew Weaver from Spokane, Washington, and is about a boy, a girl, and a dark closet at a teenage makeout party.

5. “Swim Forever in the Erne,” will be directed by an individual chosen at the Sept. 29 reception.

6. “The Big Picture” will be directed by Sam Mikeworth representing the Lawrence County Arts Council in Lawrenceville, Illinois. The play is by Mark Harvey Levine of Pasadena California.

The ten performance sites include:
CAT Theatre, Virginia
Vincennes University, Indiana
Edmonson Country Drama, Kentucky
Overland High School, Colorado
Nipomo High School Theatre Company, California
Arroyo Grande High School, California
Atascadero High School Performing Arts, California
International School, Stuttgart Germany
The Rabbit’s Riot Theatre Company, Ireland
Edgren High School, Japan

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