Behind the Scenes of 8 Tens @ 8... Ready, Set, Select!

We are very excited to announce the winning plays that will be performed in the 8 Tens @ 8 Short Play Festival for 2027.

Playwrights from across the country submit their work to our short play contest each year. We couldn't put on a short play festival without short plays, and we are grateful to each and every writer who trusts us with their work. After the June 30 deadline, our readers peruse and rate the 300 scripts received. This year, we implemented a two-tier process, with over 30 readers representing different areas of theater doing the initial read and assessment to narrow down the field to around 50 scripts that go to our final selection committee. As usual, the quality of the plays we receive made choosing the "winners" quite a challenge.

The finalist scripts then go to our 16 directors, who make their choices to decide which 16 plays will receive full productions in the Festival in January and February 2027. The runners-up become part of the Best of the Rest staged reading series, giving short play fans yet another way to experience the work of these talented playwrights. Particularly exciting is that we have five Santa Cruz area writers represented this year and several double winners!

Here are the 16 plays that will be performed in the 2027 8 Tens @ 8 Festival.

1938 AT THE CAFE GIUBBE ROSSE by Barbara Vanosky Anderson, directed by Brian Spencer

A TIK-TOK MOMENT by K.G. Flaherty, directed by Peter Gelblum

BAN THE ROM-COM by Paola Bruni, directed by Hannah Eckstein

BOOKENDS by Andy Waddell, directed by Andy Waddell

DEATH AND THE MAIDMENTS by Neil Fairbairn, directed by Scott Kravitz

DEVOTION AND OTHER ADJECTIVES by Brian S. Brijbag, directed by Darren Jackson-Wilkins

DRIVEN BY MERCY by Paola Bruni, directed by Steve Capasso

EXIT INTERVIEW by John David Westby, directed by Chad Davies

FATHERS-IN-LAW by Twist Phelan, directed by Brad Roades

SPELT by Lisa Sheretz, directed by Karin Babbitt & Janet No

SQUATCHIN' by Brian Cern, directed by Helene Simkin Jara

THAT OTHER WORLD by Kathryn Chetkovich, directed by Manirose Bobisuthi

THE EXACT COLOR OF TUESDAY by Brian S. Brijbag, directed by Cathy Warner

THE LEAGUE OF HYPNOTISTS MONTHLY COCKTAIL HOUR by Michael L. Johnson, directed by Christopher Peak

THE RED OLEANDER by David Wilde, directed by Denise Keplinger

THE THRESHOLD by Kathryn Chetkovich, directed by Andrew Davids

And these runners-up will be part of The Best of the Rest:

ELVIS AND EINSTEIN, 1954 by Eric Thomas

JUST DO AS I THINK by Stephen Stewart

SPIN CYCLE by Ben David

THE INTERVIEW by Mary Caroline Rogers

THE MITTENS INCIDENT by Tim O'Lena

TO BE OR NOT TO BE FLOYD by Geoffrey K. Graves

WHAT YOU LEFT IN THE FREEZER by Craig Moeckly

YOU HAVE TEN MINUTES by Brian Marsh

Evan Hunt and Simon Hayward will direct Best of the Rest in March 2027.

Auditions for 8 Tens 8 will be held on September 20 and 21, with callbacks over the next four evenings. Visit the Auditions page for more information. Tickets for the festival will go on sale the day after Thanksgiving. This year, you will have an option to include The Best of the Rest staged readings of the runners-up with the festival package deal for only $5.