The partnership between founder and presenter took another step this year as Greg Abbott has stepped away from the MN Shorts Festival, handing over full oversight to the Merely Players Community Theatre.
Sarah Olson, a three-year Merely Players Board member, has taken the lead. But she’s quick to stress she has a strong supporting cast, starting with Abbott.
“He handed me the reins, and he has definitely held my hand throughout the process,” Olson said. Advice has included everything from soliciting scripts, readers and judges, as well as securing a supportive grant.
Then folks like Artistic Director Zach Bolland have taken over, she said, making the final play selections, helping find directors and actors.
When performances take place 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Lincoln Community Center, Olson will be in the audience to enjoy the seven 10-minute plays.
“I was excited by the amount of response we got. We got just about 100 scripts between our Midwest grouping and then our Minnesota participants,” she said, later providing exact numbers: 75 Midwest scripts, 21 Minnesota scripts.
“We had just a great array of scripts, and it was a challenge for the readers to pick them this year,” she said of the group gathered to read and endorse scripts. The number was winnowed to 15, with the seven to be presented selected by Bolland.
Ultimately, they chose four from Minnesota playwrights and three from the Midwest states of Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Missouri and Kansas.
Although 1-minute scripts were solicited, the low number of submissions prompted them to be dropped, with another 10-minute script added instead, she said.
As a member of the Playwright Center in Minneapolis, Olson had some idea where to seek out scripts. Abbott helped provide locations to post, and results were good. This is the 16th year of the MN Shorts Festival.
“It’s my first time securing a grant through Prairie Lakes (Regional Arts Council), so that just took a learning curve,” she said, “just knowing how to fill out the forms and the ins and outs of that.”
Following this weekend’s performances, Merely Players will host auditions for the season-opening production of “Murder by Poe” on Monday and Tuesday evenings. With festival casts that range from one to four, the smaller commitment for the Minnesota Shorts can provide opportunities for those considering full productions, she said.
“This is a great way to be involved,” Olson said. “You don’t have to memorize a lot of lines; it’s only 10 minutes, and you can really just get your feet wet.”
The planning process for next year will likely begin again in January.