I drove to the Turpin Garage Theater for 10 Minute Tuesdays presented by Phoenix Tears Productions. I love this idea. Spot lights were strung up all around a suburban garage, illuminating a mini set inside the garage. The theater opened at 7:30pm. Tickets are just $2 at the garage door. Meg
had created some adorable buttons and other merchandise from past
scripts. There were four rows of Dick’s lawn chairs set up in front of the garage for the audience. 10 Minute Tuesdays happens on the first Tuesday of every month featuring plays in a set theme. This month’s plays celebrated all things pink and red with a plethora of love and murder. I decided to sit in the back row to get an overall view of the garage theater set up. In most theaters the seats are set up on a ramp that rises towards the back of the theater. A driveway on the other hand slops down towards the street.
My favorite play of the night was the first in the line up of three. Called, Misfortune by Mark Harvey Levine and directed by Madison Payne, the show featured two women who sat in a Chinese restaurant having just finished dinner. The waitress with chop sticks in her hair served them fortune cookies. One woman (Melissa Riggins) read her fortune which was bland, sweet and reassuring. Then her friend (Kira Silverman) read her fortune which said something like, “You will be murdered tonight.” In a furor she called over the waitress, read her the fortune, and insisting on getting another cookie. Each time the one woman got a soothing and uplifting fortune while the other got a menacing premonition of certain death. The waitress was just as surprised as the couple and she stayed at the table curious to hear each reading of the fortunes.
If your fortune is so set in stone then it must be true, and perhaps there would be now way to escape your fate. The woman who had been getting the reassuring fortunes began to believe that there might just be a reason her friend might need to be murdered. She picked a sharp knife off the table and questioned her friend about possible affairs as she paced around the table. A mistake by the waitress changed the fortunes of this distressed couple.
A guest performer, (Mathew Stephens) followed with a monologue and then a reenactment of a planned murder of Batman (Vex Batchelder). Outlandish humor was added by Harlequin (Michelle Papaycik) playing a weird tune on a kazoo. Her amazing costume and acting stole the scene.
The final play was, Played for A Sap by Rex McGregor directed by Jade Roberts. In it, a couple having an affair tried to extort money from the woman’s husband. The show featured murder, money and mayhem with affections that turned on a dime. A guy sat in front of me wearing a cowboy hat, so I really didn’t see anything house left for the entire final show, but I was busy painting anyway. With only 10 minutes remaining, I had to rush. By the end of the night, every seat in the driveway was full.
This 10 Minute Tuesday at Turpin Garage Theater is such a fun concept. I was laughing out loud at very twist and turn. When you have a theater full of actors and supporters, you are in for some fun and enthusiastic audience reactions.
Here is a full listing of upcoming productions of 10 Minute Tuesdays.
March 3, 2020 Ladies Night
April 7, 2020 Shakespeare
May 5, 2020 Shows about Show Biz
June 2, 2020 TMT with Pride
July 7, 2020 Christmas in July
August 4, 2020 Come Away with TMT
September 1, 2020 Get Back to Hogwarts
October 6, 2020 Spooky Sendoff