Event

Mercury Rising

Mercury Rising includes six 15-minute plays by Wisconsin authors. All six plays are performed in the following order each night:

Crowded House
In this screwball comedy, a young man goes to ridiculous lengths to hide his unusual love life from Grandma. Written by Douglas Holtz and directed by Kelly Kriesel.

March, April, June, July; May Be Not
A May-September romance between two covert agents with a hidden agenda. Written by Kurt McGinnis Brown and directed by Tony Trout.

The End of the World
A woman, who has discovered that the world is about to end, struggles to keep her knowledge secret. Written by Karen McCall and directed by Kelly Kriesel.

Lucky Numbers
An actuary and his wife, who are expecting their first child, may fall victim to statistical probability. Written by Gwendolyn Quirk and directed by Tony Trout.

The Maibock Seduction
A corporate raider learns the naked truth about the microbrew business. Written by Doug Reed and directed by Kelly Kriesel.

May Is a Special Time of Year
Two professional snipers, on two different rooftops, talk about every subject except being in love with each other. Written by Rob Matsushita and directed by Tony Trout.

The Play Contest Selection Process
These plays were selected blind, by a selection committee which included our directors. Only producers Gretchen Wheat and Jake Jacobson knew the identity of the playwrights, and they had neither involvement in the discussion, nor the selection, of our six winners. This is worth stressing, because four of the six playwrights have had their plays produced by Mercury before. Their work has appeared in collections of short plays, in our 24-hour Blitz, and/or in full productions. We didn't know who they were, but apparently we know a Mercury play when we see one.