The drama of Shakespeare, the whimsy of Jen Silverman and the resilience of August Wilson can be found in a 10-minute package at this year’s Northwest 10 Festival. Oregon Contemporary Theater is staging eight 10-minute plays picked from over 75 original submissions. This year’s submissions were chosen by dramaturge Kimberly Colburn, and directors were selected by Paul Calandrino. The benefit of OCT hosting the festival is the opportunity to produce these plays in a professional setting, says producer Amy Weinkauf. Weinkauf notices how the social climate is reflected in the types of scripts they receive each year. “We realized that this year there’s kind of a theme about looking for community and seeking community, being together and also what do we do when we feel lonely, anxious and afraid,” Weinkauf says. For example, the subject matter for Kade Linville’s Books for Banishment is an eccentric and caring father checking out banned books for his son. Other plays deal with finding community one way or another.

Northwest 10 Festival is Friday March 20 through Sunday, March 29, at Oregon Contemporary Theatre, 194 West Broadway. For tickets and more information, visit OCTheatre.org.