SALISBURY — Local playwright Sam Post said his work reflects his take on life.
“It’s part of my self expression,” he said.
Local residents can get a glimpse inside the Salisbury native’s mind during an “Evening of Short Plays,” which is being presented by Spoken Space Theatre.
The show opens at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Looking Glass Artists Center’s black box theater.
A total of eight 10-minute plays will be performed in about 90 minutes, with a short intermission.
Characters include a mechanic, a drunk theater manager, a possum, a would-be singer and a stoner.
“They are all comedies that have some sort of serious matter interwoven,” Post said. “It’s not over-the-top slapstick comedy.”
Plays include “Nice Name for a Sky,” “In the Ductwork,” “Responsibility,” “Poor Jud is Daid,” “Ignition Switch,” “In the Waiting Room” and “Love Poem.”
Post said “In the Waiting Room” follows a conversation between a man and woman who are in the waiting room of a veterinarian’s office talking about their pets.
“ ‘Ignition Switch’ is about a woman who goes to get her car fixed and her ignition switch is broken,” he said. “She hurt her wrist trying to start the car so many times, and the mechanic fixes her wrist. But he also helps her with the relationship with her husband.”
Post, a graduate of Salisbury High School and Wake Forest University, said he began writing 10-minute plays when he was a playwright with Theatre Charlotte in 1997.
“I was in that for five years, so I wrote quite a few 10-minute plays,” he said.
The show will feature a variety of Post’s work, including plays from his time at Theatre Charlotte and newer shows.
“I submitted a couple of them to Lee Street (Theatre) for their play festival, but they were rejected,” he said. “I figured I’ll get them done on my own.”
Post said he enjoys writing short plays because he can finish one in a single sitting, and they are inexpensive to produce.
“They are a fun thing for a community theater to do because they don’t require a lot of rehearsal time,” he said. “The good thing for the audience is if they don’t like it, they only have to sit through it for 10 minutes before they are introduced to something else.”
Post doesn’t sell his plays.. Instead, he uploads them to his website, sampost.com, so that students and community theaters can use them for free.
“Short plays are ideal for high school and college theater classes that need a little something for a project,” he said.
Post said the plays have been performed all over the country, including New York’s off-off-Broadway district.
He simply asks those who would like to use his work to send him an email asking for permission, so he can keep track of where his shows are being performed.

Who: Salisbury native Sam Post

What: Eight short plays with a short intermission
When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Friday, Saturday
Where: Looking Glass Artists Center’s black box theater, 405 N. Lee St.
Cost: $10 at door

,