Ten-Minute Plays Test Theatre Skills

By Shannon Thomason

Trista Baker and Brenton Bellamy perform in "Darcie" from the 2009 Festival of Ten-Minute Plays. "Darcie" was written by Richard Taylor Campbell and directed by Mel Christian. Photo by Richard Taylor Campbell.

In playwright Lee Shackleford’s world, the script comes first. Before the actors audition or the props are selected, the script must be conceived, written, polished, and perfected.

Shackleford is the UAB Department of Theatre’s playwright-in-residence, and he teaches several scriptwriting classes at UAB. He also is the founder and director of UAB’s edgy, creative, and tremendously popular Festival of Ten-Minute Plays, now in its seventh year.

Each year the process begins in the spring semester, when Shackleford’s students learn the art and craft of writing super-short comedies and dramas. A 10-minute play, he explains, is not a skit or a scene; it must have everything that a longer play has—without the luxury of time.

UAB Saddles Up With Special Equestrians

By Caperton Gillett

“Making disabilities disappear.” That’s the motto of the Special Equestrians therapeutic riding program at Indian Springs School. And when the children mount up, it becomes clear that there are no disabilities here, only horseback riders—guiding their steeds through serpentines, picking up rings, throwing beanbags, and performing exercises that belie their physical, cognitive, and emotional challenges.

“Horses are amazing,” says Kathleen Claybrook, executive director of Special Equestrians. “Their hip action is almost identical to a person’s, so just by virtue of sitting on a horse, a rider with a physical disability can gain strength and mobility. They can increase their balance and core strength, relax the muscles, stimulate the nerves—you name it, they can do it, just sitting on the horse. And for somebody with a cognitive disability, sometimes it’s the movement that motivates them to do something that they wouldn’t want to do otherwise.”

UAB Cancer Care Follows a New Path

Cancer survivor Jason Green (right) was able to meet with his entire treatment team—including surgical oncologist Martin Heslin—on his first day of appointments at UAB.

By Josh Till

A cancer diagnosis is a passport into unfamiliar territory—a land that can be frightening and confusing, where the people speak a different language and follow unusual customs. Because the journey can be a long one, it helps to have a map, good directions, and experienced guides who can show you where to go and what to do. You’ll find them at the UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center, which has embarked on a far-reaching effort to make that journey easier—and quicker—for patients from their very first visit.

Essentially, the Cancer Center’s new Integrated Multidisciplinary Cancer Care Program (IMCCP) makes cancer treatment at UAB easier to navigate. Cancer Center director Edward Partridge, M.D., says the initiative brings together all of the various aspects of cancer treatment, streamlining the process for patients and improving the overall experience for them and their families.

“Cancer patients will get ‘one-stop shopping,’” Partridge says. “They want rapid diagnosis, same-visit consultation with all their specialists, and good communication with their care team. The IMCCP can provide all that and more.” He adds that the Cancer Center has long been a proponent of multidisciplinary care—combining various specialists from different fields into one team to provide more efficient and effective care—and he expects the IMCCP to raise that care to the next level.