"ROUTE 66" 2026 10-Minute Play Festival

HEARTLAND THEATRE COMPANY opens the 2026 10-Minute Play Festival with the theme “ROUTE 66”
ROUTE 66, Heartland's 25th Anniversary of the 10-Minute Play Festival, opens Thursday, May 28, with a Pay-What-You-Can Preview. Performances continue through June 13 and are sponsored by Deanna Frautschi and Alan Bedell, underwritten by Drake Zimmerman and Jan Elfline. The plays were selected from hundreds of submissions from around the world and now enjoy their world premiere on Heartland’s stage in Normal, IL.
The eight plays are directed by Darlene Lloyd, Scott Myers, Dave Montague & Jason Vales.
About the theme and the plays: Ventura Highway, On the Road Again, Freeway of Love, I Can’t Drive 55—all great songs, but are musicians the only ones who can be inspired by life on the road? At Heartland Theatre we say “no”. In 2026, we’re devoting our annual 10-minute play festival to Route 66 as the Mother Road celebrates its 100th anniversary. Join us and you can get your kicks without having to drive to California. [General Audiences]
The winning plays and playwrights are:
THE COWBOY AT THE MIDPOINT CAFÉ - Don Salvo, Celebration FL
SQUAWKING FOR A NEW TOMORROW - Angela J. Davis, Los Angeles CA
AT THE MOTEL SAFARI - Mathew Green, Champaign IL
HALFWAY THERE - Dan Borengasser, Springdale AR
UNTIL THE ROAD ENDS - James Martin, Bloomington IL
COFFEE AT RAY’S - Harsh Hundal, Kelowna BC
MOTHER ROAD - Georgie Morvis, Chicago IL
THE SIGNS OF THEIR TIMES - W. L. Newkirk, Celebration FL
Panel June 7th: Honoring the 100th Anniversary of Route 66, there will be a special panel discussion after the matinee on June 7th.
Route 66: The Mother Road through McLean County panel discussion
Join the Museum, Heartland Theatre Company, and Sprague’s Super Service for a lively panel discussion exploring the local legacy of the Mother Road immediately following the matinee performance of Heartland Theatre Company’s 10-Minute Play Festival: Route 66 on Sunday, June 7.
When Route 66 was established in 1926, it fundamentally transformed the United States by connecting the Midwest to California. As one of the first fully paved highways in the country, it spurred the growth of small towns along its path — including right here in McLean County, where approximately 49 miles of the route runs through the heart of the region.