"It has been said that if Shel Silverstein and Dorothy Parker had conceived a child, the result would have been Barbie Dockstader Angell. Razor wit and simple rhyming verse combine to create an innovative style." Barbie will be a recognizable name in the Bloomington-Normal Area. Her poetry is free, fresh and unrestrained making for a uniquely wonderful evening of theatre. The play will feature New Route Theatre Artistic Advisory Board members—Jennifer Rusk, Bridgette Richard and M. Irene Taylor. Directed by Phil Shaw.

Theme: An Object of Beauty

The high stakes world of Civil War era horse racing is the stage for this riveting drama of slavery and Reconstruction. Both Simon Cato, a smart, cocky "colored" jockey, and his horse, Pure Confidence, are owned by Colonel Wiley Johnson. Cato uses his wits and his championship winnings to buy his and his wife's freedom. But the Civil War changes everything and the passage of time doesn't bring Cato the success he expects. A surprisingly funny, daring and emotionally moving look at the complexity of race, humanity, love and dignity in the second half of the 19th century. With a vivid backdrop of fast horses, gritty racetracks and high stakes betting, Pure Confidence is an extraordinary tale of human triumphs and failings that explore the true meaning of freedom.

Theme: Beginnings

A 56 year old woman's veneer of civility and self deprecation starts to unravel as her anger with all of the "Suppos'd To's" in her life lead her and the audience on a journey of self discovery and empowerment in a new play by local playwright and actress, M. Irene Taylor. "It seems to me that everything I approach in life has a 'suppos'd to' attached. I'm not saying, for a moment, I expect it to be any other way. Well, rationally and logically, I don't expect it to be any other way. But, emotionally, I'm not so sure."

Theme: The Figure

The music of iconic female African-American singers such as Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday and Mahalia Jackson is explored within their historical context. This entertaining and enlightening evening will feature the vocal talents of Jennifer Rusk accompanied by David Shields on piano.

Theme: Images of Music

From a life writing workshop for the Seniors of a local retirement home, Irene Taylor will cull the reflections of its members, this project will not only open the door for these seniors to tap into their own resources, it will allow them to relive those memories as audience members experience the dramatic representation of their writings.

Theme: Narrative Art

Lynn Nottage's Fabulation; or, The Re-Education of Undine is a riches-to-rags satire that follows the apparent decline of Undine from her high-profile job back to the projects where she grew up. Although she loses her status, wealth, and pride, she gains wisdom and self-knowledge that would have eluded her in her prior existence. Facing the people from her past, she must come to accept them and herself as she learns that one can never truly outrun the past.

Theme: Growing

On March 16, 2003, Rachel Corrie, a twenty-three-year-old American, was crushed to death by an Israeli Army bulldozer in Gaza as she was trying to prevent the demolition of a Palestinian home. My Name is Rachel Corrie, edited by Katharine Viner and Alan Rickman, is a one-woman play composed from Rachel's own journals, letters and emails—creating a portrait of a messy, articulate, Salvador Dali—loving chain-smoker (with a passion for the music of Pat Benatar), who left her home and school in Olympia, Washington, to work as an activist in the heart of Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

"We are all born and someday we'll all die. Most likely to some degree alone.

"What if our aloneness isn't a tragedy? What if our aloneness is what allows us to speak the truth without being afraid? What if our aloneness is what allows us to adventure — to experience the world as a dynamic presence — as a changeable, interactive thing?"

Theme: The World Around Us

The Mississippi River, the phases of the Moon and the power of the written word converge in a Romantic Comedy that explores natural forces and unpredictable outcomes.

Theme: The Culmination of …

"My name is Chethiya. In Sinhalese, the native language of Sri Lanka, it means temple. I had many dreams a few years ago. I don't have that many now, unfortunately. I live for the day. I like stories, though, so I will tell you my story. It's not very happy, I'm afraid, but… but… it's very colorful. Colors of the sunset, color of jasmines and coffee blossoms, blood red of the cement floor of my suburban home in Sri Lanka."

A semi-autobiographical play by Lasantha Rodrigo, an Illinois State University doctoral candidate that takes us from Sri Lanka to Normal, IL, displaying all of the emotional colors experienced along the way.

Theme: Coloring

Described as a "Full Length Fantasia in One Act," the local playwrights explain their inspiration for this exciting new play in their Author's notes.

"Actor and playwright Sam Shepard was arrested for speeding and driving under the influence at about 2 a.m. on January 2, 2009 in Normal, Illinois. Traveling with him in his 2007 Chevy Tahoe was a poodle. He had stopped for the night in the Twin Cities of Bloomington-Normal while journeying from the home of his partner, Jessica Lange, in Minnesota to his residence in Kentucky. He'd left Fat Jack's where he'd previously autographed a bottle of Woodford Reserve, and was on his way to the Best Western in Normal. He was pulled over by the Normal Police, one of the largest per-capita police forces in Illinois, in a town that had at the time been subjected to an inordinate number of bank robberies. According to local reports, Shepard had visited the bar several times in the past after befriending a bartender. Aside from these points, everything in this work is a fiction. Any resemblance to real persons is coincidental."

Cheers meets The Iceman Cometh.

Theme: Cloistering

A welcome revisiting of the play that started the "One Shot Deal Series." A touching character study that explores the values of diversity and tolerance. The play was chosen in observance of World AIDS Day.

Theme: Winter Solstice