Studio 115 to host 24-hour Play Festival
2 min readBY KASEY NABAL
UMW’s student theatre Studio 115 will be hosting their annual 24 Hour Play Festival this Friday. The festival features all the aspects of a regular theater production, but jammed into 24 hours. Most productions require weeks upon weeks of rehearsal, costume design, and set design.
The event will be at Studio 115, in the basement of duPont Hall. Studio 115 is an underground, student-run society that puts on various theatre productions and events throughout the academic year.
The festival begins with auditions at 7 p.m. on Friday. Actors can choose to either perform a practiced monologue or improvise a scene. Directors, designers, and writers will all watch the auditions. After auditions, three scriptwriters will have three hours to write their plays.
Around 11p.m., the directors, designers and scriptwriters will deliberate on which actors will be in which plays. They will also decide what sort of lighting, intro music, and sound effects will be used. According to senior tech director Delaney Twining, finding a compromise between the writers and designers is key to putting on a good show.
Rehearsals begin shortly after the productions meeting and last until 3a.m. After a short nap, participants will reconvene in the studio at 7a.m. Don’t eat beforehand because breakfast will be provided for the cast and crew.
Once breakfast is finished, tech rehearsals begin. This, folks, will include the whole enchilada—from lighting to intro music, props, costumes, and blocking. The purpose of tech rehearsal is to make props, sets, and lighting work together to generate the mood of the piece.
The plays themselves will be relatively short—around ten to fifteen minutes. Jennifer Whiteside, production assistant, said that in past years, the plays have been “geared towards college humor.”
The excitement built of building, designing, and assembling three plays within 24 hours is incredible. The festival is “…completely cool and high energy!” says senior Donna Weber, who has participated in the event for the past five years.
If you’re an actor and you’re up for the challenge, come out September 5 to Studio 115’s 24- Hour Play Festival. Bring your friends, comfy clothes and cameras. If you plan on spectating, performances will be at 7p.m. and 8:30p.m. Saturday. Also, remember that the shows are free, but seating is limited. The ticket booth opens at 6 p.m.
