'23:59' puts play production under pressure

Participants had less than 24 hours to produce 10-minute plays.

By Angela Case

Published Nov. 10, 2009

Five directors, five playwrights, 12 actors and five lines for inspiration, and 23 hours and 59 minutes to put it all together. For participants in MU's inaugural "23:59 -- A Revolution of Plays," it was about time -- literally. Beginning at 8 p.m. Friday, groups in the event, hosted by the MU Graduate Theatre Organization, had 23 hours and 59 minutes to write, memorize and produce a 10-minute play inspired by the theme of time.

Friday evening: time to begin The event began Friday when participants met in the basement of Memorial Union to receive their assignments. Groups of actors, directors and playwrights were determined from random drawings. Then each playwright drew a piece of paper from a bag containing lines of dialogue containing the word "time." Event organizer Matt Fotis outlined the ground rules: Each playwright's selected line must appear in his or her play, playwrights had until 7 a.m. Saturday to e-mail their plays to Fotis and participants were responsible for their own props and costumes.

Saturday morning: time to rehearse At 8:00 a.m., the 12 actors, five directors and a few playwrights met in the Arts and Science Building to begin rehearsals. Fotis, who had finished writing his play "The Music Shop" by 1 a.m., said the writing process went OK. "I got stuck a few times," he said. "I panicked a few times. I spent a lot of time on Facebook." After munching on bagels and cream cheese, Fotis distributed scripts, and participants split up into classrooms to begin rehearsals.

"Happily Ever After" At 8:55 a.m., the cast and director of "Happily Ever After" were working through the play, penciling notes and blocking provided by director Laura Nelson into their scripts. "This is the most work I've done before 10 a.m. this year," actor Dillon Cassidy said. Nelson said she was pleased with the group's progress. "I think it's going great," she said. "I think it's going to be really funny." Playwright Heidi Schmidt said she had written a rough draft of "Happily Ever After" by 3:30 a.m. She took a nap and then got up at 6 a.m. and made a few minor adjustments. "There's a point at which you stop caring," she said.

"The Music Shop" At 3 p.m., "The Music Shop" actor Frank Lasik was lying on the floor during a read-through, using his backpack as a pillow. "At this point, it's easy to start feeling a little tired," he said. Actor Mark Walsh said the group was easily distracted. "We don't have the lines fully down," he said. "We've spent the last two hours laughing."

"Time is the Fire" At 5:05 p.m., "Time is the Fire" actors Kristina Castor and Milbre Burch, like most of the actors, were having trouble remembering their lines. Director Matt Davis told them to be more confident. "It's rough, but you have to remember it's there," he said.

"English" At 6:28 p.m., director David Marcia and actors Tammy Mullins and Brian Scanlan were rehearsing "English" with props and costumes. "My brain is a little crisp right now," Marcia said. Marcia wasn't sure how he got involved in "23:59." "I either went to a meeting or missed a meeting," he said. "However it was I got involved in this, I'm happy I did it." Mullins, who played a prostitute, described her part as interesting and refreshing. "This role is very different from anything I've done," she said. "English" playwright Fonzie Geary, who is a graduate student, said "23:59" was a welcome change of pace. "This has actually been a nice break from being in the library every night," he said.

"Saturday School" Charles Willis, director of "Saturday School," said one of the actors, high school student Elizabeth Burch-Hudson, took the SAT Saturday morning and wasn't available for rehearsals until 2 p.m. "The sections she's not in got worked really well," he said. Willis said the biggest challenge was remembering to censor his language around Burch-Hudson. "I tend to be rather profane when I direct," he said.

Saturday evening: Showtime At about 7:45 p.m., audience members began filing into Allen Auditorium. At 7:59, the first play began. The audience of about 100 people reacted with shrieking laughter throughout the performances, and at the end, a curtain call incited enthusiastic applause. After the show, several participants congregated in the back of the auditorium, hugging, congratulating each other and singing along jubilantly to one of the time-themed songs playing in the auditorium: "(I've Had) The Time of My Life." Fotis said he and the Graduate Theatre Organization would be hosting another "23:59 -- A Revolution of Plays," perhaps as early as next semester. "It went really, really, well," he said. "I was really