'24-Hour Theater' does it all in a day

Many playwrights require months, if not years, to create a story that will one day be presented on the stage. The actors who breathe life into the plays' characters often need weeks, if not months, before they are ready to perform before the public. Tomorrow, however, in "Revenge of the 24-Hour Theatre," these two groups of artists will present their talents to the world after just one day of practice.

Preparation for "Revenge of the 24-Hour Theatre" - a Basement Arts production in its fourth year - will commence tonight at 10 p.m. At that time, four student playwrights, who have been selected through an audition, will gather together in a room, each responsible for creating their own one-act play within 12 hours.

Music junior Dave Garcia, who penned a play for last year's "24-Hour Theatre" production, explained that while the playwriting experience was rigorous, he knew he had three other writers beside him going through the same difficulties.

"The process is a bonding experience, though it's also incredibly intense," said Garcia, also Basement Arts' director of publicity. "You work with others toward a common goal: hilarious and crazy, absolutely crazy, theatre."

After the ink dries on the pages of their works, the playwrights will meet individually with a director assigned to their show, Garcia said, and spend approximately three hours working on the play.

"We talk through it, familiarize them with the script and prepare it for the rehearsal process," Garcia explained. "We do everything to bring it to the presentable stage."

Then, between 1 - 2 p.m., the actors who will be presenting the four one-act plays will arrive and the characters will begin to come to life.

Maddy Wyatt, a Music senior who acted in Garcia's play in last year's production, said that the Saturday rehearsal was a completely unique experience for her because of the incredible time constraints placed upon her and her fellow actors.

"The shortest amount of time a normal production rehearses for is a month; I rehearsed for eight hours for this" Wyatt said. "(In '24-Hour Theatre,') you can't memorize word for word; your goal is to get the play across as accurately as you can."

Wyatt and her fellow actors decided, in what some might see as a daring move, to go without scripts in the actual production. Yet Wyatt said that taking chances is part of what the audience expects when viewing the final product.

"The most important part of all is to have fun and take big risks," Wyatt explained. "People know about the conventions of '24-Hour Theatre,' so they expect a more freeform production."

Wyatt added that while she frequently had to paraphrase Garcia's lines during the actual production, she still believed she and her fellow actors got across the meaning of the play to the audience.

Garcia agreed with Wyatt, stating that while the 24-hour preparation process "was equally grueling for all involved, I couldn't have been happier with the results. We had more than a full house and everyone had a great time."

Saturday at 10 p.m.

Arena Theater

Revenge of the 24-Hour Theater

PREVIEW

09-24-99