24 Hour Theatre returns March 16-17, 2012
Fayetteville State University (FSU) Theatre announces its third 24 Hour Theatre Project on March 16 and 17, 2012. The project invites participation from FSU students, faculty, and staff, as well as high school juniors and seniors as part of a whirlwind, mini-theatre festival in which plays are written, rehearsed, designed, and performed in 24 hours. A trend over the last decade in educational and professional theatres, 24 Hour Theatre has even made its way to Broadway a number of times in recent years.
This project presents the third time FSU Theatre will undertake the project. One major change this time around, the entire project is now in the hands of FSU students. A select group of project planners have been meeting weekly to create this next project.
24 Hour Theatre will involve a kickoff event on Friday, March 16, at 7:30 p.m., followed by an overnight writing session by playwrights. After finishing their writing by early the next morning, the freshly-minted scripts will be taken up by actors, directors, designers, technicians, and managers who will rehearse the plays throughout the day in time for a 7:30 p.m. performance of the plays on Saturday night. Students and other interested participants will be able to engage in one of a variety of production areas, from writing to acting to stage management to lighting operation. Participants can apply to participate in the project here. Participation is limited; certain production roles, such as writing and directing, are extremely limited, so get your application in as soon as possible.
The goal of 24 Hour Theatre is to produce fully realized scripts, usually of 10-20 minutes in length, and to put participants into active production roles with intense demands. The result is a mixture of high creativity, artistic impulse, sleep deprivation, temper, improvisation, failure, success, and caffeine. Participants are forced to make decisions on a deadline – a bit like Survivor for theatre – and learn firsthand the necessities of prioritization, problem-solving, and good humor. Above all, 24 Hour Theatre usually sees great success at creating bonds between participants and working to create a community of theatre makers in a short period of time.
The 24 Hour Theatre Project performances begin at 7:30 p.m., on Saturday, March 17, in FSU’s Butler Theater (this is a change from previous listings). The new plays may not be suitable for all audiences.
Participation in 24 Hour Theatre will require an application where participants will select their preferred production roles (i.e., by ranking them according to preference). Apply here.
Participation in 24 Hour Theatre is a 24 Hour commitment, but sometimes special circumstances can be considered. All participants are expected at the kickoff event, where production teams and casts will be assigned.
For more information please contact Jeremy Fiebig, Assistant Professor of Theatre, at (910) 672-2574 or jfiebig@uncfsu.edu.