An audience gathered Sept. 14 at City College’s Performing Arts Center to watch several new plays written just one day before the show.
City Theater launched its 15th annual 29ó Hour Playwriting Festival Sept. 13 when it presented a challenge to eight aspiring playwrights. Each playwright was tasked with writing a 10-minute play that incorporated the following prompt: “A cup in my car. A = bandlight on the rosebush. Not from Hamlet.”
The theme, according to City College Theater Professor Luther Hanson, who also coordinated the festival, was tailored in the style of a Zen riddle to force the playwrights to write something unusual.
“I think it’s fun to give the writers a theme and watch their heads explode,” said Hanson.
“Last year’s [theme] was ‘Brrr, that’s a cold fusion.’” City Theater actor Juan Ramos participated this year as a playwright. This was his third time doing the festival and Ramos, said this year’s prompt was more difficult than his previous experiences.
“I do it for the challenge because you have no idea what the theme is going to be,” said Ramos.
The guidelines for each play were as follows: each play had to be 10 minutes in length, and couldn’t use any elaborate scenery, lighting or sound effects. Additionally, each playwright needed to include enough speaking parts for the actors assigned to each playwright.
According to playwright participant Donya Wicken, the writers met with their actors to tailor the script to his or her particular skills and talents.
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Wicken added that the writers only learned the theme at 12:30 p.m and then had just eight hours to finish their plays. Once the works were finished, the playwrights handed off the scripts to their assigned directors.
The actors received their scripts Sunday morning at 9 a.m. and prepared to memorize their lines for a performance that night.
“It’s still the same process as any other play, except abbreviated,” said Hanson.
Originally, the festival organizers planned to give awards for writing and production, but those plans were scrapped because, Hanson explained, they distracted from the process of preparing the performance.
“It wasn’t really fair, and it only added more stress,” said Hanson.
When the last play finished, all the participating cast, crew and writers gathered on stage for a curtain call.
Hanson told the performers they could relax and sit down.
As soon as they heard that, all the actors collectively sighed and crashed onto the stage floor.
A question-and-answer session between the audience and the cast and crew followed immediately after.
Audience member Dori Marshall asked the participants what the most difficult job in the festival was.
Various people in the stage responded by yelling, “Actor! Director! Writer!”
According to director Martha Kight, the actors had the most stressful job in festival, and the director helped the actors cope with the pressures of the festival.
“Around 4 [p.m], our job is to reassure actors because they have all these words in their heads,” said Kight. “I reassure them because it’s terrifying. They only get 10 hours before they have to put on a play.”
Actor Julian Ortega said the festival wasn’t about the stress but the interactions between the playwright, director and actors.
“The main thing is you were able to show and put to life what the writers put into words,” he said.
