Once a semester, Hinman Production Company (HPC) puts on a short play that is written, designed and rehearsed within the span of 24 hours. Between the 32 participants, hours of sleep are few and far-between, though spirits remain high at the prospect of creating a completely original performance. This semester, Pipe Dream shadowed the full-day project to find out what it’s like to be backstage during the production.
HPC puts on 24-Hour Theatre to provide an opportunity for students who are interested in being a part of the company or the performing arts but can’t commit to being in a full-length production. The production doesn’t require any previous experience in theatre — only the motivation to stick it out for the whole day.
Participants sign up prior to the production, but are only given the theme for the semester’s show upon arrival. The theme is decided upon by the Hinman College Council (HCC) and requires a person, action and place. This semester, the theme was “star-crossed lovers find out they’re related behind a Denny’s.”
Upon arriving at the Hinman Commons, it was clear to see that participants had come prepared for the long haul. Overnight bags, blankets and an assortment of snack foods were scattered around the three different rooms allocated to the event. The contributors were divided into three teams — a tech team, writing team and acting team — and each group was already hard at work.
“It’s a really cool experience that a lot of other people don’t get to do in any other setting but college,” said Douglas Harrington, a co-coordinator of the event and a senior majoring in business administration.
The event coordinators believe that this kind of production gives people who weren’t cast in HPC’s seasonal shows the opportunity to get involved.
“The thing I love about 24-Hour is that we have 30 participants … and you can try anything you want,” said Ed Markievicz, a co-coordinator of the production and a senior majoring in financial economics. “Even if you’re into tech, you can try out to be an actor — it gives you a really good opportunity to work on your interests.”
By 7 p.m., the writing team began to work on the basic plot of the script. They had just finished a brainstorming session in which members of the team threw out words that could vaguely pertain to the prompt, which included everything from “evil siblings” to “familytree.com.” Meanwhile, the acting team was in the next room over, getting to know each other through games, which were based on ensemble-building techniques and improvisation. The tech team had a lighter job earlier in the night, as the majority of their job couldn’t be done until they received the script.
By 2 a.m., the writers had finished the script and many of the participants had gone to sleep. Natalie Lista, a writing team leader and a sophomore majoring in integrative neuroscience, explained that the enthusiasm for the production is only enhanced by the fast-paced and exhausting environment.
“You are so sleep-deprived and you’re trying to do such a huge operation, but you’re very much buoyed by the team aspect of it,” Lista said. “We’re going to go to sleep and by the time we wake up, there’s going to be a set half-constructed. It’s like our vision coming to life before our eyes.”
The next morning, however, was when some participants appeared to be fading. Though they were greeted by coffee and bagels upon waking up, the Hinman Commons’ heat had been turned off overnight and most of the contributors had slept on the floor. Still, the urgency of opening the show in 10 hours was more than enough to motivate the cast and crew as they set to work that morning memorizing lines, blocking scenes, finding props and creating a set.
At 5 p.m., the show was completed and cast members were moving about in a half-excited, half-exhausted daze. Harrington, noticing the atmosphere, requested that loud music be played to pump up the cast before the show opened. After doing a series of HPC pre-show rituals, everyone was as energetic as they had been when they started 23 hours earlier. The show, which they titled “Becousins I Said So,” went off without a hitch.
“Everyone’s exhausted,” Harrington said. “I’ve slept for two hours. I’m starving. But it’s all worth it because we bring all these people together and you can see that everyone’s having an amazing time. That’s why it’s worth it.”