Saturday mornings at Bobst Library are often quiet compared to the rest of the week. But this past weekend, members of the New School Theatre Collective were wide-awake, preparing just hours before the fourth semi-annual 24-Hour Play Festival.
The event’s name derives from the deadline-heavy process used to produce the plays. Within that time, plays are scripted, casted and directed.
Roughly 50 people attended the festival, which was made of six one-act plays. The night’s first play was “A Duane Reade Drama,” about two women debating whether or not to shoplift. Theatre Collective co-president Lexa Grace directed and, with Sarah Bibel, co-wrote the script. The second play, “3 Guys 1 Pie,” featured three pizza delivery workers being called to the same location; it was written by Carina Abbaticchio and Benjamin Eisenhower. “In Bed” was written by Kyle Collins and Ramon Rodriguez and directed by Rina Grob. “Charming Sociopaths,” the fourth play of the night, was written by Chloe Gold and directed by Judy Wong. “Fifty Shades of Play” was written by Andrea Goldston and Tara McMahon and was directed by Aron Canter. Aidan Shepard wrote “Our Scheduled Programming” and along with Corey Vogel, Shepard also directed the one-act play.
The festival is the brainchild of Sarah Giffin, a senior at Eugene Lang College. Giffin did not attend the event but play participants recall how she inspired the new tradition, which began in the fall of 2011.
“She used to do them in high school and thought they would be fun,” said stage manager Kayla Marchioni, a Lang junior.
While students involved in the event are usually writing or theater majors, anyone can participate.
“Our big thing is that anyone is welcome,” Grace told the Free Press. “You don’t have to be a playwright.”
By 6 p.m., the doors opened and audience members were allowed in, free of charge. There was no budget for props and a lot of them were donated by participating students.
In many cases, participants hardly slept before the show. But few complained about it.
“I would never call it grueling,” said Marchioni. “It’s not a holding cell. We can take breaks for food.”
The seats were filled and there were many hearty laughs. Vogel’s family as well as his girlfriend, Jori Schwartz, eagerly congratulated him after the event. Much of the audience was friends and students who heard about the events.
“It is really about letting everyone express themselves,” said Corey Vogel, one of the leaders of the festival, “The New School is filled with creative people.”