Interregnum 2011-2012 - Blog of the Time Between - 24 Hour Plays

Once again I served as playwright wrangler for Theatre Unbound's 24:00:00 Xtreme Theatre Smackdown (formerly the 24 Hour Play Project). But first, of course, the general public had to vote on what went into the plays

11/4/11 24:00:00 Xtreme Theatre Smackdown: Suggest Some Random Ingredients For Us
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

Interregnum 2010-2011 - Blog of the Time Between - 24 Hour Plays

Once again I served as playwright wrangler for Theatre Unbound's 24 Hour Play Project. But first, of course, the general public had to vote on what went into the plays

1/2/11 Theatre Unbound's 24 Hour Play Project: You Choose The Ingredients
Twin Cities Daily Planet version

You Choose the Secret Ingredients

New plays for the new year.

Less than a week from now, Theatre Unbound will be mounting seven brand new little plays - written, rehearsed and performed all within the span of a single day - the latest 24 Hour Play Project.

But first, the writers need to know what they’re writing about.

That’s where us forward-thinking users of the internet come in.

Currently online is a ballot by which you can register your preference to the items to be included as common elements in all of the 24 Hour Plays. How the writers choose to include them is up to them. But what they will be is up to you.

Follow this link, or the link on the bottom of this page of the Theatre Unbound website, and make your choice.

Each play must include one of each from the following categories - an object, an emotion, a line of dialogue, and something random.

Would you like to see a play that somehow includes... a big check, a cauldron, a cheese head, a curling iron, a fanny pack, a garage door opener, a handkerchief, a hot water bottle, ice skates, an oversized toothbrush, a poisoned apple, a rubber chicken, or a tool box?

It’s up to you.


Would you like one or all of the characters to be overcome by a feeling of... cheerfulness, despair, drunken pride, embarrassment, ennui, giddiness, hauteur, humiliation, intrigued revulsion, love, maniacal glee, righteous anger, or shock?

You can inflict this upon them.

How’d you like someone to say...
“Does everyone have a puppet that needs one?”
"Go now and leave me!"
“I don't think she gave out the little people yet.”
“If there's one thing we're not, it's optimistic.”
“I'm actually a fount of ridiculous things that belong on T-shirts.”
"Nobody expects the Spanish Inqusition!"
"Oh, look!  A tricky priest!!!"
“Oh shaw!”
"Quick, hide the sausage!  I cannot believe I just said that."
"So, that could've gone much better."
“Sometimes too much information makes you a bitter person.”
“There's no reprieve for sweaty.”
or
"Why does everyone hate me on Wednesdays?"

You can put those words in their mouth.

And for something random, how about... the Canadian National Anthem, a character who speaks only in quotes from the film “Casablanca,” the color red, an enforced dance, a ladybug, Lot 666, a nut eating contest, something furry, the song "The Girl from Ipanema," the stage direction “repeat, in miniature,” the notorious “wilhelm scream,” a wind storm, a witch who says she is not a witch, or yoga?

Well, you can shoehorn that into the play as well.

Voting closes on Monday, January 3rd, 2011, so make your selections quickly.

And then drop by Hamline University on Saturday, January 8th at 8pm to see how it all turned out.

Happy voting.

Interregnum 2008-2009 - Blog of the Time Between - 24 Hour Plays

I was also playwright-wrangler and ballot-wrangler for the latest round of the 24 Hour Play Project fundraiser for Theatre Unbound...

10/17/08 - Call for Ballot Suggestions for the 24 Hour Plays
Twin Cities Daily Planet version
matthewaeverett.com version

10/17/08 - Call for Writers for the 24 Hour Play Project
Twin Cities Daily Planet version
matthewaeverett.com version

1/5/09 - Vote for the Secret Ingredients in the 24 Hour Plays
Twin Cities Daily Planet version
matthewaeverett.com version

1/22/09 - Last Chance to Vote for 24 Hour Play Ingredients
Twin Cities Daily Planet version
matthewaeverett.com version

Last Chance to Vote for Secret Ingredients in the 24 Hour Plays

Yes, voting closes this Monday, so you've got the weekend to get your family and friends to help you stuff the online ballot box for your favorite secret ingredients for the 24 Hour Play Project.

Time's ticking by.

What'll it be?

The playwrights will be handed an object, an emotion, a quote or line of dialogue, and something random.

What those things are is up to you.

Ever want to see a play with...
the touch of death?
"It's Raining Men" by The Weather Girls?
someone walking backwards?

Wonder how characters would deal with...
blind panic?
savage joy?
obsession?

Maybe you've always wanted to hear someone say...
"Huh. Maybe it'll take two shots of penicillin."
"Not as an adult."
"Dang it, I just killed a talking moose who claimed he was the next
president!"

Perhaps you feel that every good play needs...
a woodpecker
a cactus
a toilet plunger

All these and more are waiting for your blessing.

Would you like to make the writers' lives hard, or easy, or something in between? Totally up to you.

Follow the link to the online ballot

http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e2fk5eqjfphe515g/start

Make your preferences known

Then mark your calendar for the big event.

The writers will meet and write the night of February 6th, then the directors and actors have a whirlwind day of rehearsals, and the finished products are unveiled at Theatre Unbound's annual gala on Saturday, February 7th (doors at 7, performances at 8) (details and tickets here)

Have fun.

I'll be interested to see how the whole thing shakes out once the votes are counted.

Thanks for helping out with the creative process. Just a couple of clicks and you help write a play. Easy, huh?

Vote now for the secret ingredients in the 24 Hour Play Project

Did you ever want to see a play with a giant talking statue in it?

Ever want to ask a playwright to include "Exit, pursued by a bear" as either a stage direction, or even dialogue in their script?

Do you bemoan the lack of plays featuring a kazoo playing?

Can't get enough of characters struggling with nostalgic lust?

Have I got an online ballot for you, my internet friends...

Theatre Unbound is gathering the elements for its annual gala/benefit, with the latest 24 Hour Play Project as its centerpiece.

Six teams of two writers each on the night of Friday, February 6th at 9pm will be given four items they must include in their script - an object, an emotion, a quote or line of dialogue, and something else random.

Apart from including those items, the shape of the play is up to them.

Before 5am on Saturday morning, they must compose and turn in a 10 minute play.

That evening of Saturday, February 7th, after a day of directors and actors working their magic in limited rehearsals, the plays will be performed at the gala.

Snacks and caffeine will be on hand to aid the writers' creativity throughout the night.

But right now, you can tell them what you want in those plays.

For what exactly the object, emotion, line of dialogue, and random thing will be is up to you, the voting public.

Each of the four categories has 12 items in it. 48 potential winners. Only 4 will emerge victorious.

It's your call.

Click on the link here - http://survey.constantcontact.com/survey/a07e2fk5eqjfphe515g/start - to cast your vote for the four ingredients to be included in all of this year's 24 Hour Plays.

You only get one chance to vote, so choose wisely.

(But, feel free to encourage your family, friends and co-workers to get in on the fun and sway the voting your way, of course. That's democracy in action.)

Voting is open for three weeks - now through Monday, January 26, 2009

Enjoy!

And if you want to book your tickets to the event now, to see how it all turns out, visit Theatre Unbound's website at www.theatreunbound.com

Call for Suggestions for 24 Hour Play Ballot

Put on your thinking caps and send me your suggestions.

Theatre Unbound’s 24 Hour Play Project is February 7, 2009

But before the plays can be written, rehearsed and performed all within 24 Hours, we need to know what the plays will be about.

So we solicit theater folk for ideas for the “ingredients” for the six ten minute plays which will result.

The categories are, as always…

- an object

- an emotion

- a quote or line of dialogue

- another random element – such as a stage direction, a color, an animal, a particular word, a song, etc.

Suggest something for any or all categories, and just post a reply here on Callboard.

I’ll collect the results and pass them on to the powers that be at Unbound. Last year, we ended up with so many suggestions, they had to whittle them down quite a bit just to make the online ballot manageable.

Ah, the online ballot. Once the suggestions are compiled, the final ballot of choices will be posted online so that the general public, all of us included of course, can vote for their favorites.

The winning ingredients will be revealed to the writers on the night of the writing, February 6, 2009. And off they go…

Obviously, the sooner you get your suggestions in, the better. I still have to discover the cutoff date for this part of the process from the Unbounders. But I figured I’d get the ball rolling, since it’s election time. That’s our trigger to get started every year.

Oh, and don’t forget the vote, people. Not for this, although, yes, vote for this, too. But polls don’t vote, people do. We can only hope to get the result we want if we all actually get our butts to the polls. So vote November 4th, then say a prayer, cross your fingers, light a candle, whatever things you do after actually voting to try and sway the national will your way.

End of PSA.

Type up those ingredients and email them my way.

My primary email is mail AT matthewaeverett DOT com

Since my spam filter is selectively mischievous, it’s also a good idea just to copy the message to browder268 AT yahoo DOT com as well, just to be on the safe side.

Thanks.

Call for Writers for upcoming 24 Hour Play Project on February 6 & 7, 2009

I’m helping Theatre Unbound out again as volunteer playwright wrangler for their 24 Hour Play Project. So I thought I'd put out a general call to see if there were interested writers among the readership...

Theatre Unbound will be presenting another 24 Hour Play Project on February 7, 2009.

This is one of the main fundraising events for the company for the year and it's always a lot of fun.

We need playwrights with availability from 9pm Friday, February 6th until 6am Saturday, February 7th.

For those who are new:

The 24 Hour Play Project is exhilarating! (and perhaps exhausting, and other ex words I will leave to your imagination)

Friday night twelve playwrights are locked into a space, paired up and given "ingredients" to write a 10 minute play.

These "ingredients" usually consist of an object, an emotion, a quote or line of dialogue, and something else random.

These four things will be common to all the plays, but what the writers choose to do with them from there is up to them.

(Oh and snacks. Let us not forget the snacks - and coffee, and other caffeinated beverages :)

Cast size and composition - number and gender of actors - will also be assigned before the writing starts.

The next morning, six directors come in to read and analyze scripts.

The scripts are cast and rehearsed that morning and afternoon and finally presented that evening.

Phew!!

The 24 Hour Play Project will be presented in conjunction with the Theatre Unbound annual Benefit and Silent Auction at Theatre Unbound’s new home in The Neighborhood House of the Paul and Sheila Wellstone Center, 179 Robie Street East, St. Paul, MN 55107.

Playwrights will receive free admittance to the event, plus a discount pass to give to a guest.

This is obviously a charity event, so everyone will be working out of the goodness of their hearts - but there will be complimentary food and libation at the event for your enjoyment.

More details for the potential writers about the process itself...

To those of you who’ve done this before, much will be familiar.

But we’re also continuing to experiment with the formula a bit.

We’ll be pairing the teams again ahead of time like we have the past two years, as it seemed very helpful.

As in the past, it’s six teams of two writers each. Once we get initial responses from those who are interested in participating as playwrights, we’ll let people choose their partners up front, rather than leave it to the laws of chance on the night of the writing session.

I’ll send out a list of the participating writers to each of the interested writers individually, and then you can respond to me with your top three preferences for partners (or if you just want to leave it up to us to pair you, that’s fine, too).

All teams will still include at least one female writer (in some cases both, since the majority of the writers we try to recruit will be women in the first place - this is Theatre Unbound, after all :) But all writers - male, female and... however you care to define yourself, are welcome.

We’re also soliciting ideas again this year (like the past two years) for the ingredients to be included in the plays from a cross section of theater folk (in fact, I'll be blogging about that, too, in just another minute). We got so many suggestions last year that after I passed them on to the powers that be at Unbound, they had to whittle the choices down a bit to make the ballot manageable.

The ballot will then be posted online through which the general public, us included, can vote for their favorites. I'll post more details on the voting window, when and for how long it goes live online, etc., once they get that hammered out.

The winning ingredients will be revealed to the writers on the night they are to write the plays.

(Though if you're a writer, you can certainly view the ballot and do whatever homework you like in advance, if you wish)

Feel like joining the experiment...?

Email me if you're interested and available to participate as a writer on those dates.

My primary email is mail AT matthewaeverett DOT com

Since my spam filter is selectively mischievous, it's also a good idea just to copy the message to browder268 AT yahoo DOT com as well, just to be on the safe side.

Thanks.

I've done a few of these 24 Hour Play Projects in the past myself. Examples of ideas that I've come up with in the middle of the night with fellow writers Anne Bertram, Carol Critchley, Holly Davis, and Chris Kidder can be seen here, here, here, here, here, and here

Also, we've started publishing collections of the final scripts as an additional fundraiser for Theatre Unbound, for those writers who want to pitch their scripts in for the cause beyond the 24 Hour weekend. You can check out Volume 1 here.